Tennis Premier League: Paes acquires stake in Bengal franchise

Mumbai : Leander Paes has acquired a stake in the Bengal franchise ahead of the fifth edition of the Tennis Premier League, which will be played in Pune later this year and will feature eight teams in total.

Paes has joined hands with the Wardwizard Group for the newest and the eighth team from Bengal in the TPL, with the other teams being Mumbai Leon Army, Punjab Tigers, Pune Jaguars, Bengaluru Spartans, Delhi Binny's Brigade, Hyderabad Strikers and Gujarat Panthers.

The tournament is expected to be held in December this year and all the matches of the TPL 2023 edition will be played at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune, like before, in association with the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA).

Paes said in a release, "The South Club in Kolkata is the most iconic tennis venue in the country that has hosted the most number of Davis Cup matches in India and has even produced legendary Indian tennis players such as Jaidip Mukerjea and Zeeshan Ali to name a few." "I am sure that the presence of a team from Bengal will make season five of the Tennis Premier League even bigger than the previous editions," Paes added.

Wardwizard Group's chairman Yatin Gupte said, "In terms of recognition and popularity, TPL is the premier competition of Tennis in India, the level of competition in the league is fantastic. "That prompted us to invest in a team that'll take on other competitive teams in the tournament and we are excited to be part of such a wonderful tournament." The first edition of the TPL was won by the Sea Hawks and Pune Jaguars won the second season, post which The Hyderabad Strikers have dominated the competition with two consecutive title wins.