Vaidehi Chaudhari in action during the Billie Jean King Cup Asia-Oceania Group 1 clash on Friday. |
The young guns, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty and Vaidehi Chaudhari, helped Team India take a significant stride towards their quest for the playoff spot at the Billie Jean King Cup Asia-Oceania Group 1, guiding them to a 2-1 victory against Chinese Taipei, on Friday evening. This was the hosts’ third consecutive win, helping them climb to second spot on the points table in this prestigious tournament, organized by MSLTA in association with ITF, AITA, and PMDTA is taking place at the Mahalunge Balewadi Tennis Complex in Pune.
The Indian team, sponsored by Suhana, will look to confirm their qualification spot with a win against Korea Republic, in their final match of the Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1, on Saturday.
MSLTA (Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association) has been a driving force behind the tournament and has made efforts to popularise the sport in the state and country by conducting many International tournaments.
MSLTA Honorary Secretary Sunder Iyer |
“The job of any state federation is to support and create opportunities for players from their own states, but MSLTA is in a different league. We have always done international tournaments to promote both Indian players and international players. We have done many tournaments like this over the last decade,” Sunder Iyer, Hon Secretary MSLTA said.
In 2025 itself, MSLTA have organised three major events in the world of tennis. L&T Mumbai Open, a WTA 250 event was conducted in February which was followed by ATP Challenger 100 Maha Open 2025 and now the prestigious Billie Jean King Cup.
“We know every player, we have been supporting them through different foundations like Lakshya. I thought it was important for us to have this Billie Jean King Cup in India so we bid for it about six or seven months ago through ITA. So that’s how this year we did three big events back to back,” explained Sunder Iyer.
In 2023, Sunder Iyer, who is also part of Lakshya Sports foundation, launched a Junior Grand Slam Project through which he supported teenage sensation Maaya Rajeshwaran and many more young tennis talents.
“At MSLTA, we believe that apart from our players, Indian tennis also needs to be grown and thanks to a very good team, we are able to do something more than the other federations. When I realized that in the last five years there have been no junior players in the Grand Slams, we launched this Grand Slam project along with a company called Amalgam Steel who supported the project,” he said.
About the success of Billie Jean King Cup, Sunder Iyer said, “I am really thrilled with the way everything turned out because India is known for its hospitality and I think it is time to show the world that we are also there as a sporting superpower.”
“We are not cutting corners. We are ensuring that we are hosting a world class event. We have left no stone unturned to ensure that this tournament and all the facilities are world class. The players do not have anything to complain about during their time here. I am really happy that we thought and were able to put all this together,” he concluded.
