Chennai Open 2026 — A tournament of promise ends damply as India prepares for future without Tour-level tennis

At Chennai Open 2026, Rutuja Bhosale and Vaishnavi Adkar became the first-ever all-Indian pair to make it to a WTA Tour event final before losing to Naima Karamoko and Simona Waltert. | Photo Credit: R. Ragu

One can’t expect a smooth ride when the road itself is bumpy. The only way forward is exercising caution and limitating damage.

From the moment the third edition of the WTA 250 Chennai Open was announced to be held from November 2 to 8 at the SDAT Stadium in Nungambakkam, the monsoon and the festive season could both be seen as potential hurdles in the efficient conduct of the tournament.

Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise that the proceedings went along expected lines.

Rain caused a complete washout on the first day and played spoilsport on a few other occasions. The cacophony of Diwali firecrackers played a cameo on the eve of the final, and the next day, the smog caused by them engulfed the entire centre court and ruined the main act, forcing the organisers to shift the singles final to the reserve day.

That afternoon, in front of 600-odd spectators - 10 per cent of centre court’s capacity - when reigning champion Janice Tjen hit a forehand down the line return wide, not only did it hand over the title to Magda Linette, but it also concluded Tour-level tennis on Indian soil for the foreseeable future.

Rain caused a complete washout on the first day of Chennai Open 2026 and played spoilsport on a few other occasions.  | Photo Credit: R. Ragu

Could the organisers have been more flexible with the scheduling on the designated day of the final and held the doubles decider much earlier, instead of starting it at 4 p.m., to have more time for the singles summit clash? Could the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) and Octagon (the license-holding agency for the tournament) have negotiated harder with the WTA for a better slot in the calendar?

The ordeal has left the Indian tennis community with these uncomfortable questions as it prepares itself for next season with no big-ticket events at home - this particular WTA 250 event will be held in Manila, the Philippines, in 2027, with the growing popularity of Filipino star Alexandra Eala being one of the main reasons.

The origin and the expectations

When the tournament first came to India in 2022 on a single-year deal, it was a pleasant surprise. The country, and Chennai in particular, had not played host to a women’s event of such stature for a long time.

Vijay Amritraj, Indian tennis legend and the TNTA President, knew its significance. “It was the first WTA 250 that we were having in India. We really had not had a big WTA tournament in Chennai. So, it was nice to be able to try to get one and see how it plays out,” he told Sportstar.

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But at the same time, the 72-year-old Amritraj was also aware that it was going to be a challenge for the Indian players to play at this level. “There’s a variety of rankings that end up making the draw. Sometimes, it gets very strong; sometimes it’s slightly weaker. It was a question of how the Indian girls would fit into that,” he explained.

The first edition was held from September 12-18, the week after the US Open, with no rain threat. School children were brought to watch live tennis on the first three days. In the final played in front of a capacity crowd, the then Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova defeated Linette in a thriller to secure her maiden Tour-level title. From an Indian perspective, local wild card Karman Kaur Thandi was the only highlight. She stunned eighth-seeded Frenchwoman Chloe Paquet in the first round and gave a tough fight before going down to former Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard.

“The Indian girls who played in the qualifiers and the main draw, perhaps, had not played in a competition of this nature before. So, at the end of the day, they had to get up to it,” recalled Amritraj.

Three years later, in 2025, the tournament came back to India, and as Amritraj expected, the Indian players did slightly better. Two players - Sahaja Yamalapalli and Shrivalli Bhamidipaty - made it to the second round, while Riya Bhatia and Rutuja Bhosale reached the doubles semifinals.

The best results came this year. Vaishnavi Adkar and Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi notched up maiden Tour-level wins by upsetting Britain’s Jodie Burrage and Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa, respectively, two much more experienced players, in the first round. Maaya, the 17-year-old from Coimbatore, took down Polish qualifier Weronika Falkowska to become the first Indian since Sania Mirza (Pattaya City, 2012) to reach a WTA Tour event quarterfinal. In doubles, Rutuja and Vaishnavi became the first-ever all-Indian pair to make it to a WTA Tour event final.

“Unless you actually play in events like this, it’s not going to be easy to understand how good the others are. My first expectation, when I brought this tournament, was to hope the Indian girls realise where they are in the rankings and how they have to compete, and they did that. They played two editions in 2022 and 2025. In 2026, they certainly performed better. That was a very good sign,” explained Amritraj.

“That’s why you do these events. First for the players and then, second, for the fans,” he added.

Some of the Indian players also echoed the same sentiment.

“I am more confident now that I can compete better than what I thought,” said Maaya, who jumped from 669 to 489 in the WTA Rankings after her quarterfinal finish.

Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi jumped from 669 to 489 in the WTA Rankings after her quarterfinal finish in the women’s singles at Chennai Open 2026. | Photo Credit: R. Ragu

“Events like this are an opportunity to promote the sport in India and show the world that there is potential in this country as well. The Philippines has got Eala. Hopefully, in the next few years, we’ll have someone as big as she is or even bigger to get more events in the country,” added the 21-year-old Vaishnavi, currently India’s top player and World No. 308.

The roadblocks

While the performances of the Indian players gradually improved with each passing edition, the same cannot be said about how the tournament panned out in other aspects, such as spectator turnout and the strength of the draw.

In 2025, the tournament was shifted from Mexico to Chennai, marking the return of Tour-level tennis to Indian soil after almost three years. But the slot was October 27 to November 2. It was the last week of the regular season, and hence, a spate of withdrawals hit the tournament.

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Eventually, Turkiye Zeynep Sonmez, who was outside the Top 70 in the WTA Rankings, became the top seed. Apart from the lack of big stars, something which the WTA 250 event taking place in Hong Kong during the same week did not face, the weather forecast for Chennai was also not particularly great. The incessant rain ensured that no play was possible on the first two days when the main draw action was supposed to begin.

The precipitation also played a role in low spectator turnouts, according to Amritraj. “If a person wants to buy a ticket to come to the matches and he doesn’t know if it’s going to rain or not, that itself is an initial turn-off,” he said.

The same factors affected the numbers during this year’s tournament as well. The smog caused by the Diwali fireworks further raised questions.

It's official! The WTA 250 Chennai Open 2026 final between Janice Tjen 🇮🇩 and Magda Linette 🇵🇱 has been postponed. It will be played tomorrow (November 9) at 11 a.m. IST. @sportstarweb https://t.co/tlvwEKB0cW

— Nihit (@nihitsachdeva28) November 8, 2026

After a conclusion like this, is it possible to bring Tour-level tennis back to India? Amritraj certainly thinks so.

“As far as the dates are concerned, the WTA and the ATP will certainly take into account what has happened in the last two years through no fault of anyone. They can offer a one-shot deal as they did in 2025 and 2026, but I’ve been saying for the last three to four years that if somebody would like to move a tournament, a license-holder, because they are the one who owns it, then, at least, let’s try to negotiate with the WTA or the ATP to also help with the week we want,” he said.

The future

The end of Tour-level tennis for now does not mean India will not look to host significant tennis tournaments.

According to Amritraj, an effort is being made to host four consecutive WTA 125 events in the country in late January and early February in 2028. WTA 125 is a category of tournaments between the main WTA Tour and the ITF circuit.

“The WTA 125s give our girls an even better chance to try to get some points on domestic soil which is the best way for them to move up the rankings,” he said.