Odisha:Hockey::Karnataka:Tennis? – Indian Tennis Daily
Most Indian sports fans, old enough to remember, will remember the Indian men’s hockey team’s absence at the 2008 Olympics. India were 5 time Olympic gold medallists, and not even being able to qualify for the Olympics, was an unbelievable low. But things now have turned around. Indian men have since won 2 Olympic bronze medals. This is in no small part down to the investment and support provided by Odisha. The support came in 2 ways; (i) sponsorship by the Odisha government in a deal worth over Rs. 120 crores and (ii) building world class stadiums that has played host to a number of international events.
Why is this relevant on a tennis website? Because Karnataka has been built a base to do the same. Since November 2025, Karnataka has hosted 5 major events; the Billie Jean King Cup, the World Tennis League, the ATP 125 Bengaluru Open, the Davis Cup and the WTA 100 Bengaluru Open. These are not only tournaments of significant standing, but also tournaments which can help Indian players significantly, much like it did with Indian male hockey players. The Indian tennis players have spoken quite often about the need for India to host more tournaments. Italian tennis players have spoken how the factum of Italy hosting regular tournaments was on the factors that helped with the resurgence of Italian tennis.
How about the crowds then?
Last week’s Davis Cup tie between India and Netherlands saw some great crowds and amazing support for the Indian players. Day 1 of the tie saw a near housefull crowd and on Day 2, a significant number of people stayed back till 10 30 PM to watch DK Suresh defeat Guy Den Ouden of Netherlands to win India the tie 3-2. At some point the crowd got so loud that the Dutch coach asked the referee to ask the Indian fans to shut up (but in more colourful language that can’t be typed here). And this kind of crowd and support was not a one off either. During the Billie Jean King Cup too a significant number of people turned up to support the Indian players. World Tennis League saw a near housefull crowd, Bengaluru Open crowds are always great, especially when Indians go deep in the tournament. Having regular tournaments in one city can help build a tennis culture, and can see more and more people turn up to watch the sport.
The Bengaluru crowds during the Davis Cup. PC: Chenthil Mohan (Insta:sports.anon)
What’s next?
A significant number of tournaments and good audience support is a great start, but there’s a lot more that can be done.Hosting smaller ITF tournaments on a monthly basis for both men and women and hosting more junior tournaments will help builder a stronger foundational base for Indian tennis. Further, greater investment, like what Odisha did with hockey, from the Karnataka government will be a welcome move and can help take Indian tennis to greater heights. Karnataka and more particularly, Bangalore, has all the right ingredients to be a major tennis centre, like the last 3 months have shown us, and now it’s time to maximise the opportunity. Can Karnataka adopt tennis much like Odisha did?
