Champions Tennis League is here to say, insists CEO Arjun Rao

NEW DELHI: Losing three teams and at least two big names from inaugural edition may not be seen as ideal but Champions Tennis League (CTL) is "here to stay" asserts its CEO Arjun Rao, who is bullish about a sponsorship growth by at least 300 to 400 percent.

CTL lost Bangalore and Delhi teams from the first edition and is set to begin a legal battle with the Pune franchisee to recover "outstanding dues" but Rao says it was a "learning experience" which will only help them do better.

In the second edition of the league, Raipur and Nagpur have been added to the roster and Chennai looks like grabbing the last available spot.

The league has conceded Indian tennis legend Leander Paes and world number six Agnieszka Radwanska to IPTL which offered big bucks to these players.

However, the CTL organisers are not losing sleep over either the withdrawal of franchisees or the players.

Rao was very candid in admitting that they could not "afford" Paes and Radwanska and insisted they would not stand in way of the players if they can earn more money by switching to the other league.

Rao also argued that it was difficult to slot an ageing Leander and it was purely a business call to let him go.

"Not having Leander and Sania as part of CTL is not such a bad thing because we have the best of both in Martina Hingis. Leander is a phenomenal doubles and mixed doubles player. The problem is, we can't slot Leander anywhere. You can't put him in singles against a former Grand Slam champions. It's not fair on the team," Rao told PTI in an interaction.

"Leander is a name, he has a price but is that price worth for a doubles one set. It's a business call."

Ask him about Polish girl Radwanska and he says, "It's not a loss. We decided not to (extend her stay). We could not afford her this year. She preferred to play IPTL because she was offered more money. You have to milk these opportunities. We don't have any problem with our line-up."

Quiz him about loss of teams and there was not even a hint of pessimism.

"It was not a crushing blow. We firmly believe that we are here to stay. We don't look at it in a negative light. Tennis is not cricket. There will be change of heart, change of interest. But the corporate interest is increasing. We are anticipating 300 to 400 percent growth in sponsorship."