All India Tennis Association cuts overseas travel allowance to $450 from $700

New Delhi: The All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Saturday approved a series of governance reforms, including a sharp reduction in officials' overseas travel entitlements from USD 700 to USD 450 and stricter norms for foreign tours.

The decisions were taken during the AITA Executive Committee meeting with the federation also approving a series of development initiatives, including overseas training camps for junior players and the hosting of a high-performance coaching examination in India.

As per the revised travel policy, officials travelling abroad will now receive USD 250 per day towards hotel expenses and USD 200 for local transport, meals and other incidental expenses, replacing the earlier provision under which AITA paid USD 700 per day.


The duration of official foreign tours has also been capped at four days, ending the earlier practice of trips for a maximum of seven days.

The Executive Committee also decided that only the current office-bearers of the AITA or individuals specifically nominated by the federation would be eligible for official foreign travel.

Former presidents and secretaries, who had earlier travelled on certain occasions, have been excluded under the new policy.

"These are the steps taken in right direction. We want AITA to transform into a sport body that accelerates the growth of the sports and players," a member of the AITA EC told PTI.

"We want to change everything that is negative and bad in Indian tennis. God willing we will succeed. You see, no one objected to these reforms in today's meeting. This team has the will to change Indian tennis," the official added.

The revised norms replace the travel policy approved by the AITA Finance and Legal Committee on May 3, 2022, under which the President, Secretary General and past office-bearers representing India on the ITF/ATF boards were entitled to a lump sum of USD 700 per day for up to seven days, covering hotel, food, local transport and other expenses.

If hotel accommodation was arranged separately, they were paid USD 300 per day, while business class airfare was reimbursed on actuals. Executive Committee members were entitled to economy class airfare, USD 175 per day and hotel reimbursement of up to USD 150 per day.

The generous travel policy had come under scrutiny during the previous regime after former AITA president Anil Jain faced criticism for allegedly spending Rs one crore on his and his wife's trips to Grand Slam tournaments.

The new Executive Committee has now barred family members from travelling at AITA's expense and restricted Grand Slam travel to occasions when the ITF is holding official meetings at the venue.

In another key decision, the EC ruled that no official would travel to Grand Slam tournaments at AITA's expense unless the ITF is conducting an official meeting at the venue.

The travel guidelines further stipulate that officials travelling on sectors of less than three hours will fly economy class, while journeys exceeding four hours will be undertaken in business class.

Alongside the administrative reforms, the Executive Committee approved measures aimed at strengthening player and coach development.

The federation decided to send India's junior teams abroad for month-long training camps and competition exposure as part of its long-term player development programme.

India will also host a High Performance Coaching Course in December this year, providing domestic coaches an opportunity to earn advanced coaching certification without travelling overseas.

Further, the AITA will organise a Women's Coaches Seminar, inviting around 25 underprivileged women coaches from across the country. The boarding and lodging expenses for the participants will be jointly borne by the AITA and the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

AITA proposed to have first ever All Women Coaches Course in Delhi between September-November 2026 and a National Coaches workshop will be held in February 2027.

The Executive Committee meeting was held a day before the federation's EGM, where members are expected to deliberate on key governance and constitutional matters.