JOIN USTop billing for Poojashree
Poojashree, who won her maiden ITF title in Islamabad last November and clinched singles as well as doubles titles in New Delhi last month, is the highest ranked player at 456 here for the six-day tourney which concludes on September 12.
“I am very happy to play in my home town. After a long time I am getting a chance to play in Bangalore. I would put in my best effort to win the tournament. These ITF tournaments help us to gain more experience and also valuable WTA points,” pointed out Poojashree at a press meet to announce the launch of the tournament in KSLTA.
Japan’s Anastasia Malhotra, ranked 475, is being seeded second while Poojashree’s compatriot Isha Lakhani, ranked 498, will be the third seed here.
Among notable names taking part in the meet include, Rushmi Chakravarthi and Sanaa Bhambri. The 32-player singles event will have 20 direct entries, four wild cards and eight qualifiers. Organisers have already given one wild card to Karnataka’s Shweta Gadigeppa Kakhandki. “We will identify other three wild cards in the coming days,” said tournament director, Sunil Yajaman.
The sign in for the tournament is scheduled for Friday while the qualifying round matches will be played on Saturday and Sunday. “Singles semifinals and doubles final will be played on September 11 while the singles final is scheduled for Sep 12,” added Sunil. The singles event winner will receive 12 WTA points and $ 1,568 and the runner-up gets eight points and $ 980 in prize money.