Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Bollipalli on Thursday attracted the highest bids of Rs 12 lakh each by Gurgaon Grand Slammers and Chennai Smashers, respectively, in the Tennis Premier League (TPL) auction on Thursday. The seventh edition of the TPL will be played in Ahmedabad from December 9–14. The Rohan Bopanna-led SG Pipers Bengaluru roped in star female player Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, who is in top form having recently won the Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1 for India. “We are happy with the team we have built this season, with Rohan Bopanna, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, and Ramkumar Ramanathan. We have assembled a squad that represents the highest standards of tennis, where each player brings something unique to the team,” said Mahesh Bhupathi, CEO of S Gupta Sports, which owns the SG Pipers team.
While Bengaluru got Bhamidipaty for Rs 8.60 lakh, they also added the 30-year-old Ramkumar Ramanathan for Rs 7.20 lakh.
The defending champions Hyderabad Strikers, led by Arthur Rinderknech, secured France’s Carole Monnet for Rs 10.60 lakh while bringing back Vishnu Vardhan for Rs 6 lakh.
Led by marquee player Tomas Martin Etcheverry, the GS Delhi Aces added Belgium’s Sofia Costoulas for Rs 11 lakh as well as the doubles specialist Jeevan Neduncheziyan for Rs 6 lakh.
Apart from bringing Balaji on board for the highest permissible bid, the Gurgaon Grand Slammers also added Nuria Parrizas Diaz, an experienced singles player who had a career-high ranking of 45 in 2022, for Rs 6 lakh.
With Czech star Dalibor Svrcina as their marquee player, Chennai Smashers secured Irina Bara for Rs 6 lakh.
Yash Mumbai Eagles, anchored by Bosnia’s Damir Dzhumhur, acquired Mariam Bolkvadze and Niki Poonacha for Rs 6 lakh each.
Alexandre Muller will be Gujarat Panthers’ marquee player as the franchise also added Nuria Brancaccio for Rs 10 lakh and Anirudh Chandrasekhar for Rs 7 lakh.
With the highest-ranked player, Luciano Darderi, in their side, Rajasthan Rangers added Anastasia Gasanova for Rs 6 lakh at base price and Dhakshineswar Suresh for Rs 7.50 lakh.
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