Mumbai, Oct 9 (IANS) Indian tennis icon and Gurgaon Grand Slammers brand ambassador Sania Mirza expressed her excitement ahead of the upcoming edition of the Tennis Premier League (TPL), emphasising the league’s growing stature and its role in nurturing future champions in Indian tennis.

Gurgaon Grand Slammers, led by Corentin Moutet (World No. 38), added Nuria Parrizas Diaz, an experienced singles player who has had a career high ranking of 45 in 2022, for Rs 6 lakh. The highlight of their auction day was the acquisition of Sriram Balaji (World No. 78 in doubles) for Rs 12 lakh, the highest permissible bid, making him the joint-costliest player of the auction.

Sania shared her enthusiasm about being associated with a new team this season and her confidence in the squad’s strength.

“We are very excited. I am part of a new team. The goal is to try to win. We already have an icon player with us who’s very, very good and who’s an international player who’s top 40 in the world. So we’re really looking forward to the option,” the six-time Grand Slam winner told IANS on Thursday.

A trailblazer in Indian women’s tennis, Sania has been associated with the TPL for the last few years and acknowledged the significant role the league has played in promoting the sport at the grassroots level.

“Yeah, the more champions you watch, the more champions you create. The more belief system you create and this is a tournament that has been going on for 7 years. It’s not a joke to have an international tournament, growing to the extent that this has grown from where it started in 2018,” she added.

The TPL, launched in 2018, has seen rapid growth and has emerged as a platform for Indian tennis players to gain exposure alongside international talent. Sania praised the league’s impact and reiterated her pride in being a part of it.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of it for the last few years. I do feel that it’s tournaments like this, leagues like this that really create a belief system within the system that we have to be able to create our own very champions as well.”

–IANS

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