Indian Tennis Players Association (ITPA) formed ITPA to function as a platform to address players’ concerns February 11, 2013, Chennai: We are pleased to announce the formation of an Indian tennis players’ collective – The Indian Tennis Players Association (ITPA). The ITPA will comprise of and has opened its membership to all current and former international and national tennis players. It will primarily function as a forum and platform to represent the professional interests of its members and, thereby, improve the standard of tennis in the country. A Not-for-Profit association, the ITPA is being constituted as a Section 25 Company and is built on the premise that the existing structure of tennis administration in the country does not represent or adequately address contemporary issues faced by players in the country. The players constituting the ITPA membership strongly believe in the principles of self-governance and consultative dialogue in arriving at key decisions impacting professional tennis in the country. Membership to the ITPA, through a registration process, is open to all former and current players, both men and women, who are Indian citizens and have participated in International, National or State-level tournaments. All members will have equal voting rights and will participate in a democratic process to elect a General Body that will be responsible for the operations of the ITPA. Mr. Jaidip Mukerjea, will act as interim President in the ITPA’s formative period until the General Council and the General Body of the ITPA formally meet. The founding member players of the ITPA believe that Mr. Mukerjea will bring a balanced and objective view to the running of the organization given his past accomplishments as a Davis Cup Player and Captain as well as a respected statesman. Modeled around the functioning of the ATP, that encourages and allows players to make decisions for the benefit of the sport, the ITPA will focus on the overall development of the sport from the players’ perspective. The ITPA will also focus energies on building programs that will address the welfare of former players and mentor and support current players, while nurturing future talent. Commenting on the formation of the ITPA, Somdev Devvarman said, “We believe that the ITPA will provide the players a voice that will stand united in our concerns and suggestions for the improvement of the sport in the country.” Vice President of the AITA, Karti P Chidambaram opined “Tennis in India needs a players’ collective. The ITPA is the right forum for all the players to come together. Initially, the ITPA will be funded by membership fees. Eventually, we will seek support from Corporates and Private Individuals to fund our activities.” The founding members of the ITPA include Jaidip Mukerjea, Mahesh Bhupathi, Karti P Chidambaram, Enrico Piperno, Manisha Malhotra, Prahalad Srinath, Somdev Devvarman, Rohan Bopanna, Aditya Sachdeva and Mustafa Ghouse. The ITPA is set to see over a hundred players enroll for membership in the next few weeks. The players constituting the ITPA are confident that the ITPA will be a platform for collaborative dialogue and development that will benefit a sport they all love.

For Immediate Release Contact: Nayantara Pani   Email: nayantara@playright.in Mobile: +91 97393 63529 www.playright.in