New Delhi, Nov 15 : The Tennis Premier League (TPL) Race to Gold Masters tournament kicked off its first leg at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) on Saturday. Beginning with their North Zone in Delhi, the tournament will be played across three cities, including Gujarat (November 2 and 23) and Mumbai (November 29 and 30), in association with the respective state tennis associations.

An initiative by TPL, this tournament provides a platform for emerging tennis talent, allowing them to showcase their skills using TPLâ??s unique and exciting 25-point format. The aim is to unearth India's tennis talent pool and help build a robust domestic ecosystem for the sport.

The top-ranked players of each Race to Gold Masters Zone across U10 Boys & Girls, U12 Boys & Girls, U14 Boys & Girls, and Menâ??s & Womenâ??s Open categories will receive scholarships worth â?¹75,000. To celebrate their achievements, the winners will be felicitated live on television during the upcoming seventh season of the Tennis Premier League, set to be held in Ahmedabad from December 9 to 14.

The winners will also get the opportunity to interact with Indian tennis legends Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna and play alongside some of the top players in TPL Season 7, including Luciano Darderi, Arthur Rinderknech, Corentin Moutet, Alexandre Muller, Sahaja Yamalapalli, and Shrivalli Bhamidipaty.

Sharing his thoughts on the initiative, Kunal Thakkur, Co-Founder, Tennis Premier League, said, "The Tennis Premier League (TPL) believes that the league cannot grow unless the sport of tennis grows in India, and we are doing whatever we can to support that. The 'Race to Gold' initiative is directly inspired by India's aim to host the 2036 Olympics in Ahmedabad. We felt this was the right time to start an initiative to help produce a player who can win an Olympic medal in tennis, just as Leander Paes won the bronze."

Mrunal Jain, Co-Founder, Tennis Premier League, added, "If we support players who are U10, U12, and U14 now, they will be peaking in the next 10 to 11 years, just in time for the Olympics. This initiative allows young talent to be felicitated by tennis legends, see top-50 world players live in action, and even learn from them directly on the court, which is essential for building our domestic ecosystem."

The seventh season of the Tennis Premier League is set to be held in Ahmedabad from December 9 to 14 at the Gujarat University Tennis Stadium.

/IANS