Tabebuia Open 2021: Wheelchair tennis tournament to kick off from Saturday

Tabebuia Open 2021, the first official ranked tennis tournament for people with physical disability since COVID time, will kick off on Saturday. The tournament will see 38 players from across the country competing for the top position in singles and doubles events for men and women. The showpiece event will run for four days.

Indian Wheelchair Tennis Tour (IWTT) under the aegis of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) in association with the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (TSTA) is conducting the tournament.

Tabebuia Open is a wheelchair tennis tournament that brings together some of the best wheelchair tennis players in India. The tournament will be hosted while complying with the AITA and International Tennis Federation's (ITF) rules and regulations.

"IWTT is excited to extend a warm invitation to all citizens of Bengaluru and beyond to come witness the grit and determination of men and women with disabilities as they compete for top slots in singles and doubles events for men and women," an official statement from IWTT read.

"We request the visitors to strictly follow all the COVID guidelines in everyone's interest. Entry for spectators is free for all. The tournament will take place from the 27th Feb to 2nd March from 12noon to 4:00pm," it added.

The tournament is hosted at the completely accessible sports complex "D-Cube Sports Complex" at Yelahanka. As a tribute to the Trumpet Flower that blossoms at Cubbon Park in Winter the tournament is named after Tabebuia, one of the beautiful trumpet flowers.

The tournament's opening ceremony is on Saturday and will be graced by Mahantesh G K, founder of Samarthanam and president of Cricket Associations for Blind in India. The final matches will be live on YouTube on the channel "Indian Wheelchair Tennis Tour".

( With inputs from ANI )