Manila to host International Premier Tennis League opening leg

From L-R: PSC Commissioner Salvador Andrada, IPTL COO Eric M. Gottschalk, PSC Chairman Ricardo Garcia, Philippine Tennis Association President Edwin L. Olivarez, IPTL founder and Indian tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi, and Philippine Tennis Association VP Randy Villanueva

The newest tennis spectacle will be making its way to Manila later this year.

The International Premier Tennis League on Thursday officially announced the participation of the Manila Mavericks in a press conference at the EDSA Shangri-La Garden Ballroom.

To be played at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum on November 28-30, the Manila Mavericks will be composed of current world number 10 Andy Murray and world number 15 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 5th ranked doubles player Daniel Nestor, tennis legend Carlos Moya and Filipino doubles specialist Treat Huey.

The ladies contingent is composed of 6th-ranked Maria Sharapova and 47th-ranked Kirsten Flipkens.

Organizers, led by IPTL COO Eric Gottschalk assured fans that Sharapova, Murray and top-ranked Serena Williams (representing Singapore Slammers) will be playing in the Manila leg. He also adds that they are here to promote the sport in Asia, and to bring world-class tennis to Filipinos.

Other than Singapore, the other teams that will participate in the initial season are Dubai (as the UAE Royals) and Delhi (as the Indian Aces), with their legs scheduled to take place in December.

The Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Tennis Assocation were also present at the press conference, with both sides happy with the event.

PSC President Richie Garcia congratulated the IPTL and added that The Big Dome would be the ideal venue to host the opening leg, given its 15,000 seating capacity and its pedigree of hosting major sporting events. He adds that Filipinos have a passion for sports and the IPTL, as a major international tennis competition, adds to their sporting portfolio which includes basketball, boxing and football.

PhilTA President Edwin Olivarez believes that having the IPTL and some of the world's best players, will encourage the development of the sport in the country, as it would encourage more players to take up the sport. The Paranaque mayor is also happy to see Huey's participation, as it allows local fans to finally see him live in action at a home event. The NSA, he adds, "happily extends its full support to the team owners and organizers."

To add, PhilTA VP Randy Villanueva says there will be local activities that will be undertaken to help with the promotion of the event, including an IPTL-style competition between the top colleges and universities.

Tickets for the event will be released in August, with TicketNet handling the distribution. Gottschalk adds that they are looking into making this accessible to as many fans as possible.


The IPTL is the brainchild of Mahesh Bhupathi, who was inspired with the innovations of the Indian Premier League in cricket and sees the tournament as capable of providing something different in tennis.

With the motto, "Break the Code," the IPTL tinkers with the conventional tennis rules, among them being a single-set no-add scoring, as well as the chance for players to call "time outs" during games, the concept of a "power point" and the use of "shoot outs" to determining winners. These innovations allow broadcasters to be able to schedule their telecasts accordingly.

The winner team in the competition will be rewarded with $1M.