The UAE Royals have received a major boost in their bid to win the inaugural International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) by adding Canadian world No8 Eugenie Bouchard to their roster, founder Mahesh Bhupathi has confirmed.
Bouchard, who is the only WTA player to make the semi-finals of all three grand slams this season, is enjoying a meteoric rise in the world of tennis, and has replaced former world No1 Martina Hingis in the UAE team.
The 20-year-old Montreal native joins an increasingly impressive UAE Royals squad that also includes world No1 Novak Djokovic, ex-world No1 Caroline Wozniacki, Wimbledon legend Goran Ivanisevic, French ace Richard Gasquet, Serbian pair Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic, and Arab No1 Malek Jaziri.
"The Royals got very lucky because the discussion on Bouchard started after she had a good run at the French Open and by the time we signed her she was in the final of Wimbledon," Indian doubles sensation Bhupathi told Sport360 at the Oberoi Hotel in Dubai on Friday.
"She’s made amazing strides this year; she’s No8 in the world and maybe she can win the US Open, you never know. All said and done, there’s good firepower on the team."
The UAE Royals are one of four franchises kicking off the first season of the IPTL.
The Manila Mavericks, headlined by two-time major champion Andy Murray and Russian superstar Maria Sharapova, will host the first leg of the league from November 28-30 at the Philippines’ most iconic sports venue, the Smart Araneta Coliseum – which featured the famous 1975 Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier bout dubbed "Thrilla in Manila".
The Singapore Slammers, featuring American legends Andre Agassi and Serena Williams, will host the second leg from December 2-4 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, while the Indian Aces, led by Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras, will have their home ties from December 6-8 at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in Delhi.
The UAE Royals will round off the competition when they host their rivals at Dubai’s Hamdan Sports Complex from December 11-13. Bhupathi revealed that the TV rights for the MENA region have been sold to Abu Dhabi TV.
The weather conditions in the UAE in December are perfect for outdoor tennis but Bhupathi explained how all IPTL action will be taking place indoors across the four cities.
"The concept for us with the sports and entertainment aspect of it, with the lights and the sound and the music and the entertainment… we wanted to have it indoors," said the 40-year-old.
"So the venues in all four countries are indoors. Also it takes away the minor chance of rain, which will disrupt schedules because we have live TV going to hundreds of countries.
"The Hamdan Sports Complex is truly one of the most amazing stadiums I’ve seen. From the facilities to the layout, how they literally can work a swimming pool into a multi-faceted playing arena."
All teams can still add to their rosters as long as they don’t exceed 10 players per squad.
Sharapova had been the latest addition to the IPTL after they announced the Bangkok franchise had moved to Manila for safety reasons. Gasquet and Bouchard are also two late sign-ups and they join a UAE team that includes three Serbs.
Asked whether forming a Serbia-dominant squad was intentional or a coincidence, Bhupathi said: "I don’t know. Every time I play at the Dubai Open, and Novak is playing, there’s a huge Serbian population that comes and supports him so hopefully they’ll come out and support the UAE team when they play."
Tickets for the IPTL went on sale last month but were pulled back temporarily as organisers finalised their marketing strategies.
"We’re coming up with our marketing plan which will start probably in the second week of September. And as soon as we get the marketing going virally on digital and outdoor we want to then start selling tickets. We’re discussing with a couple of more partners than just TicketMaster also. By September 10th the tickets will go back on sale," assured Bhupathi.
The IPTL is a $1million team tennis competition that was inspired by cricket’s IPL.
