*Pranay Sharma, Ira Chaudhari claim first prize in the U14 Boys and U12 Girls category respectively at the TPL Race to Gold Masters tournament in Delhi

Delhi: The Tennis Premier League (TPL) is hosting the Race to Gold Masters tournament, an initiative designed to identify and nurture India's brightest upcoming tennis talents, starting this weekend. The tournament will take place in three cities - Gujarat, Delhi and Mumbai. The Gujarat and Delhi leg of the tournament kicked off on 16th November, and will be played over a two-day period.

The capital city hosted the tournament at the DLTA Tennis Centre. Present at the event were Kunal Thakkur, the co-founder of the Tennis Premier League, Zeeshan Ali, a former Indian Tennis player and coach, Col Chauhan, the director of Delhi Lawn Tennis Association and Aditya Khanna, strategic partner at the Tennis Premier League.

The tournament format has eight different categories, with all matches played in a round robin format for 25 points. On November 16th, the Under 14 Boys, Under 14 Girls, Under 12 Boys and Under 12 Girls took centre stage.

Pranay Sharma emerged as the winner in the Under 14 Boys category, getting the better of Bhavik Mittal in the finals, clinching a closely contested game with a scoreline of 13-12. The Under 14 Girls category witnessed another nail-biting finale that saw Suhana Olwan prevailing against Sayna Hooda with the scoreline at 13-12.

Aariv Gupta won the Under 12 Boys category, defeating Rabeeb AliKhan in the final in another hard-fought battle that ended 13-12. In the Under 12 Girls category, Ira Chaudhari dominated proceedings and triumphed against Kiah Saini in the finals, winning the game with the score of 14-11.

On November 17th, there will be an Open Men’s and Open Women’s category, followed by the Under 10 Boys and Under 10 Girls. The eight winners in their respective categories in the tournament will be awarded scholarships worth ₹75,000 each, aimed at furthering their journey in professional tennis. These deserving young athletes will also be felicitated live on Jio Cinema during the league.