DISILLUSIONED players declined national duty and their governing body grappled with infighting as Indian tennis struggled to stay afloat in a largely disappointing 2024.

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) and the players being at loggerheads was not a new development. But the striking part was the lack of transparency in decision-making and nearly non-existent effort to address the concerns of the players.

The result was that the game plunged to new depths.

The AITA president Anil Jain, who was accused of using his position for personal gain, avoided facing a no-confidence motion from the state associations only after he agreed to step aside.

Towards the end of a forgettable year, a new team of administrators won the elections, promising to change Indian tennis, but a legal challenge filed by two former players did not allow the reform process to begin.

There were accusations that the elections were held in violation of the sports code. The matter will not be heard before March 25, putting on hold the much needed revamp of the system.

In a nutshell, everything that could have gone wrong for Indian tennis in 2024, did go wrong. Yuki Bhambri refused to play for India in a Davis Cup tie against Sweden in September without offering any reason for his decision Read More…