Indian Aces

Indian Aces
SportTeam tennis
Founded2014 (2014)
Folded2016
LeagueInternational Premier Tennis League
Team history2014–2016
Based inNew Delhi, Delhi, India
StadiumIndira Gandhi Indoor Stadium
ColorsOrange, India Green    
OwnerSiddhesh Sharma
Head coachFabrice Santoro
Championships1 (2014)
BroadcastersSTAR Sports
Websiteindianaces.com

The Indian Aces were a tennis team based in New Delhi, India that competed in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL). It is one of the four charter franchises which had participated in the IPTL's inaugural 2014 season and are champions of the first edition.[1]

Team history

Founding of franchise

On 21 January 2014, IPTL announced that one of the charter franchises for the league inaugural 2014 season would be based in Mumbai.[2][3] On 19 June 2014, an IPTL press release[4] revealed to the general public that the owner of the Indian franchise was Micromax Informatics Ltd. which preferred to have the team play its home matches in New Delhi and not in Mumbai. A group called PVP Ventures led by entrepreneur Prasad V Potluri and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar had been the original franchise owners with a plan to play home matches in Mumbai.[5] While league managing director Mahesh Bhupathi said PVP Ventures had been replaced by Micromax, because PVP missed a payment deadline, PVP said it had withdrawn from the league due to lack of clarity over how IPTL's business model was progressing and disagreements over player contracts. PVP did not want the team to be solely responsible for payment of player salaries and favored the league being obligated as well.[6]

Inaugural draft

The Mumbai franchise (as the Aces were still known at the time) participated in the IPTL inaugural draft on 2 March 2014, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[7]

Player IPTL Category
Men
Switzerland Roger Federer Icon players
United States Pete Sampras Icon players
France Gaël Monfils Category B
France Fabrice Santoro Past champions
India Rohan Bopanna Doubles players
Women
Serbia Ana Ivanovic Category B
India Sania Mirza Category D

Team name

By May 2014, the team had been named the Indian Aces.[8]

Home venue

On 25 July 2014, the Aces announced that their home matches would be played at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, Delhi.[5]

First coach

On 27 October 2014, Fabrice Santoro was named the Aces' first coach.[9]

Inaugural season

Main article: 2014 Indian Aces season

On 28 November 2014, the Aces defeated the Singapore Slammers, 26–16, in the first match in IPTL history.[10] Rohan Bopanna served the first point of the league's inaugural match.[11]

They went on to be the champion of the 2014 International Premier Tennis League

Television coverage

On 16 October 2014, IPTL announced it had reached an agreement for the Indian television broadcasting rights with STAR Sports.[12]

Sponsorship

According to the Aces' website,[13] Micromax was the team's title sponsor in the 2014 edition.

Roster

As of 27 November 2016

See also

References

  1. ^ @iptl (13 December 2014). "4 countries. 24 matches. 1 team emerges triumphant! #BreakTheCode" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Mahesh Bhupathi Launched IPTL in Melbourne". Jagran Josh. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Mumbai One of the Franchises in Cash-Rich International Premier Tennis League". CNN IBN Live. 21 January 2014. Archived from the original on 21 January 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Get Together at Wimbledon with Announcement of Team Owners for India, Singapore, Manila and UAE" (PDF) (Press release). International Premier Tennis League. 19 June 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  5. ^ a b Tagore, Vijay (25 July 2014). "Djoko Will Play Nadal in Delhi on December 8". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  6. ^ Rao, K Shriniwas (19 July 2014). "IPTL in Doubt as PVP Opts Out of Mumbai Franchise, Bhupathi Defiant". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  7. ^ Briggs, Simon (2 March 2014). "Andy Murray Signs for Bangkok As Premier Tennis League Prepares for Take-Off". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  8. ^ "Bhupathi's IPTL Opener Moved to Manila from Bangkok". The Times of India. 10 May 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  9. ^ "International Premier Tennis League Announces Coaches for Inaugural Edition". Spicy Stars Mumbai. 28 October 2014. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  10. ^ "28th Nov'14: Match 1 Report: Micromax Indian Aces vs. DBS Singapore Slammers" (PDF). International Premier Tennis League. 28 November 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  11. ^ "Micromax Indian Aces vs. DBS Singapore Slammers". Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League. 28 November 2014. MNC Sports 1.
  12. ^ "STAR Sports Acquires Rights to Telecast International Premier Tennis League" (PDF) (Press release). International Premier Tennis League. 16 October 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  13. ^ "Indian Aces". Indian Aces. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.