Pune: Davis Cuppers Purav Raja and Somdev Devvarman on Saturday launched an online campaign calling for a “stronger, fairer and player-oriented Indian tennis system”.“THIS IS WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING FOR #PlayersAITA,” wrote Purav, a two-time ATP Tour doubles titleist, suffixing his statement of intent with an Indian flag and an emoji of bulging biceps.“How can I help,” chimed in Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, another doubles winner on the men’s tour.Headlined “Our Vision for the Players AITA”, the graphic image posted by Raja spelt out a “10-Point Plan” that sought to address some of the long-standing issues plaguing the present system.Besides the oft-repeated demands like age cap, eligibility criterion and term limits for office-bearers, Purav and Somdev called for financial transparency, yearly independent audits, athletes commission voices, pathway tennis centres, professional captains and coaches for Indian teams, players’ pension system and a strong domestic tournament structure.The post sought public disclosure of funds of the national federation, state associations and the AITA Trust, appointment of coaches with the approval of the athletes’ commission, and stringent rules governing the use of official position for personal or family gains.The players ended their vision with a note under the slogan ‘One Tennis, One Voice’.“It is time to build a new future for the next generation. IT’S TIME FOR THE PLAYERS AITA,” they wrote in their concluding remarks.It maybe noted Purav and Somdev had filed a writ petition in 2024 in the Delhi High Court, calling for the elections of the national federation AITA to be declared invalid, citing breaches of then national sports code.The Court in April this year, through an interim order, allowed the newly elected office-bearers to take charge in interim capacity and work under an Administrator, Justice (Retired) Gita Mittal.The interim order mandated Mittal to amend AITA’s constitution to align it with the National Sports Governance Act of 2025 and hold fresh elections as per the new norms before September 30.While the amendments were ratified by the AITA through an Extraordinary General Meeting on July 25, the federation has subsequently began the next step of preparing the roster of Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit, from which four players, two men and women each, are to be elected by the players to the AITA General Body.
