SG Sports led by APL Apollo, has acquired ‘Bengaluru Spartans’, one of the eight teams that will be participating in the Tennis Premier League- TPL 2023. The ownership of the team resides with SG Sports Ventures now, it has been renamed Bengaluru SG Mavericks with former tennis player Sania Mirza as its brand ambassador. A new logo of the team has also been launched. Bengaluru SG Mavericks is a team with both men and women tennis players who will participate in the sporting event in December, in different formats like Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Mixed Doubles, and Men’s Doubles.
APL Apollo is a leading structural steel tube brand with over 55% share in the domestic market. Its strategic arm, SG Sports, is committed to impacting the sporting industry. The event is being organised under the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA). Many celebrities have been associated with the event, including Sonu Sood, Arjun Kapoor, Malaika Arora, Rakul Preet Singh, Leander Paes, and Sonali Bendre. Sania Mirza has been with the team for the last three years and this would be her fourth year supporting Bengaluru.
“This is a great opportunity for our company to associate with the spirit of sports that teaches us the most valuable lessons in life. It is an amazing start with this league sport that has been gaining increasingly popular in India. It will be great to witness the new talent rub shoulders with some of the most versatile tennis players in the world. Overall, it is a great moment to associate the name of the brand with a sport that is popular worldwide,” Sanjay Gupta, CMD, APL Apollo Tubes, said.
The participating teams in TPL 2023 include the Bengal Wizards, Mumbai Leon Army, Punjab Tigers, Pune Jaguars, Bengaluru Spartans, Delhi Binny’s Brigade, Hyderabad Strikers, and Gujarat Panthers.
“As a former tennis player and woman, I feel that India has a lot of potential in terms of sports and tennis has seen more and more interest from our young generation recently. Still, there are miles to go before we shine on the world stage in this sport and Tennis Premier League provides a brilliant opportunity for young and upcoming players to prove their mettle on the court. SG Sports is doing a great job in supporting such budding players and giving them an ideal platform where they can compete with top players and learn from their skills,” Sania Mirza, brand ambassador, Bengaluru SG Mavericks, said.
TPL has eight franchises that will play a total of five matches to qualify for the semi-final. Each match between two franchises will have a total of four games (Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Mixed Doubles and Men’s Doubles). Each match will be worth 20 points. Each team will play a total of 400 points (80 points x five matches) at the league stage. The top 4 teams in the points table will qualify for the semi-finals.