Just over 12 months ago, India sent a women's team to participate in the ITF Masters World Team Championships (30-35-40-45-50) for the first time. 

It was just one indication of the growing popularity of Masters tennis in India as well as the importance of the ITF World Tennis Masters Tour to female players from the nation.

They followed suit again at the 2023 edition of the World Team Championships last month in Antalya, where Sonal Vohra, the captain of their W45+ team, described the excitement surrounding Masters tennis in India.

"The buzz in India is growing," she said. "There are more and more women participating in local ITF tournaments. The opportunity to represent India on the world stage is a huge motivation."

Vohra's optimism is supported by the significant upturn in the number of female players from her nation competing in ITF Masters events.

In 2019, only seven female players from India played in at least one ITF Masters tournament. By contrast, in 2022, 54 female players from India competed in at least one event.

Indeed, with 36 Indian women having already played in at least one tournament just four months in to 2023, participation numbers are on a firm upward trajectory. 

"The buzz in India is growing - there are more and more women participating in local ITF tournaments"

This growth has been facilitated predominantly by a surge in the number of ITF Masters tournaments hosted in India in recent years, which has given players local opportunities to compete and ensured that cost and time commitments are minimal.

Although the history of Masters tennis in India stretches back to 2001, there has been just a handful of tournaments in India each year over the last two decades. As recently as 2019, there were just four tournaments in India.

This began to change in 2021, when 14 tournaments were held, rising to a record 24 in 2022. 

Vohra praised the efforts of her national association, the All India Tennis Association, in promoting Masters tennis to Indian women.

"Our tennis federation has recognised the potential for Masters tennis in India," she said. "It is this vision and support which will propel Indian women forward in tennis."

Although the W45+ India team may have finished last at the World Championships, Vohra described her experience as "rewarding and inspiring".

"We are paving the way for female players from India to follow in our footsteps"

She hopes that the exploits of her team will motivate more women from India to participate in future World Championships.

"My team is trailblazing," she said. "We are paving the way for female players from India to follow in our footsteps."

The ITF Masters' strategic plan for 2023 and beyond is to increase tournaments and player participation in under-represented regions such as Asia.

In India, for one, Masters tennis might just have seen lift off.