The Maharashtra Open, last held in 2023, was India’s only ATP Tour 250 event and South Asia’s premier tennis tournament.

Founded in 1996 in New Delhi, the tournament moved to Chennai before finding its final home in Pune’s Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Complex in 2018.

The last edition was held in 2023. Tallon Griekspoor won the singles title while the pairing of Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen won doubles.

History

The Maharashtra Open began in 1996 in New Delhi before moving to Chennai.

The tournament underwent several name changes due to sponsorship: starting as the McDowell Open (1996), becoming the Gold Flake Open (1997-2001), Tata Open (2002-2004), Chennai Open (2005-2009), and Aircel Chennai Open (2010-2017).

In 2018, the tournament relocated to Pune’s Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Complex and was renamed the Tata Open Maharashtra.

Throughout its 27 editions, the tournament evolved from an ATP World Series event to an ATP International Series, and finally to an ATP Tour 250 event in 2009.

Notable Players

Stan Wawrinka was the best player in the tournament’s history, winning four times in a row from 2014 to 2016. Carlos Moyá won twice back-to-back in 2004 and 2005, while Marin Čilić took home the title in 2009 and 2010.

Indian players did very well in doubles matches. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi won five times together, showing how strong they were as a team. Later, Rohan Bopanna won three times with different partners in 2017, 2019, and 2022.

The tournament saw many famous winners over the years. Thomas Enqvist won the first event in 1996. Patrick Rafter won in 1998. In recent years, Roberto Bautista Agut won the last Chennai event in 2017, and Gilles Simon won when the tournament first moved to Pune in 2018.