Hyderabad: Minister of Information Technology for Telangana State and President of the Telangana State Tennis Association, K T Rama Rao on Thursday declared that Hyderabad will host the third leg as well as the finals of the third season of the Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League (IPTL). In an announcement that delighted tennis fans in the country, Mr. Mahesh Bhupathi, founder and promoter of the Coca-Cola IPTL added that all 4 IPTL teams would be playing at the Gachibowli stadium on the 9th and 10th of December 2016, followed by the IPTL finals on the 11th.

With the four city-based IPTL teams boasting of the best male and female tennis players in the World, tennis aficionados across the south of India will have a rare opportunity to watch live, International Tennis idols and national heroes, amongst a line-up of 30 of the best international tennis players currently and from the history books, as they battle it out for the coveted IPTL trophy and the prize money that is on offer.

Announcing the grand tennis spectacle scheduled for Hyderabad, Mr. K. T Rama Rao shared, "It is an absolute honour for the Telangana State Tennis Association to be hosting a tournament of such international prestige in the city. We have always worked towards creating the best access to the sport, for budding players and Tennis fans in the city and strongly believe that the experience on the IPTL will delight the varied demography of Tennis enthusiasts we have across the state. The Telangana State will endeavor to be the warmest hosts to players and fans alike."

Complementing the comments of Mr. K T Rama Rao, Siddhesh Sharma, Co-Owner of the IPTL India franchise, the Indian Aces, shared, "We are excited to be moving home base, from Delhi to Hyderabad, to connect with a new demography of the Indian Tennis enthusiast. After two satisfying years in Delhi, the opportunity to call another city "home of the Indian Aces" is both exhilarating and exciting. We look forward to having the city come out in large numbers to support our very own Indian Ace, home-girl Sania Mirza amongst a spectacular line-up of international tennis stars. The Gachibowli stadium provides the perfect venue for a tennis event of such prestigious international standing."

"Tennis is a much loved sport in South India and bringing the best players from the world to a variety of venues and regions across Asia has always been IPTL's core focus. We are excited that the IPTL finals will be in sports loving Hyderabad, and are deeply grateful for the support extended by the Telangana government to make this possible," said IPTL founder and promoter Mahesh Bhupathi. "This season required us to make some difficult choices and we have worked hard to bring Season 2016 to life across three host cities. The first two legs will be in Tokyo and Singapore before we culminate in Hyderabad. We are deeply grateful to our sponsors, partners, broadcasters and, in particular, the participating players for their deep belief in the potential the IPTL holds to deliver exceptional value to all stakeholders. This has significantly strengthened the IPTL proposition as well as our resolve to continue to grow this property for the benefit of this sport that I Iove," shared an emotional Bhupathi.

With two weeks to go, for Telangana to play hosts to this Tennis extravaganza, tickets will be available on kyazoonga.com from the 25th of November 2016 with the price of a three-day pass starting at Rs. 15,000/-

The third season of the IPTL will commence in Tokyo (Dec 2-4) onward to Singapore (Dec 6-8), followed by Hyderabad (Dec 9 - 11). The season will witness a total of 17 matches, with each of the four teams playing eight matches in a customized round robin format.

Season 2016 will be broadcast live across the world and can also be followed on IPTLworld.com, on the Official IPTL Mobile Apps and on the IPTL's Official Social Media Channels.

Team rosters for the third season of the Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League:

Japan Warriors: Kei Nishikori, Fernando Verdasco, Kurumi Nara, Jelena Jankovic, Fernando Gonzalez, Marat Safin and Jean-Julien Rojer;

UAE Royals: Tomas Berdych, Pablo Cuevas, Ana Ivanovic, Martina Hingis, Goran Ivanisevic, Thomas Johansson and Daniel Nestor;

OUE Singapore Slammers: Serena Williams, Nick Kyrgios, Marcos Baghdatis, Kiki Bertens, Carlos Moya, Rainer Schuettler and Marcelo Melo.

Indian Aces: Feliciano Lopez, Ivan Dodig, Eugenie Bouchard, Thomas Enqvist, Mark Philippoussis , Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna;