WTA 250 Chennai Open set to be shifted to Manila from 2027
India will no longer be able to host a WTA 250 event from next year
Indian tennis has lost its biggest home event. The 2026 Chennai Open will be the last edition held in the city, and the WTA 250 tournament moves to Manila, Philippines, from the 2027 season. The Chennai Open was the highest-level WTA event hosted in India.
With no ATP 250 on the calendar either, India will have no tour-level 250 tournament at all. The timing makes the blow worse as Indian tennis is already in a slump. At the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, India returned without a single tennis medal for the first time since 1986.
Sumit Nagal, the last medal hope, was beaten by China’s Yibing Wu in straight sets in the men’s singles quarter-finals. Both men’s doubles pairs also went out in the last eight, and India had no women’s singles entry. For a country that had won a tennis medal at every Asian Games from 1990 to 2022, the result was a shock.
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Losing the Chennai Open takes away one of the rare chances Indian fans and players had to see top tennis at home. Wildcards and home-crowd experience help young players grow and give them exposure to high-quality tennis, and both opportunities will now be harder to come by.
Manila’s rise has a clear reason. World No. 18 Alexandra Eala has become a major name in the sport. She has beaten stars like Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, made deep runs at several tournaments, and won the Washington Open this year.
Fans from the Philippines fill stadiums around the world just to watch her, and she is now one of the most-followed players on tour. The WTA has decided to follow the trend by using Eala to further popularise the sport, which will no doubt also boost them monetarily.
For India, this will be a tough pill to swallow given all the hard work put in by Vijay Amritraj and others in ensuring the smooth conduction of the Chennai Open. The country needs better results and more investment, or tennis will keep losing ground at home.
Is the Chennai Open leaving India?
Yes. The 2026 edition will be the last held in Chennai, and the WTA 250 tournament moves to Manila, Philippines, from the 2027 season. It was the highest-level WTA event hosted in India.
Will India host any tour-level 250 tournament after the Chennai Open moves?
No. With no ATP 250 on the calendar either, India will have no tour-level 250 tournament at all.
Who knocked Sumit Nagal out of the Asian Games 2026 men’s singles?
China’s Yibing Wu beat Sumit Nagal in straight sets in the quarter-finals. Both Indian men’s doubles pairs also went out in the last eight.
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