From the beginning of 2017 till January 2022, the country had hosted 95 Challengers. In the process, the number of players in the top-100 doubled from four to eight. Crucially, these weren’t veterans. Out of the eight in the top-100, three were 25 or under. They have kind of shown that the model is sustainable. In 2024, there are four Italians in the top-100 who are 22 or below.

A fifth, Luca Nardi, will join them if he manages to beat Sumit in the final on Sunday.But it’s not like Indian players will emulate the Italian system overnight. It will take time, money, patience and trial and error.

“It’s fantastic for the players,” says Nandan Bal, chairman of the All India Tennis Association’s (AITA) selection committee. “Four Challengers back-to-back gives the players an opportunity to pick up points.” Considering they don’t need to travel, it results in significant savings. They can also expect to be given wild-cards; a luxury they won’t normally get when they travel overseas.

Here’s another example. India is hosting four Challengers, which means at least eight wild-cards to players from the country (plus more at the qualifying level). The little things go a long way. Here’s Nagal. “It’s a very nice opportunity (for Indian players),” he had said after his quarterfinal on Friday. “I have always spoken about the need of more tournaments in India. It’s a great thing. If you have few Futures (ITF World Tour; the lowest rung on the professional circuit) and Challengers throughout the year, it will really help tennis.”

Easier said than done. It’s not that state associations (or the AITA) don’t want to host international level events. The cost factor means not many can afford it. “You are talking about Rs 50 lakh plus more if there’s hospitality as part of the package’, for an ATP 50 event (50 ranking points for the winner),” Bal says.