Wild card entries into the 2025 Bengaluru Open singles main draw have been granted to veteran campaigners Ramkumar Ramanathan and SD Prajwal Dev, as well as India’s 17-year-old prodigy Manas Dhamne.
Manas Dhamne, a 17-year-old Indian prodigy, and veteran players Ramkumar Ramanathan and SD Prajwal Dev have been granted wild card entries into the 2025 Bengaluru Open singles main draw. The ATP Challenger 125 event is returning for its exciting ninth edition from February 24 to March 2 at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) courts in Cubbon Park. As per a press release from KSLTA, Kriish Tyagi and Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha will compete as wild cards in the qualifying rounds in an attempt to earn a place in the main draw.After two years of competition, Dhamne, one of India’s most promising young prospects, just won his first major championship at the M15 Monastir in Tunisia. By becoming the youngest player to win a first-round match at the junior Australian Open and the youngest to compete in a main-draw ATP Tour tournament in 2023, the adolescent has already made history.
Meanwhile, Prajwal Dev and Ramanathan add decades of experience to the competition. With three doubles victories added to his growing trophy cabinet over the years, Ramanathan, a staple in India’s Davis Cup team, has been competing since 2009 and is a favorite at the Bengaluru Open.In contrast, Prajwal Dev first achieved his ATP ranking in 2015 and has since contested in both singles and doubles, taking home multiple ITF doubles trophies, including four in 2024, and one ATP Challenger doubles title.
On the occasion, Tournament Director Sunil Yajman made the following statement: “This year is no exception to the Bengaluru Open’s importance in providing Indian players with a stage on which to compete at a high level. For Indian tennis, Manas Dhamne’s quick development is thrilling, and Ramkumar and Prajwal Dev contribute invaluable expertise. Our goal is to see how well each of our wild card competitors does in the competition.In the meanwhile, 16 pairs will compete in the Bengaluru Open doubles tournament, divided into 10 direct entry, 4 on-site acceptances, and 2 wild cards. Blake Bayldon and Matthew Christopher Romios make up the second-highest-ranked team in the main draw, after Anirudh Chandrasekar of India and Ray Ho of Chinese Taipei as the top-seeded pair. Niki Poonacha and Courtney John Lock, who just made it to the Delhi Open final, are also anticipated to compete fiercely.The Bengaluru Open’s organising secretary and Hon. Secretary of the KSLTA, Maheshwar Rao IAS, stated: “This tournament carries on the tradition of doubles, which has been a strength for Indian tennis. With top-ranked pairings and successful champions in the field, we anticipate another exciting week of doubles competition at the Bengaluru Open.”
Among other noteworthy doubles entries are former World No. 17 Bernard Tomic and Nicolas Mejia of Colombia, while top singles seed Vit Kopriva will play doubles with Marek Gengel. Siddhant Banthia and Parikshit Somani of India are also direct entries, enhancing domestic representation.Four all-Indian winning pairs have emerged from the Bengaluru Open since its inception in 2015, while at least one Indian player has won the championship in six of the previous eight events. Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni of India are the current Bengaluru Open doubles champions. With three victories apiece, two of which they shared in 2022 and 2024, they are also the players with the most wins in the event’s history.
