Shikha Uberoi Awarded the first wild card entry for the Bangalore Open

The organizers of Bangalore Open, the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) today announced that the Indian upcoming star Shikha Uberoi has been awarded the 1st of the 3 wild card entries for the Bangalore Open 2008, the biggest tennis extravaganza in South & South East Asia.

Bangalore, 28th February, 2008: The organizers of Bangalore Open, the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) today announced that the Indian upcoming star Shikha Uberoi has been awarded the 1st of the 3 wild card entries for the Bangalore Open 2008, the biggest tennis extravaganza in South & South East Asia. Shikha is currently ranked 824 in the world

Shikha Uberoi is an Indo American tennis player playing for India , though an American citizen. She has been ranked as high as 122nd in the world in singles (August 29, 2005).

Born on April 5, 1983 to parents Mahesh and Madhu, Shikha Uberoi began playing tennis at the age of six. She spent time working on the game as a youth at Saddlebrook Resort and also at Bollettieri and Hopman Academies. Turning pro in August 2003, she made her Grand Slam debut as world No.275 qualifier at US Open 2004. Though she has not won any WTA event till date, Shikha has three ITF Women's Circuit singles titles to her name. Teaming up with sister Neha Uberoi, she reached the finals of the WTA Tour Sunfeast Open at Kolkata in September 2005 where the sisters lost to Anastasia Myskina and Elena Likhovtseva.

"I'm very much thrilled and excited about playing at the Bangalore. I am really thankful to the organizer to have given me this opportunity. It is great to be part of India's first Tier II tennis extravaganza at Bangalore. It surely means a lot to me. I look forward to playing some tough tennis at the tournament", said an elated Shikha Oberoi.

We are delighted that Shikha has got the first wild card entry. She is an extremely talented and hard working player. Also, she is the first Indian player in the draw. She has an excellent opportunity to play with some of the top players of the world. We wish her all the best and look forward to see her playing some exciting tennis", said Mr. Sunder Raju, Tournament Director and Hon. Secretary of KSLTA.

ABOUT BANGALORE OPEN

The Bangalore Open will be held from 3 - 9 Mar '08 at the KSLTA Signature Kingfisher Stadium, Cubbon Park in Bangalore. The event has total prize money of US $600,000 and the winner would take home US $95,500 & 300 WTA points. The Bangalore Open was a Tier III event with prize money of $175,000 and has been upgraded to a Tier II event for the 2008 season. It is the third straight year a WTA Tour event is being organised by KSLTA.

About KSLTA

KSLTA is the Governing body of Tennis in Karnataka and is in the forefront in the country for Tennis Development. In recognition of KSLTA's Tennis development program, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) awarded the Best State Tennis Association to it during 2004. The KSLTA Tennis Stadium was originally created in 1976 to stage the First Davis Cup in Bangalore. The entire stadium was renovated fully to International Standards during October 2000 for conducting the ATP World Doubles Championship 2000 for the first time in South Asia. In appreciation of the organization, ATP allotted the Second ATP World Doubles Challenge Cup, which was held in Jan 2002.

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