2025 Tennis Premier League Auction – Top buys, most expensive players, all you need to know

The player auction for the seventh season of the Tennis Premier League (TPL) concluded in Mumbai on Thursday, setting the stage for what promises to be an exciting season of high-quality tennis action.

The event, supported by Clear Premium Water, garnered significant attention, not least for the presence of three titans of Indian tennis – Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, and Mahesh Bhupathi – who graced the auction proceedings alongside league co-founders Kunal Thakkur and Mrunal Jain.

The auction saw aggressive bidding and strategic team building, as all participating franchises meticulously pieced together their rosters in advance of the prestigious tournament. A total of seven players ranked inside the top-100 world rankings will feature in the upcoming edition of the Tennis Premier League.

The doubles players were in high demand in the auction market, with Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Bollipalli emerging as the joint most expensive buys at a price of Rs 12 lakh each – the highest pre-decided limit for a player.

While Balaji, who is ranked world No. 78 in doubles, will turn up for Gurgaon Grand Slammers, world No. 71 Bollipalli will don the Chennai Smashers’ jersey.

Other top buys included Frenchman Carole Monnet (Rs 10.60 lakh to Hyderabad Strikers), Sofia Costoulas (Rs 11 lakh to GS Delhi Aces), Nuria Brancaccio (Rs 10 lakh to Gujarat Panthers), and rising Indian sensation Shrivalli Bhamidipaty (Rs 8.60 lakh to SG Pipers).

Rajasthan Rangers, meanwhile, have the highest-ranked player in the league – Luciano Darderi – as their icon player.

Icon players in 2025 Tennis Premier League

1. Rohan Bopanna (SG Pipers)

2. Arthur Rinderknech (Hyderabad Strikers)

3. Tomas Martin Etcheverry (GS Delhi Aces)

4. Corentin Moutet (Gurgaon Grand Slammers)

5. Dalibor Svrcina (Chennai Smashers)

6. Damir Dzhumhur (Yash Mumbai Eagles)

7. Alexandre Muller (Gujarat Panthers)

8. Luciano Darderi (Rajasthan Rangers)

2025 Tennis Premier League Squads

SG Pipers: Rohan Bopanna, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, Ramkumar Ramanathan

Hyderabad Strikers: Arthur Rinderkench, Carole Monnet, Vishnu Vardhan

GS Delhi Aces: Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Sofia Costoulas, Jeevan Neduncheziyan

Gurgaon Grand Slammers: Corentin Moutet, Sriram Balaji, Nuria Parrizas

Chennai Smashers: Dalibor Svrcina, Irina Bara, Rithvik Bollipalli

Yash Mumbai Eagles: Damir Dzhumhur, Mariam Bolkvadze, Niki Poonacha

Gujarat Panthers: Alexandre Muller, Nuria Brancaccio, Anirudh Chandrasekhar

Rajasthan Rangers: Luciano Darderi, Anastasia Gasanova, Dhakshineswar Suresh

Venue and dates

The 2025 Tennis Premier League is slated to be held from 9 December to 14 December later this year, with all matches set to take place at the Gujarat University Tennis Stadium in Ahmedabad.