Yuki, Ramkumar to miss Bengaluru Open

Yuki Bhambri and Ramkumar Ramanathan look set to miss the $150,000 Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger starting November 12.

File photo of Yuki Bhambri (left) and Ramkumar Ramanathan.

India's top singles players Yuki Bhambri (No. 107) and Ramkumar Ramanathan (124) look set to miss the $150,000 Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger starting November 12.

While Ramkumar has to attend a mandatory ATP educative programme in London the same week, Bhambri's said that he would instead be playing the $50,000 Challenger in Kobe, Japan. He is defending 80 points the same week, courtesy his win in Pune last year.

Bhambri, who has also played just one tournament since the US Open, in Antwerp last week, where he lost in the first round, confirmed that he would return to India after the event in Kobe to play in the $50,000 Pune Challenger from November 19.

And thus, Prajnesh Gunneswaran (146) is the lone Indian in the main draw of 32. Defending champion Sumit Nagal will start as a qualifier, having slid down the rankings.

Moldova's Radu Albot and Russia's Evgeny Donskoy, both in the ATP's top 100, lead the field. Other notable names among the 22 direct entrants include Jordan Thomson (Australia, 101) Ricardas Berankia (Lithuania, 131), Elias Ymer (Sweden, 133), Marc Polmans (Australia, 145) and Simone Bolelli (Italy, 147).

The Italian Bolelli won the 2015 Australian Open doubles title with Fabio Fognini and the pair may even travel to India in February for the Davis Cup.