Unable to meet the ‘commercial demands’ of the main organisers, IMG, Chennai Open is set to move out of the city after 21 years and Pune is likely to host India’s only ATP World Tour event from next year.

Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) is expected to make an official announcement on the development today.

The reason is surprising since the Tamil Nadu Government has been supporting the event for long and IMG had even extended the contract  with TNTA for three more years recently.

According to sources IMG,  the owners of the tournament, was considering shifting the tournament out of the country but is likely to settle for Pune as the next hosts.

The State associations of Karnataka and Gujarat were also in the race but Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) has emerged favourites to win the bid as the state government has passed a resolution to support the event.

Chennai has been hosting the event since 1996 and legends such as Rafael Nadal have been part of the tournament, which is organised in the lead up to the Australian Open.