Chennai Open in crisis mode: Two days lost to Cyclone Montha’s fury

The WTA 250 Chennai Open is going through a difficult time for the organization, after being suspended for the second consecutive day due to the ravages of Cyclone Montha. The tournament was scheduled to have the first round between Monday and Tuesday, but not a single match has been played yet.

This is the second edition of the Chennai Open in India – in the tournament's return after three years, taking place at the SDAT Stadium. The first edition back in 2022 had the Czech Linda Fruhvirtova as champion, who, at 17, secured her first professional title.

The second edition, however, has been especially complicated. The weather conditions this week involve a cyclone approaching the city, with heavy rains that have interrupted matches and canceled flights in the area.

The tournament features Francesca Jones (No. 71) as the first seed, in addition to names like Donna Vekic (No. 76), Janice Tjen (No. 78), and Zeynep Sonmez (No. 114) waiting for their debut.

Following the suspension of Monday's schedule, the organization hoped to resume normally on Tuesday. Around 2 PM, the courts were being dried, and half of the first-round matches were scheduled to start at 4:45 PM – which was shortly thereafter postponed until 5:30 PM. However, the weather conditions worsened, and the organization had to completely suspend the day's play.

As reported by Sportstar, the tournament organizers hope to start the competition this Wednesday, October 29, when they expect to complete the 16 first-round matches and play five consecutive days, considering that the weather forecast appears to improve for the rest of the week.

“Actually, we are quite okay because when you have a draw of 32, we need only five days (one round per day). Of course, the players who are playing doubles and singles will have to play two matches (daily),” said Hiten Joshi, the tournament director. “We’ve had rain during tournaments in the past, but never like this when the play had to be completely cancelled two days in a row. There was an instance in the past where we had to stop a match due to a shower, but we were able to wipe the court and continue playing.”

Thus, the first round will begin this Wednesday at 11 AM, with 16 first-round matches scheduled. The second round of Chennai would be played on Thursday, and the quarter-finals would be played normally on Friday – followed by the semi-final and final over the weekend.