Somdev Devvarman & Purav Raja Exclusive | Veterans express relief after HC decision but player vs AITA tug of war continues

Young Indian tennis players have been making the right noise recently, be it Dakshineswar Suresh's Davis Cup heroics or Manas Dhamane’s breakthrough run to his maiden ATP Challenger final in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. Yet, while the players are rising and trying to rewrite history, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) has been in turmoil, with allegations of poor governance and internal politics leaving the federation weakened.

That is when Somdev Devvarman and Purav Raja shook Indian tennis by dragging AITA to the High Court just days before its September 28 elections in 2024, branding the federation a ‘serial offender’ guilty of violating the Sports Code.

In April 2026, the Delhi High Court allowed AITA to declare its 2024 election results and permitted a new team to take office, but the ruling is strictly interim, and the body will operate under a court-appointed Administrator, Justice (Retd.) Gita Mittal. Additionally, fresh elections were mandated within three months in line with the National Sports Governance Act 2025.

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Somdev, Purav open up on Delhi HC ruling

Following the ruling, Somdev expressed his satisfaction with the court's order and is pleased to have an administrator come and make their business much more transparent, as it needs to be. The veteran hopes to see the advancement of tennis in the country.

"I'm pretty pleased that an administrator will come in and they will hold the AITA accountable, and they will make their basic business a lot more transparent because it needs to be. Ultimately, we want the betterment of tennis in our country. I think that's very clear. Everybody in the tennis fraternity probably understands that, and hopefully that's what we're moving towards," Devvarman said during an interaction with Firstpost's Rupha Ramani.

Purav expressed that changes would happen, but have to remain optimistic about it and is hoping for the best. He further deemed the court case against AITA, "a really selfless motive that is to make Indian tennis cleaner, more accountable, more transparent and better," and is looking for a better tennis system.

The former India No. 1 singles player also highlighted the limitations of tennis players' development in the country and argued that opportunities at home dry out once they move past the junior rankings, creating a dead end to their progress. In that stage, overseas training and international exposure become essential for advancement, and Somdev wants to change that narrative.

"A vast majority of players that made it actually did not have… You know, the secret is, if you really need to make it in India, you need to leave. If you really need to make it in tennis, you need to not be in India. And, you know, that narrative needs to switch," Devvarman added.

Somdev went on to cite examples of Indian tennis players who train outside the country, such as Dakshineswar, Manas, himself and Purav.

Purav hopeful for meaningful reform in tennis

Active tennis players, veteran stars and administrators have often criticised AITA for their lack of transparency, mismanagement and failure to foster a healthy domestic culture. Over the years, Indian players have suffered due to the federation’s unhealthy politics, which is why there have been no players in the top 200 lately.

Indian tennis requires systematic change to develop and grow, but fixing it would require a collective effort. Raja is hopeful that more people will rally behind the cause and believes their legal and administrative route to challenge the federation may be effective in driving meaningful reform.

"We should try and be the change in the system if we can, so that's all that we are trying to do. It takes a village to make this whole thing happen. I hope we can be rallied by a lot of people to make this change, right? We're not the only two unhappy people in the Indian tennis fraternity. But we are the only two people who maybe have tried in this manner to make a difference. I'm sure others have tried many other ways, and I hope that our manner works in the best possible way going forward," Raja concluded.

Somdev and Purav took a drastic step for the betterment of tennis and are still fighting for the cause, but will the AITA improve itself as a whole? Only time will tell.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE