Virat Kohli spreading wings; to co-own IPTL team UAE Royals

Joining the IPTL bandwagon, India Test captain Virat Kohli has become co-owner of the UAE Royals, which will be led by Swiss great Roger Federer.

Federer had played for Micromax Indian Aces in the inaugural season and this season he will be joined by Goran Ivanisevic, 2001 Wimbledon Champion Ana Ivanovic, Daniel Nestor, Kristina Mladenovic and Tomas Berdych.

The UAE leg of the league will be held from December 14-16 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.

"I have always followed tennis with great interest and today I am glad to be part of a professional tennis league team," Kohli said at the official unveiling of the UAE Royals team.

"I am a huge fan of Roger Federer and with him joining the UAE Royals, my decision to be on board with the team was firm. The UAE Royals feature some of tennis' greatest players and I am confident about the prospects of the team in the IPTL. I am also excited about the format of the IPTL, which I am sure will drive further interest in the game of tennis."

The league has expanded to five teams for its second edition with the Japan Warriors joining last season's champions, the Indian Aces, alongside the UAE Royals, the Philippine Mavericks and the Singapore Slammers.

The league will begin in Japan from December 2 and culminate in Singapore on December 20.

"UAE has tremendous tennis following and we are excited to be back in the country with the second edition of the IPTL," said Mahesh Bhupathi, IPTL's founder and Managing Director.

"Fans in the UAE and world over have embraced the innovative and unique format of the IPTL and we have hence made the event bigger in 2015. With Roger joining the UAE Royals, we are confident that tennis fans in the UAE will come out to support their team in great numbers."

-PTI