Women's tennis in India touched another high with the Bangalore Open WTA Tour event becoming a Tier-II tournament from 2008 season and announcing the highest prize money for a tennis event in India.

The Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association, on Friday, upped the total prize money to US $600,000, which would assure better player field for the March 3-9 event.

The champion will take home a US $ 95500 and 300 ranking points. The tournament was a Tier III event during the last two years with total prize money of US $175,000.

"The Bangalore Open has raised the profile of women's professional tennis in India and will be a great Tier II event on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in 2008," said Larry Scott, CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. "India is a great market for women's tennis with amazing fans, and the Bangalore Open is the showpiece for our sport in this country rich in tennis tradition."

At the time of the announcement, Vijay Amritraj stated, "The future growth of women's tennis and Bangalore are powerfully linked. With the establishment of a Tier II tennis event that will feature some of the world's best players, tennis is positioned for explosive growth in India." 

The Bangalore Open will commence from March 3 at the Kingfisher Signature Stadium, KSLTA in Bangalore.

India's Richest Sporting Events in 2008

ICL 20-20 Championship: US $ 3.85 million

IPL 20-20 Championship: US $ 3 million

MGF Indian Masters (Golf): US $ 2.5 million

Johnny Walker Classic (Golf): US $ 2.5 million

Bangalore Open 2008: US $ 600,000

Chennai Open Tennis: US $ 436,000

Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open: US $ 436,000

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