Mumbai, India | May 2026: Kia India and Tennis Premier League (TPL) today announced a landmark three-year partnership, with Kia India coming on board as the Exclusive Sponsor for the league. Bringing together Kia India’s long-standing global association with tennis and TPL’s growing ecosystem around the sport in India, the partnership reflects a shared vision towards strengthening the relevance and reach of tennis and inspiring a new generation of audiences across the country.
This multi-year deal marks one of the most significant milestones in Indian tennis, uniting one of the world’s leading automotive brands with a home-grown movement that is quietly rewriting the country’s tennis story through the Tennis Premier League and its App, with a strong focus on supporting grassroots tennis in India.
With a global tennis legacy spanning 25 years through its association with the Australian Open, Kia India has consistently focused on creating meaningful experiences around the sport through youth-focused and participation-led initiatives. The partnership with TPL reflects Kia India’s continued commitment towards engaging with progressive sporting platforms that are shaping contemporary sports culture in India.
With 7 successful seasons under the auspices of the All India Tennis Association and strong backing from iconic brand ambassadors like Leander Paes and Sania Mirza, along with celebrated personalities such as Sonali Bendre Behl, Co-owner – Lucknow Blazers, and Rakul Preet Singh, Co-owner – Hyderabad Strikers, the Tennis Premier League has steadily built credibility and mass appeal over the years. It has emerged as one of India’s most consistent and impactful non-cricket sporting leagues, achieving several significant milestones along the way while being broadcast live on Jio Hotstar.
As part of this multi-year association, Kia India will be integrated across the Tennis Premier League ecosystem, including the TPL App and all eight franchise teams as the front-of-jersey sponsor. The partnership also aligns with Kia India’s vision of enabling greater participation and engagement around the sport, while further strengthening TPL’s grassroots initiatives, which have played a key role in driving tournaments and identifying emerging tennis talent across the country.
Over the last two years, TPL, through its flagship “Race to Gold Scholarship” initiative, has supported over 80 young tennis players across India. With Kia India’s support, the vision now expands further – to empower 120+ additional young athletes in the coming years, with the long-term goal of nurturing Olympic-level talent capable of bringing home medals at the 2036 Olympics.
Recognizing TPL’s strong grassroots focus and growing visibility for the sport, Kia India sees the partnership as a strong platform to further strengthen engagement around tennis in India and support its long-term growth through greater scale, structure, and sustained investment.
This partnership is expected to significantly enhance the reach of tennis across India, bringing the sport closer to households nationwide and positioning it as the next big sporting movement in the country that has already completed 7 seasons with a greater focus on grassroots as well.
Keynote Statements
Kunal Thakkur, Co-Founder, Tennis Premier League:
“This partnership with Kia India is a great moment for us. Over the last few years, we have focused deeply on building a strong grassroots ecosystem through our app and initiatives like Race to Gold along with our League. Having a global brand like Kia India recognize and back this vision gives us the confidence to scale our efforts and truly impact the future of Indian tennis.”
Mrunal Jain, Co-Founder, Tennis Premier League:
“TPL has always believed in creating a complete tennis ecosystem—from identifying young talent to giving them a platform at the highest level. With Kia India coming on board, we are not just adding a sponsor; we are gaining a long-term partner who shares our vision of building champions for India.”
Mr. Atul Sood, Senior Vice President- Sales and Marketing, Kia India:
At Kia India, we believe sports have the power to inspire aspirations and create meaningful cultural connections. Tennis, with its youthful energy, global appeal, and premium character, strongly resonates with our brand philosophy. Our partnership with Tennis Premier League reflects a shared vision to make tennis more engaging and relevant for a new generation of audiences in India. Through TPL’s growing ecosystem and grassroots focus, we look forward to supporting greater participation, engagement, and talent development around the sport.
Leander Paes, 18-time Grand Slam Champion:
Over the years, Tennis Premier League has created a strong platform that is helping tennis grow at every level — from grassroots development to professional competition. Partnerships like this with Kia India is extremely important for the future of Indian tennis, as they bring long-term vision, credibility, and meaningful support to the ecosystem
About Tennis Premier League (TPL)
Tennis Premier League (TPL) is India’s leading professional sports league that has completed 7 successful seasons so far, focused on building a complete ecosystem for the sport. Through its innovative league format, grassroots tournaments, and digital platform (TPL App), TPL is committed to discovering, nurturing, and promoting tennis talent across India. Initiatives like the Race to Gold Scholarship reflect its long-term vision of developing world-class athletes and putting India on the global tennis map.
About Kia India
In April 2017, Kia India signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the State Government of Andhra Pradesh, India, to build a new manufacturing facility at Anantapur District. Kia commenced mass production in August 2019 and has an installed annual production capacity of 300,000 units. In April 2021, Kia India reimagined itself in line with its new brand identity, “Movement that Inspires,” aimed at offering customers meaningful experiences backed by innovative products and services. Under the new brand identity, Kia has set out to find ways to achieve new benchmarks and inspire consumers to be more and do more. Till date, Kia India has launched nine vehicles for the Indian market – the Seltos, the Syros, the Sonet, the Carens, the Carnival, the EV6, the EV9, the Carens Clavis, and the all-new Carens Clavis EV. Kia India has completed almost 1.5 million vehicle dispatches from its Anantapur plant, including over 1.5 million domestic sales and over 3.67 lakh exports. With more than 5 lakh connected cars on Indian roads, it is among the connected Car leaders in the country. The brand has a widespread network of 891 touchpoints across 396 cities and is focused on strengthening its footprint across the country.
