KARACHI, July 22: The tall claims of Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) were exposed on Saturday when the organisers of Arif Habib Tennis Championship received only five entries for ladies singles on the eve of the competition.

The event which carries a total prize money of Rs350,000 begins at the Karachi Club on Sunday. “We are in a fix to scratch the ladies singles or go away with it by inducting three more players to make a draw of at least eight which is required as per rules,” technical director Altaf Hussain said.

The five who have submitted their entries includes defending champion, Sara Mehboob, Saba Aziz (Islamabad), Seher Khwaja, Sara Ahmed and Anum Saeed.

It is disappointing that Mehak Khokhar and Qurratul Ain who were members of Pakistan team that featured in the junior Fed Cup at Thailand in May did not responded.

Among the males, title holder Aqeel Khan has been top seeded in the men’s singles while his younger brother Yasir tops juniors U-17. Barring ladies singles, the organisers have received encouraging 235 entries for different events.

Sunday’s fixtures: 9.00am: men’s singles (first round).