Bahrain Serves an Ace ITF Junior Tennis tournament
When? October 2-9 | Event? Bahrain Tennis Club | Venue? Tennis championship
The attempts to put Bahrain on the international sporting map are paying dividends. The star of sporting events in the Kingdom is obviously the Grand Prix but there are other international events which are finding their own niche. One of the more successful ones is the Zain Bahrain ITF Juniors Championship which will take place for the second consecutive year in October.
Organised by the Bahrain Tennis Club (BTC) in cooperation with the Bahrain Tennis Federation (BTF), the aim of the championship is to promote and develop tennis in Bahrain and give youngsters a chance to compete with international players.
Dr Sami Dannish, head of media, BTC, says, “Bahrain was the first Middle Eastern country to organise an ITF Juniors Championship in 2009 and we got a lot of appreciation for our efforts from ITF last year. This year, we will see about 40 countries participating in the championship.”
The preparations are in full swing. “We have added a new court at BTC and we are hoping to expand our facilities further, with an expert team in place to take care of the technicalities.
We are also setting up a food court where participants and their parents can get both Arabic
and international cuisines. We will also make sure that the players get to see Bahrain and understand its culture when they are here. Last time such visits around the country were very much appreciated by the players.”
A Bahraini team will also participate in the tournament. “While we do host a lot of national events, an event of this level gives our players a chance to compete against their counterparts from around the world. Moreover, our junior players can now get international ranking points from ITF and raise the level of Asian rankings. We hope to one day see Bahraini players compete at the highest levels.”
Illustrious names like Pat Cash, Stefan Edberg, Gabriela Sabatini, Amelie Mauresmo, Roger Federer, Andy Roddick and Elena Dementieva have taken part in tournaments on the ITF Junior Circuit, gathering vital junior ranking points and competition experience which they have taken with them on their way to the top of the game.
ITF Juniors Circuit, which began with nine events in six countries, has today grown into close to 350 tournaments in over 118 countries. It is meant for players aged 18 and under. “Our aim is to develop a tennis culture in Bahrain and we hope that tournaments like this will promote the cause of the game. We want to work at the grassroots level and push talented youngsters into the limelight,” adds Dr Dannish. Call 17 729-561.
