Junior tennis commences today

The Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) Pakistan U-14 Championship will start here on Monday at the PTF Complex with international junior tennis activities reviving after a lapse of 11 years.

The ATF has allotted two back-to-back international 14 and under Asian ranking tennis championships to the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) with Pakistan’s top-ranked in U-14 Huzaifa Abdul Rehman being the top seed in first leg which will start on Monday.

The first leg will be organised by the PTF and the second by the Islamabad Tennis Association with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) White Badge umpires namely Arif Qureshi and Shehzad Akhter Alvi being the referees of first and second legs, respectively.

The qualifying rounds will also be held on Monday while the first round matches will be played on Tuesday.

“We have been holding various international events including Davis Cup and ITF Juniors events abroad due to ITF ban on holding international events in Pakistan,” PTF secretary Khalid Rehmami said.

He said that these two international events will be a milestone for Pakistan tennis as it will help open the doors for international tennis in all age categories to be held here in the months and years to come.

One Sri Lankan player and a Malaysian apart from England’s Mohammad Said are the three foreign players participating in the event with Said being Pakistani origin holding the British passport.

When asked about the less number of foreign players participating in the event, the PTF secretary: “These events could not attract a large number of the international players since international events are being held here [Pakistan] after a long period of time. However, we are very hopeful that more international players will come here next time,” he said

He further said that the championships were a blessing for local players, adding: “The rankings of our players have been low for the last many years due to the non-availability of international events. So, it’s a good opportunity for them to improve their ranking.”

(Source: Dawn News)