KUCHING: International tennis tournaments held at Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) Centre have put the city on the world map.
SLTA president Datuk Patrick Liew said many tennis players, including the top ones, have been here for tournaments held in previous years and they have fond memories of Kuching.
“The players include current world number 24 Nick Kyrgios, and former world number one for 121 weeks and three-time Grand Slam winner Ashleigh Barty back in 2011.
“I would not be surprised if some of you here can end up being top players out there in the future if you continue to work hard and do well in tennis.
“I hope the girls enjoyed their stay and the tournament held here and I hope the boys will enjoy it too next week, and maybe in the future you will come back here again,” Liew told the junior players at the welcoming and fellowship dinner for the ITF World Tennis Junior Team Competition U14 Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying for boys and girls on Saturday night.
International Tennis Federation (ITF) representative Patrick O’Rourke concurred that he will not be surprised if the junior players turned out to be top players in the world in future as these junior tournaments have been important in the development of players over the years.
“I would also like to thank SLTA for doing a magnificent job in hosting international junior tournaments over the years in Kuching, a wonderful and safe city,” O’Rourke said.
Meanwhile, Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM) president Mirzan Mahathir expressed his gratitude to ITF for giving the honour to SLTA to host these international events.
“I would also like to thank Sarawak government for the support given to SLTA in the hosting of international tennis events,” he said.
Among those present were China consul general Xing Wei Ping and tournament referee Puneet Gupta.
