Everybody loves tennis. Organisers of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships put together a clinic with 80 special needs children from across the UAE as guests on Wednesday. Called the Lacoste Special Needs Tennis Clinic, the event, held in partnership with fashion brand Lacoste and the Clark Francis Tennis Academy, saw WTA players Elena Vesnina and Arantxa Parra Santonja take to the court with children from Al Noor, Dubai Centre for Special Needs, Rashid Paediatric Centre, the Dubai Autism Centre and Manzil School.
“It’s good fun to get out with the kids and see a smile on their faces, they’re great kids and it’s good to be here,’ said Santonja, who was joined by tournament mascots Ace and Annette.
Sol Goodwin, a teacher at Dubai Centre for Special Needs, said: “The children all loved today, it is the one day that they get excited for every year. When we tell them it is the tennis day they all light up with smiles. Everyone had a chance to hit a ball and they all received a T-shirt and cap which they wore while on the court.”
Shaikha Al Kharbash, a student from Dubai Centre for Special Needs, said: “[The] best part of the day was meeting a real player. Wow, she was super nice.”
Tournament Director, Salah Tahlak was delighted to see so many children having fun.
“Tennis is a sport that everyone can enjoy, and we are happy to be able to offer this opportunity to be involved in the tournament to these wonderful young people. It is great to see them having so much fun,” he said.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships’ WTA event continues until February 21. Then the ATP tournament, February 23 and 28, stars world number one and Wimbledon and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, defending Dubai champion Roger Federer, Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray, and two-time Dubai finalist Tomas Berdych.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free. Tickets for the event are available from the box office at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, Garhoud, which opens from 9am to 9pm daily. For more information about prices and the tournament, go to Dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com.
