Women’s tennis stars Sabine Lisicki of Germany and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic joined 500 children for a fun-filled morning of tennis at the annual Kids Day at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships yesterday.
It was hosted and run by the Clark Francis Tennis Academy. Children from nine schools around the UAE and the tournament’s 180 ball kids took part in the tennis drills and activities alongside the WTA tour players on centre court at the Dubai Tennis Stadium.
“It’s great to see so many kids smiling, and they are having so much fun,” said Lisicki. “I really love it.”
For many years the championships have been committed to grass-roots tennis and have an ongoing programme of competitions and clinics for schools and tennis academies which provide children with an introduction to the game while also providing the opportunity to meet with and learn from the competing tennis stars.
Enthusiastic youngsters from Kindergarten Starters, German International School, Dubai British School, Dubai English Speaking School, Cambridge International School, Our Own English High School, Al Khaleej National School and Dubai Scholars Private School arrived for activities throughout the morning.
Competitions, games and demonstrations kept them busy until the 2012 Dubai Tennis Championships Ball Kids made an appearance.
The dedicated children — who are all aspiring tennis players — are trained from November to be match-ready for the annual tournament.
