Girls just want to... play tennis.
About 750 signed up for Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships’ tennis clinic on Tuesday and met two WTA star players — last year’s doubles champion Alla Kudryavtseva and Anna-Lena Groenefeld.
While Kudryavtseva shared some of her winning techniques with the young players, Groenefeld interacted with the children and posed for photos with competitions manager Khalid Ali Al Ali and tournament mascots Ace and Annette.
“Today we have over 750 girls here from all of the seven Emirates either watching or participating in the clinic. Present today are the top eight under-14 tennis players in the UAE to further learn about the game of tennis. The chance to meet one of the top WTA players is a dream come true and will inspire them to further their game,” said Slah Bramley, the technical director from Tennis Emirates.
“With the Ministry of Education, we are working on programmes such as Play and Stay. We are extremely thankful to the WTA and DDF for their support and having us back here to the tournament each year. They give us an opportunity to develop tennis further in the UAE at the grassroots level.”
Meera Al Swaidi, aged 11, from Dubai Modern Education School, said: “I loved being on the courts during half term as it was a fun day and was so nice to meet a real player.”
Heba Abdullah, a teacher from Dubai Modern School added: “I feel that the interest in tennis will increase after today and that students will want to watch and play more tennis. One student even asked about joining a tennis club next semester, which is great as we will increase the physical activity of the students.”
The Tennis Emirates Days are a regular feature of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and another clinic will be held for boys on February 24 during the ATP week.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships WTA event began on Sunday and ends on Saturday, February 21. The singles competition features defending champion Venus Williams, Wimbledon champion and 2013 Dubai winner Petra Kvitova, French Open and WTA Finals runner-up Simona Halep, former Dubai winners Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki, Brisbane runner-up Ana Ivanovic, Australian Open semi-finalist Ekaterina Makarova and recent Sydney semi-finalist Angelique Kerber.
Play then continues between February 23 and 28 with the ATP tournament which 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.
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.
