More than 300 school children from across the UAE participated at the Kids’ Day at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium on Sunday, as players Abigail Spears and Raquel Kops-Jones doled out coaching tips to young tennis enthusiasts.
“It’s fabulous to be here in Dubai and hopefully inspire these young people to take up tennis. This tournament does so much to engage the local community that it is really lovely to see. Clinics like these are great for the game of tennis and I’m lucky to have been a part of it. It was fun and spoke to them about enjoying the game as well as being motivated to play more tennis,” said Spears in a statement.
The admiration wasn’t one-sided.
As Sakshi Pitre, 13, from the Indian High School who enjoyed an on-court lesson, puts it: “I was very excited, it was a lot of fun and we learnt some new moves and won some fun prizes. I learned that is takes a great deal of practice and know more about the rules now of the game.”
Held under the instruction of tennis coaches from the Clark Francis Tennis Academy, the two hour clinic gave kids an opportunity to interact with the players; all while having fun and learning more about the sport.
Neha Sharma, one of the teachers from the Indian High School, said: “We love coming to the event with our students as the atmosphere around the stadium is inspiring for the kids. This is a reward for kids and their attendance and work ethic.”
Kids’ Day is one of the scheduled activities during the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships every year.