Dubai: A top official of Tennis Emirates has bemoaned the lack of support for the sport in the country that has ultimately led to a slackening of talent coming through at grassroots level.
"There is a lot to do but it's not being done and this is unfortunate," Abdul Rahman Falaknaz, vice-president of Tennis Emirates, told Gulf News on the sidelines of the ongoing Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
"We have not been able to do what we should have done. We tried hard and we are still trying, but we need to pay more attention to the development of the sport at the grassroots level and we have not been able to do so.
"Omar [Behroozian] is still the number one in the UAE, but he probably has a year or two remaining as a player. Hamad [Abbas Al Janahi] is in the US and Mahmoud Nader too can get busy with his job. And then what do we do after that?"
Falaknaz added: "I am sorry to say that as an administrator for the sport, we have been unable to deliver. We don't have a tennis centre to start with. What can we do? I have to go with a begging bowl to the clubs asking them for the courts to practise or hold tournaments. Unfortunately we are the only ones in the region who do not have a dedicated tennis facility for the national association. And yet we have some good results to show."
Community tennis
Last year, Tennis Emirates had mooted a programme in co-ordination with Dubai Municipality for development of the sport by setting up community tennis centres in various residential zones of the emirate.
"This programme just did not take off as expected," Falaknaz said.
"It would have been a feather in our cap if we had the programme going by now.
"Unfortunately this is yet to happen or else it is going to be tough getting the youngsters to be interested in tennis."
One of the main objectives before the authorities is to get things moving to initiate this programme.
"We will be meeting immediately after this tournament is over so that we can lay down a realistic dateline for ourselves to get this programme moving.
"We need to take a fresh guard. We don't want to be blamed for not doing enough. It is our responsibility and we take it," Falaknaz added.
Another strategy on their mind is the infusion of new blood into the administration of tennis in the UAE. "Maybe we have been around far too long and we need new ideas to come in.
"And if that is the case then let us start nurturing people who are already involved with the sport. Like Omar [Behroozian] as he is a good prospect for the future in taking over at the administrative level," he said.
