Six kids from UK in Dubai as part of programme

Dubai: A bunch of children from the United Kingdom are currently down for the Dubai Tennis Championships as part of an exchange programme between the two countries.

Led by one-time Dubai resident Steven Riley, Director of the Will to Win Tennis Academy, the six children will be here till next Wednesday. The six players, along with three officials, were part of the Dugas Kids' Day held on the opening day of the championships.

"The emphasis of this trip is community tennis. We are eager to expand this and make this into a regular feature," Riley told Gulf News. "Last year we had 300 children taking part in these championships. This year we are targeting 1,000 children for the under-12 age group," Riley stated.

This year's competition, to be organised in May-June and sponsored by Dubai Duty Free (DDF), will be held at 20 different venues with each of these accepting 50 children.

The event is being pursued by Riley in an attempt to broaden the base of the sport. "Tennis is not just for the privileged. Our attempt is to have a broad spectrum of kids coming and playing tennis," Riley added.

"DDF sponsors our tickets and stay here. I would like to reciprocate this programme and have some kids from here come over to England," Riley said.