Courting Success

TENNIS is set for a bright future as youngsters in the kingdom continue to shine in the sport and plans for a new complex begin to take shape.

Bahrain’s rising young tennis stars have just returned home after a series of match-winning displays in the Under-14 Asian Tennis Federation series held in Kuching, Malaysia.
Bahrain Tennis Federation representatives Ahmed Abdulnabi, 14, Ayman Jaffar, 13, Hadil Ali, 13, and Yousef Qaed, 12, are now hotly-tipped for future success on the courts and to help raise the profile of the game at home.
Hadil, for example, has broken into a Top 10 ranking among competitors from 32 nations that participated in the event.
“They did very well. It’s looking very promising,” said head of the national tennis team and Bahrain Tennis Federation (BTF) board member, Mohamed Sanad. “Hadil and Aymen will head to Jordan this week for the West Asia competition.”
The talented youngsters are part of a tennis revolution taking place in Bahrain which will eventually see the island as a major centre for the sport. 
A state-of-the-art tennis complex, costing up to BD80 million is to be built on a site in Hamad Town. The proposed King Hamad Tennis Complex will have a centre court boasting stands able to accommodate 5,000 spectators, 14 further tennis courts, a 10-storey hotel, shopping centre, food courts and a block of fully-furnished apartments.  
The complex, financed by Kuwaiti investors, may be completed within three years, explained Mr Zanad.  
“The plan is to attract world-class tennis players and to establish a Bahrain Open,” he said. “This is the future of the game for Bahrain.
“It will have incredible facilities and a great location near the Bahrain International Circuit helping us to attract sponsors as well as providing funds for the future.”
As tennis raises its profile, the sport is likely to attract even more young players and Mr Zanad believes the facilities will also attract professionals and ITF-sponsored tournaments.
It will also give the BTF the opportunity to set up a tennis academy.
Talks are also on-going between former Wimbledon winner Boris Becker and the company behind the Riffa Views residential and sports development about a similar youth academy venture.
Until the plans are finalised and building work begins, Mr Zanad and other BTF officials have organised an exciting schedule of matches and tournaments that will not only allow Bahrain’s tennis playing youngsters to hone their skills but also encourage others to take up the sport.
At the beginning of September Bahrain’s Olympic Committee will stage a Girls Sports Festival which will include tennis competitions.
The Dilmun Open Tennis Club Championship will also run a Bahrain Open Junior Championship from October 27 and in November the Bahrain Tennis Club in Juffair will host an Asian Under-14 event.
The competitions are all part of the build-up to the Gulf Cup held in December hosted by Bahrain.

By -RdS-
editor@gulfweekly.com