KUCHING: A total of 48 boys and 47 girls from 20 countries are playing in the 32nd Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup (ll) ITF Junior Circuit (Grade 3) from this 16 to 21 October, 2018.
President of Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) Dato Patrick Liew said the tournament is a prestigious and international event which has already hit the 32nd edition.
“And we have run this event over 20 years and has never failed to attract international players from 20 over countries.
“Most of the players are very happy with this event,” he said when met by reporters after the handing over ceremony of the Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup (ll) ITF Junior Circuit (Grade 3) by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Abang Johari Tun Openg in his office at State Legislative Assembly Complex here, yesterday.
Patrick said the tournament belonged to age groups from 13 years old to 18 years old who compete for their ranking points.
“In order for you to play grand slam, you need to improve your ranking points. There is no prize money involved.
“For you to play in the Junior Grand Slam, you must rank top 100 in the world and get the entry to play in the Junior Grand Slam and the next step is the professional event like Australia Open, US Open and others,” he explained.
He said the players are all hoping for their ranking to improve.
“The moment they play in the Grand Slam as professionals, then the big money comes in. But now their parents need to invest money to keep sending their children to play in different countries to improve their ranking. Of course by improving their ranking, they also improve their skills to play in professional tournaments, “ he pointed out.
Patrick said the final for the double’s category will be held on Saturday and single’s category on Sunday.
The venue for the tournament is Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association Centre at Jalan Crookshank here.
