ONE of the Bahrain’s biggest and most prestigious tennis tournaments is set to get underway this weekend at Bahrain Tennis Club (BTC) in Juffair.
The Bahrain ITF Futures 2018 is set to be a top attraction for the kingdom’s tennis enthusiasts. It is a part of the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) men’s and women’s circuits, which consists of a combined 1,000-plus tournaments held across more than 70 countries all around the world.
These tournaments provide the entry level of professional tournaments, enabling players to reach higher-level competitions on both the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour.
Prize funds of $15,000 each for the men and women have been allocated for the Bahrain ITF Futures.
The men’s and women’s singles main draws will be held from Monday until Saturday next week at BTC. Prior to these, two days are set for the singles qualifying draws, which will be held on Saturday and Sunday. A full field of 32 players each are expected for the qualifiers.
There will also be men’s and women’s doubles main draws of 16 pairings apiece. Play in the doubles will be held from Monday to Friday.
Some of the world’s best up-and-coming young players will compete in both singles competitions. Among the prominent men are Daniel Altmaier of Germany who is ranked 297th in the world, Marsel Ilhan of Turkey who is ranked 320th and 475th-ranked Michal Konecny of the Czech Republic.
Quirine Lemoine of the Netherlands will be the top-ranked female participant as 315th in the world. Vivian Heisen of Germany is also competing ranked 351st, and Ana Veselinovic of Montenegro, ranked 389th, will also be vying for the title.
Bahrain will also be well-represented in the competition. Five of the kingdom’s best young players will be looking to book a berth in the men’s singles main draw when they compete in the qualifiers. They are Yousef Qaed, Ahmed Janahi, Hamad Abdula’al, Hasan Al Qattan and Ammar Al Shaikh.
Three Bahraini women will be competing in qualifying. They are Nazli Nader Redha, Safa Safar and Maya Bseisu.
There are players from over 50 nations in the tournament, according to BTC.
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