MUSCAT: The Oman Tennis Association will host the West and Central Asia regional qualifying tournaments for the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Asia 14 and Under Development Championships 2024 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex tennis courts from January 8 to 16.
Unveiling the details of the tournament at the Oman Olympic Committee headquarters on Tuesday, tournament director Mohammed al Balushi said players from eight countries would compete in the two tournaments for boys and girls that will have ranking points.
Apart from hosts Oman, players from Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen are expected to take part in the event.
“The invited countries can send two boys and three girls for the tournaments that will have singles and doubles competitions,” Al Balushi said. The Sultanate of Oman is hosting international tennis events after a gap of nearly six years. Oman last hosted Davis Cup Asia Group 4 Championships which Oman emerged champions in 2018. The qualifying event will consist of two tournaments from January 8 to 11 and January 13 to 16 respectively. An ITF team will be selected from the West and Central Asia qualifying event that include two top boys and two top girls plus one coach.
All singles matches will be the best of three tie-break sets. In doubles, a 10-point match tie-break will be played at one set.
Two nations from the qualifiers will be promoted to the finals of 2025. The four lowest-ranked nations based on the standings at the finals in 2024 will be relegated to the regional qualifying events of 2025.
OMAN TEAM
Oman’s 11-year-old girl’s player Talya al Busaidi and 12-year-old boy’s player Motaz al Mazroui attended the press conference.
The players expressed confidence to make an impact at the regional qualifying event. “This will be a good opportunity for us to improve our rankings and gain international experience,” the players said.
Oman boys coach Sofiane Doub from Algeria announced the team list for the event.
Abdul Rahman al Rahbi and Motaz al Mazroui will compete in the boys section, while Areen al Azkawi, Talya al Busaidi and Salma al Riyami are in fray for the girl’s category.
Regarding the team’s preparations, the coach said the team continues its daily training on the tennis courts at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher.
“The training programme included daily exercises and an internal camp that lasted for several days, during which the players were well prepared, and this programme will continue until the start of the tournament,” Doub said.
Oman girls coach Sergey Pershian from Russia enthused that it will be a great opportunity for the budding players from Oman.
“We hope to make the most of it as the girls are excited to give their best performance in the ITF qualifiers,” Pershian told the Observer.
“This event will give a welcome encouragement to the junior tennis scene in the country as well,” he added.
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