SLTA to conduct three Int. Wheel Chair tournaments
View(s):The Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) announced that they would be hosting three back-to-back International Wheel Chair Tennis Tournaments Futures and a World Cup qualifying Asia Region.
The tournaments will be the 4th Negombo Open, the 8th Sri Lanka Open, the 6th SSC Open and the World Team Cup Regional Qualifiers. According to arrangements made by the SLTA the 4th Negombo Open already took place from March 16 to 18 at the Negombo Tennis Club while the 8th Sri Lanka Open began on Friday and will come to an end today at the SLTA courts in Colombo. These two competitions will be preceded by the 6th SSC Open from March 24 to 26 at the SSC courts and the World Team Cup Regional Qualifiers which will be held at the SLTA courts in Colombo from March 28 to 31.
These futures tournaments will offer prize money of US$ 2500 each and is one of the highest prize money tournaments in the history of Sri Lanka Tennis, significantly on wheelchair tennis. The futures tournaments have attracted top ranking wheelchair tennis men’s and women’s players from around the world and players from South Korea, Australia, France, Italy, Canada , India and hosts Sri Lanka will compete for supremacy.
Players of Wheelchair Tennis in World ranking 26 and 28 from Korea and Italy have already arrived in the island and Sri Lanka’s Upali Rajakaruna — currently ranked at 106 — is training seriously with aims of bettering his World Rankings and to bring honour to his country. The Sri Lanka team, coached by Jagath Welikala and overlooked by P.S. Kumara, comprises a total of 32 players including Rajakaruna and Gamini Wickramasinghe. These tournaments will enhance to get more international ranking points for Sri Lankan players prior to the forthcoming World Cup to be held in Turkey.
The Negombo Open and Sri Lanka Open tournaments, which offers a prize money of US$ 2500 each, is sponsored by the Lanka Walltiles and balls are sponsored by Ralhum Traders, the sole importers of Dunlop to Sri Lanka.