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IN SUPPORT OF SPORT
from MWTC 2021
The UAE Tennis Federation continues to promote tennis across the UAE with the aim to move tennis from being a recreational activity to a competitive sport
The UAE Tennis Federation is the official body governing tennis in the UAE. Its main directive is to develop the sport across the seven emirates. The federation’s board of directors is chaired by His Highness Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum bin Jumaa Al Maktoum.
The organisation provides local, regional and international talents a platform to excel in their chosen sport through the implementation of a talent detection system, development of grassroot level junior programmes, building of new facilities and conducting a national competition schedule with a national tennis ranking, featuring individual and team competitions.
The federation organises five circuits in its calendar year. The first: the ‘UAE Tennis in Schools’ grassroots initiative — adopted from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and called the ITF/UAE Juniors Tennis Initiative — is for schoolchildren in age categories under 10, 9 and 8. The second circuit is the Development Circuit that includes competitions for players under 12 and 14 for both boys and girls. The Junior Circuit is for boys and girls under 16 and 18, while the men’s and women’s circuits are for those above 18 years of age. The fifth circuit is for veterans (over 35 years of age).
The UAE Tennis Federation has also been overseeing beach tennis since 2020, hosting the BT200, BT50 and BT10 competitions. These are part of the five ITF tournaments held in the category.
The federation, which has more than 240 coaches and 90 affiliated academies, organised 155 UAE official tournaments during the 2020-21 season despite challenges posed by the pandemic. The UAE Davis Cup team, which is supported by the federation, also qualified for Group III this year.
The federation sanctions international events, such as the ATP and Women's Tennis Association competitions linked to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Al Habtoor Challenge 100K+H and ITF World TeamTennis (WTT) W25K. It's also involved with the Mubadala World Tennis Championship and four WTT ITF Junior’s tournaments.
