By Alaric Gomes, Staff Reporter
Dubai: Tunisian tennis professional Selima Sfar will assist in promoting women's tennis in the UAE.
"We have had initial discussions and Selima is willing to help us promote the game among girls in the UAE," Mohammad Al Merri, General Secretary of Tennis Emirates told Gulf News.
"Selima can play a much bigger role here in ensuring that tennis grows among girls in the UAE. She is quite keen to see some players coming out from this part of the world," Al Merri said.
"It would be a pleasure for me to assist in the development of tennis here. I think this is the least I can do for all that people from here do for me," Sfar said.
Al Merri said that he is in talks with the officials and clubs in the country in utilising existing infrastructure for promoting tennis in the UAE.
"We are trying to convince local clubs to lay courts within their premises so that youngsters can avail of the facilities. It will take some time for the club management to change their mentality, but it will happen some day."
The Tennis Emirates official wants to use the Shaikh Saeed Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum tennis development programme in creating a base of young girl players in the country.
"We have a team of youngsters such as Mariam Behroozian, Fatma Abbas Al Janahi and Amira Kambhar. We need to have these players getting support from a second and third string of juniors coming through," Al Merri stated.
The official agreed that tennis needed a boost with sponsors coming in. "The money can only come in once we have a proper programme in place and the sponsors are convinced that such a thing has a future," Al Merri stated.
He is looking at a 12-year period, which will produce an adequate base for women players in the country.
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