Stars Of Today Show The Way For Young Talent

© Dubai Duty Free Tennis ChampionshipsFlavia Pennatta encourages a young player during the clinic on Tuesday.

Some of the most talented female junior tennis players from the UAE were given the opportunity to hit the courts today at the Dubai Tennis Stadium on Day 2 of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Twenty young girls from the Tennis Emirates Program were put through a series of skills and drills, learning some valuable lessons from two top WTA players Flavia Pennetta and Abigail Spears, who joined the girls on court.

Pennetta, fresh off her first-up straight-sets win on day one was suitably impressed with the talent and enjoyed interacting with the girls. When asked what the best piece of advice for junior players is, Pennetta said, "When you are young, just make sure you be yourself and enjoy your tennis. Don’t try to do too much too early. You need to practise hard and give it time."

For many of these girls, today was the first time they had been given an opportunity to get advice from some of games elite players. Emelie, 12, said, "The best part of the session for me was playing with Flavia and Abigail. I had so much fun and want to be pros like them one day."

Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman of Dubai Duty Free, the tournament owners and organizer, was delighted with the success of the clinic. "The up and coming juniors are so lucky to have so many great role models to look up to. Days like today have such a profound impact on young players," he added.

Tennis Emirates Technical Director, Slah Bramly was on court with the girls and spoke about the importance of the program and today’s session. "Tennis Emirates caters for boys and girls from as young as seven years of age. Today is an amazing experience for these girls and is important because it gives them the chance to hit with the stars of the women’s tour and also gain valuable advice from tennis professionals. Our local girls can see that anything is possible if they work hard," Bramly said.

Tournament Director, Salah Tahlak stressed the importance of investing in the development of junior players. "The best players in the world were in the same position as these girls years ago and now they are on the WTA World Tour. They show the juniors what is possible," he said.

The WTA event continues until February 25th and features World No. 1 and Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, US Open winner Samantha Stosur, Dubai defending champion Caroline Wozniacki and recent Doha semi-finalists Agnieszka Radwanska and Marion Bartoli.

Play then continues on February 27th with the ATP tournament featuring eight of the world’s top 10, including reigning Dubai, Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, four-time winner Roger Federer, sensational Scot Andy Murray, charismatic Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and recent Montpellier winner Tomas Berdych.

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Tickets for the event are available from the Box Office at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, Garhoud which opens from 9am to 9pm daily. Grandstand tickets can also be bought online at http://www.timeouttickets.com/. For further information about tickets, prices and tournaments visit http://www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com/ or phone the call centre on +971 4 358 9797.