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This year’s All-island Inter-club Singles Tennis Tournament, conducted by the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA), began at the respective club venues on Nov. 7. But the first two weekends of competition were severely hampered by monsoon rains that began early Nov., later than expected.
In this tournament, one of the two All-island Inter-club competitions held every year, each tie played between two clubs contain two Singles rubbers and a Doubles. The tournament this time is held in five Regular Divisions, two Women’s Divisions and four Men’s Senior Divisions.
Almost all the tennis courts in Sri Lanka are outdoor clay courts and rain plays a destructive role when working out the annual domestic events. Some experts point out that this ‘bad weather’ factor is a main hindrance before the development of tennis in Sri Lanka. Building indoor clay/hard courts and more outdoor hard courts are of utmost importance firstly to facilitate round-the-year, uninterrupted play and secondly to conduct tournaments on time, such experts argue. They go on to prove their point with figures indicating the fact that an astonishing number of days are lost due to rain in all major tennis centres of Sri Lanka.
Participating clubs in Inter-Club Singles 2009-10 (total of 47 club teams)
Regular Divisions
(30 club teams):
Division 1 (3 club teams):
SLTA – Playing Section (PS) ‘A’, Singhalese Sports Club (SSC) and SLTA-PS ‘B’
Division 2 (2 clubs):
SLTA-PS and SSC
Division 3 (2 clubs):
SSC and SLTA-PS
Division 4 (8 clubs):
SSC, Kurunegala Tennis Club, Sri Lanka Army Tennis Club, Carlton Tennis Club, SLTA-PS, Nondescripts Cricket Club (NCC) and Tamil Union Cricket & Athletic Club
Division 5 (15 club teams):
SLTA-PS ‘A’, Panadura Recreation Club ‘B’, NCC, Kalutara Lawn Tennis Club, SLTA-PS ‘B’, University of Moratuwa, Bandarawela Tennis Club, Matale District Tennis Club, YMCA ‘Red’, University of Colombo, Dehiwala–Mount Lavinia Cosmopolitan Club, Sri Lanka Air Force Tennis Club, YMCA ‘Blue’, SSC ‘A’ and Moors Sports Club
Women’s
(6 club teams)
Division 1 (3 club teams):
SSC, SLTA-PS ‘A’ and SLTA-PS ‘B’
Division 2 (3 clubs):
SSC, SLTA-PS and University of Moratuwa
Men’s Senior
(11 club teams)
Over-35 (2 clubs):
SSC and SLTA-PS
Over-45 (2 clubs):
SLTA-PS and SSC
Over-55 (4 clubs):
SLTA-PS, Tamil Union Cricket & Athletic Club, SSC and AAC Tennis Club, Moratuwa
Over-65 (3 club teams):
SSC, SLTA-PS ‘A’ and SLTA-PS ‘B’
SL Wheelchair Tennis Team for two Open tourneys –
The Sri Lanka wheelchair tennis team, comprising Upali Rajakaruna, D. M. Gamini and A. B. Alagoda, was to leave Sri Lanka last Thursday (19) to take part in the forthcoming Malaysian and Thailand Open wheelchair tennis tournaments.
The Malaysian Open is held from Nov. 20-22 and the Thailand Open will begin from next Wed. (Nov. 25-27).
Both Rajakaruna and Gamini are from the Sri Lanka Army while Alagoda represents Sri Lanka Navy. Alagoda represents the country in an international wheelchair tennis tournament for the first time.
Rajakaruna currently holds an ITF world rank of 206. He is the best wheelchair tennis player Sri Lanka has ever produced. He held a record world rank of 68 in September 2008 to become the first Sri Lankan to be ranked among the first 100 in the world.
Sri Lanka’s wheelchair tennis Coach is Jagath Welikala. The Manager for the two Open tournaments is Vipul Perera, Secretary, SLTA Wheelchair Tennis Committee. The Chairman of the SLTA Wheelchair Tennis Committee is Lt. Col. Shiran Abeysekera who was a former wheelchair tennis player for Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lanka team is expected to return to Sri Lanka on Nov. 29 after participating in the Thai Open.
Mercantile Tennis from Dec. 5
The SLTA announced on Nov. 5 that this year’s Mercantile Tennis Tournament would be held from Dec. 5-18 at its hard courts at Green Path, Colombo.
Entries for the event, which is the only annual mercantile tennis competition in the country, will close on Dec. 1. The Tournament Referee will be Avantha Suranimala.
Event categories:
Men’s Singles Div. I, II and III
Men’s Doubles
Mixed Doubles
Women’s Singles
Women’s Doubles
Senior Men’s Singles and Doubles for Over-35, 45 and 55 age groups
Coaches’ workshop by Zmajic
Meanwhile, the SLTA hosted an ITF development officer based in Europe, Hrvoje Zmajic, who conducted a coaches’ workshop in Colombo on Nov. 11 and 12.
It was held at the SLTA premises with the participation of many leading coaches in the country at present.
Zmajic is a graduate of the Faculty of Physical Education, University of Zagreb, and is certified as a Tennis Trainer.
He has delivered lectures on a wide array of sports-related subjects like Anthropological Analysis of Tennis at the Tennis Coaches’ School of the Faculty of Physical Education, University of Zagreb, and on ‘Biometrical Research and its Application in the Tennis Praxis’ at the ETA Coaches’ Symposium held in Makarska, Croatia, SLTA announced. Zmajic is also a member of The Croatian Tennis Association’s Sports Committee.
His visit in Sri Lanka was organised by the SLTA National Development Coordinator Bharathi Raj Pillai.
