Foreign players join Wismilak tennis
Foreign players join Wismilak tennis
SURABAYA (JP): Three foreign players lead by Taiwanese Wang
Shi-Ting are among the 26 seeded players who will take part in
the Wismilak International women's tennis tournament here, Sept.
22 to Sept. 28.
Henrieta Nagyo of Slovakia, Dominique Van Roost (Belgium) and
Wang Shi Ting (Taiwan) will spearhead the other seeded players in
the tournament. The players are included in the tournament's main
draw.
In the main draw, Nagyo ranked 35th, Van Roost 36th and Wang
38th in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.
The other players are Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand); Sarah
Pitkowski and Nathalie Dechy (France); Cristin Torrens-Valeo
(Spain); Adriana Gersi, Eva Martincova and Lenka Nemeckova (Czech
Republic); Annabel Ellwood, Kerry-Anne Guse and Rachel McQuillan
(Australia); Yuka Yoshida, Nana Miyagi, Miho Saeki, Rika Hiraki
and Mana Endo (Japan); Alejandra Vento (Venezuela); Laura Golarsa
(Italy); Emmanuelle Gagliardi (Monaco); Corina Mgrariu, Jolene
Watanabe and Drake Brockman (USA); and Aleksandra Olsza (Poland).
Apart from the 26 seeded players there are 46 qualifying
players who have to pass through the qualifying rounds.
The Wismilak International is included in the WTA calender of
events and this year is the fourth in the series held since 1994.
The organizer has provided total cash prizes of US$155,340 (Rp
449 million) for the semifinalists, finalists and the winner.
This amount nearly reaches the $164,250 cash prizes offer in a
Tier III category.
The semifinalists will each receive $8,550, finalists $16,700
each and the winner $35,400.
This year's Wismilak International is held to commemorate the
100th anniversary of the Embong Sawo tennis courts. The Embong
Sawo tennis club has used the tennis complex since its
establishment on Aug. 14, 1897.
The club was formerly the Soerabaia Cricket & Lawn Tennis Club
and is the oldest tennis club in Indonesia.
The Embong Sawo tennis court gained popularity when it held
the Mini Wimbledon or the "Tropical Wimbledon". The court also
created national players between 1950 to 1980.
To highlight the Wismilak International, the organizer
invited American instructor Joseph V. Sie to hold a coaching
clinic. The clinic was held from Sept. 8 to Sept. 14 at the Hyatt
Regency Hotel. It was participated in by 80 junior tennis
players.
The organizer will also hold an exhibition of Mini Tennis,
involving 25 teachers and 25 students from 25 elementary schools
in Surabaya, from Sept. 16 to Sept. 18. American Anne Pankhurst,
an instructor of the Lawn Tennis Association will attend the Mini
Tennis. (nur/lnt)