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)