Big time tennis in Uganda
Sep 22, 2006
Big time tennis comes to Uganda when the second leg of the East African futures circuit, Uganda F1 Futures 2006 begins at Lugogo on Monday.
By Vision Reporter
Big time tennis comes to Uganda when the second leg of the East African futures circuit, Uganda F1 Futures 2006 begins at Lugogo on Monday.
For the first time Uganda will host a tournament where points earned by players during the tournament, will count towards a world ranking on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world tennis tour.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to stage the Futures tournament here in Uganda. Tennis is undergoing a resurgence in this country and we wish to thank our sponsors who have come in to make sure this premier event will take place here on home soil, †said Uganda Tennis Association(UTA) chairman John Nagenda.
The $10,000 (sh18m) men’s tournament will feature world ranked players from the Czech Republic, France, Great Britain, India and Romania.
The tournament, sponsored by Crane Bank, Uganda Telecom and Toyota will also have continental representatives from Nigeria, Egypt, Namibia, Rwanda and Kenya.
Patrick Ocan and Daniel Ruyange (right) are the only players with direct entry into the 32-man main draw. Other local players will have to qualify for the four free places in the draw this weekend.
It begins with qualifying rounds today and tomorrow and the main draw starts Monday and runs to October 1.
The Uganda Futures tournament is part of a circuit of four tournaments in the East African region which started with Sudan and Rwanda.
Uganda is the third leg.
Afterwards the players will head to Mombasa for the Kenya leg which starts October 2 in coastal city of Mombasa.
Big time tennis comes to Uganda when the second leg of the East African futures circuit, Uganda F1 Futures 2006 begins at Lugogo on Monday.
For the first time Uganda will host a tournament where points earned by players during the tournament, will count towards a world ranking on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world tennis tour.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to stage the Futures tournament here in Uganda. Tennis is undergoing a resurgence in this country and we wish to thank our sponsors who have come in to make sure this premier event will take place here on home soil, †said Uganda Tennis Association(UTA) chairman John Nagenda.
The $10,000 (sh18m) men’s tournament will feature world ranked players from the Czech Republic, France, Great Britain, India and Romania.
The tournament, sponsored by Crane Bank, Uganda Telecom and Toyota will also have continental representatives from Nigeria, Egypt, Namibia, Rwanda and Kenya.
Patrick Ocan and Daniel Ruyange (right) are the only players with direct entry into the 32-man main draw. Other local players will have to qualify for the four free places in the draw this weekend.
It begins with qualifying rounds today and tomorrow and the main draw starts Monday and runs to October 1.
The Uganda Futures tournament is part of a circuit of four tournaments in the East African region which started with Sudan and Rwanda.
Uganda is the third leg.
Afterwards the players will head to Mombasa for the Kenya leg which starts October 2 in coastal city of Mombasa.