KUALA LUMPUR: SELANGOR tennis is set to grow with the latest move to tie up with the Sydney-based Asia Pacific Tennis Institute (APTI).
The Selangor Tennis Association (STA) signed a MoU with APTI recently and the collaboration will include sending top state junior players to the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre for training-cum-tournament stints.
Kuala Lumpur will also become a base for APTI for its players wanting to compete in ITF tournaments in Southeast Asia.
STA president Datuk Abdul Malik Mohd Salleh said the tie-up will help develop juniors in the state.
"With our involvement with APTI, a new dimension has come into play in our development efforts," said Abdul Malik recently.
"Our players can look forward to a better future in their pursuit of tennis excellence. I believe we have found a perfect programme to groom our top juniors."
APTI conducted a week-long coaching-cum-training clinic at the MBPJ Sports Complex in Kelana Jaya recently.
The clinic attracted more than 70 top juniors from Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan and Perak along with 40 local coaches. The participants were taught the fundamentals of the game by top APTI coaches, headed by former US Open doubles champion Sandon Stolle.
"We plan to send our top juniors to Sydney for training and competitions next year. They will be exposed to the physical aspects of the game through various coordinated training programmes and also high-level competitions," said Abdul Malik.
Stolle was impressed with the quality of some of the participants during the clinic.
"The local coaches were exposed to different ways of training. A coach needs a coordinated approach to guide players in accordance to their age.
"Structured guidance is important for one to succeed. Coaches must understand the ability of players before deciding on the next course of training methods," he said.
Stolle, 42, the son of former Australian tennis champion Fred Stolle, won 22 doubles titles on the ATP Tour in his career spanning 13 years before retiring in 2003.
"Our aim is to provide the tools and environment to ensure each individual athlete has the greatest possible chance to be the best player they can be.
"Players will benefit from our professional coaching and hopefully it will help them achieve the next level of their game," said Stolle, also a former China national team tour coach.
APTI has selected former national champion Adelle Boey and Sri Aakash Reddiyar during the clinic to undergo a one-month training stint in Sydney.
STA secretary Tengku Mohamed Tengku Harun said both the players will head for Sydney next month.
"They were selected from over 70 participants by APTI. We will also send selected players to Sydney for stints next year," said Tengku Mohamed.- www.nst.com.my
