Bengaluru, 30 April, 2018: In a zest to promote competitive tennis among amateurs, the Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT) announced a first-of-its-kind Roland-Garros Amateur Series by Longines and it’s first edition will be played in Bengaluru between 30 April 2018 to 6 May 2018 at the Bowring Institute on St Marks Road.
As a part of their expanded plans for India, the Roland-Garros Amateur Series by Longines will be an open-for-all exhibition tournament, which will be part of the AITA calendar. Basis their performance in this all-India event, the players will receive AITA ranking points. The tournament which is the highest tier of amateur competition in the Indian tennis circuit will witness 64 boys and 48 girls from across the country in the Singles category while there will be 16 pairs each in boys’ and girls’ Doubles in U-18 category.
“This is the first time that Roland-Garros is hosting a National Level Amateur Series with a primary focus on giving high quality competitive platform for amateurs in the country. With this new initiative, we are hopeful of promoting tennis at this level and look forward to seeing the standard of tennis improving in India which has a lot of potential with several young players emerging in the international circuit over the past few years,” stated Adrien Groscolas associate International Development of French Federation Of Tennis.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) welcomed the FTF’s move to encourage amateurs with a National Series Tournament. “We are extremely thrilled that the FTF chose Bengaluru as it’s venue for the first edition of Roland-Garros Amateur Series by Longines. The initiative will certainly help the growth of competitive tennis in the country and what better venue to kick start the initiative than Bengaluru which for long has been a tennis-loving city. The Bowring Institute with 4 clay courts will be a perfect setting for the event and I wish all the participants the very best,” stated Mr. Sundar Raju, Sr Vice President AITA and Secretary General KSLTA.
