On 15th of November 2019, the aforementioned tournament was started with a lively opening ceremony despite of rain.
The chief guest of the tournament was the minister of youth and sports Mr. Ahmed Mahloof, who talked about his vision of making tennis a strong sport in the Maldives and his eagerness to see more players trying to become world class competitive tennis players and represent the country in international tournaments. He noted in order to do this there are multiple initiatives that he is working with the association such as the creation of a sister tennis centre in Hulhumale.
With this tournament, the association is looking to kick-start a new era of tennis in the Maldives, to bring tennis for everyone and also to create more competitive tennis players at various skill levels. As the fourth tennis court at the National Tennis Centre in Male’ was created right on time for the start of the tournament, this would allow for more players to play at the tennis centre and also to hold more international level tournaments there as well.
We all hope for a better and brighter future for Tennis (in the) Maldives. Good luck to all players in this tournament and most importantly – have fun.
(Pictures by Dr. Nishan and Other)