Five Canberra players – Annerly Polous, Alison Bai, Ashleigh Simes, Brydan Klein and Charlie Camus – will feature in four Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) Pro Tennis Tour events to be held in Canberra in coming weeks, the first of which starts today, Monday 15 March.
The UTR Pro Tennis Tour provides opportunities for players to compete in a number of tournaments across Australia including Brisbane, Sydney, Bendigo and Canberra.
The top female seed Abbie Myers (NSW) is joined by local Annerly Polous, and Taylah Preston (WA) in the top three women seeds. Locals Alison Bai and rising star Ashleigh Simes will feature in the women’s draw.
The men’s draw is headed up by Tristan Schoolkate (WA), Australian Open wildcard recipient Li Tu (SA), and local Brydan Klein. Another Canberran, 14-year-old emerging tennis player Charlie Camus will also play on home soil, using the tournament as a vital lead up to the U/14 Australian Claycourt Championships that will be held in Canberra in April.
The events will showcase the future of Australian tennis as many players return having competed in Canberra as part of the 12/U & 14/U Australian Championships, or been involved in National Talent Development Camps based in the capital over the years.
The likes of Tristan Schoolkate (WA) and Dane Sweeney (QLD) all have fond memories of Canberra, and all recently received wildcards into the Australian Open qualifying events played in Doha and Dubai earlier this year. They all started the year with extremely impressive results as they transition onto the global tours.
Tennis ACT CEO Kim Kachel said the tournament is a great opportunity for players.
“We are excited to get the UTR Pro Tennis Tour underway this week, where we will see a host of the top Aussie players take to the courts at the Canberra Tennis Centre. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase Canberra, and witness some fantastic tennis.
“It’s brilliant to have five local Canberrans in the draws, and rising stars Annerly Poulos and Charlie Camus as they continue their journey amongst Australia’s elite. Players will be competing for a prize purse of USD$25,000 for each women’s and men’s tournaments, making it a highly competitive series,” Kachel said.
Finals day for the UTR Pro Tennis Tour #1 will also see the Canberra Girls Get Active Day hosted at the Canberra Tennis Centre. Kachel said Tennis ACT are teaming up with local sports to host a free community event aimed at inspiring, energising and empowering young women to be more active. Women and girls will have the opportunity to try out a number of sports onsite, free classes from Next Gen, Tennis 4 Teens lessons, a jumping castle, roaming characters, a fundraising barbecue, tunes from a local DJ and much more.
The Canberra Girls Get Active Day will be held on Sunday 21 March 10am-12pm at the Canberra Tennis Centre. This event will also be run in conjunction with the ACT Women in Sport & Leadership Brunch.
Tournament Dates:
UTR Pro Tennis Tour #1: Monday 15 March – Sunday 21 March
UTR Pro Tennis Tour #2: Monday 22 March – Sunday 28 March
UTR Pro Tennis Tour #3: Monday 12 April – Sunday 18 April
UTR Pro Tennis Tour # 4: Monday 19 April – Sunday 25 April
Entry for fans through the week is free, with finals day a gold coin donation. All matches will be live-streamed through Tennis Australia’s YouTube Channel.
The order of play for each day, and updates will be released through the UTR Facebook event.
More information on the worldwide UTR Pro Tour is available at www.myutr.com/ptt
