SINGAPORE - Twenty children had the opportunity to get a taste of tennis at the WTA Future Stars Clinic hosted by the Women's Tennis Association at Keppel Club on Sunday.
The clinic, which is part of the Love Singapore tennis programme, was conducted by WTA tournament director Melissa Pine and four newly-crowned WTA Future Stars Singapore representatives - Charmaine Seah, 15, Goh Yee Loon, 16, Tessa Wong, 14, and Tammy Tan, 13. The quartet will be competing in the WTA Future Stars final, which will be held in conjunction with the WTA Finals in October.
Charmaine, who finished first in the Future Stars Road to Singapore qualifying event in the Under-16 category, said: "I am very happy to have earned a spot to represent Singapore and compete in the WTA Future Stars. I am looking forward to playing against other girls from around the region and learning more from the professionals. The participants last year were really inspired to improve their games especially after meeting the stars. I hope to experience that and also to do my best for Singapore."
Sharing her thoughts on the clinic, Pine said: "SportCares is a wonderful organisation that is committed to providing underprivileged and at-risk children with opportunities to develop and enrich their lives through sport. We are proud to be working with SportCares as our official social cause in Singapore. It is a rewarding experience to see so many children pick up the racquet and this is precisely what WTA has set out to do here - growing tennis and making the sport more accessible to all."
SportCares runs the Love Singapore tennis programme together with its partner, the US embassy in Singapore. As a show of support, Deputy Chief of Mission of the embassy, Blair Hall, was involved in the clinic as a special guest and also joined the participants in a game of tennis.
"The US embassy in Singapore is a strong supporter of SportCares and the sense of self-worth that young girls in Singapore can find through tennis. We're excited to partner with the WTA on this as we go into the 50th year of US-Singaporean diplomatic relations. Ambassador Wagar and I look forward to welcoming the WTA back to Singapore this fall," said DCM Hall at the clinic.
