World Tennis Day was launched by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and StarGames on 4th March, 2013 with the goal of promoting the sport of tennis and increasing tennis participation among young players around the globe. The concept of World Tennis Day began with the idea of uniting tennis communities around the world with events played at local, national and global level. The inaugural World Tennis Day centered around two high-profile events; the BNP Paribas Showdowns in New York and Hong Kong. This year sees it take another giant step forward with the launch of the World Tennis Day London Showdown, presented by the Financial Times, which will be held at Earls Court on 3rd March. There Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi will renew their rivalry in one of two all-star matches scheduled that evening. Wimbledon favourite Pat Cash then plays Ivan Lendl, a multiple grand slam champion himself and the man who coached Andy Murray to US Open and Wimbledon glory. Sampras says he is looking forward to taking on Agassi once again. The two American sporting icons did battle on court on 34 occasions, including five times in grand slam finals, and both were ranked World No.1. Sampras finished up with nine wins to Agassi’s three before they both retired and, nostalgia aside, neither will want to give their old adversary an inch when they get on court at Earls Court. We battled many years. You know, I respect Andre,” said Sampras recently. “He was my toughest opponent. Were going to compete in London, have some fun, compete for the people there. Each World Tennis Day Showdown will feature current or former professionals, all of whom have either been ranked No.1 in the world or reached a Grand Slam final, if not both. While Sampras and Agassi headline in London, Novak Djokovic will take on Murray at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York. In Hong Kong, newly-crowned Australian Open women’s champion Li Na will celebrate her historic victory with a special match against former US Open champion Samantha Stosur in the BNP Paribas Showdown at the Hong Kong velodrome. “It is incredible how much tennis has grown in Asia,” said Li. “I always look forward to playing in Asia and getting the support from the crowd. I hope playing on World Tennis Day means more people will go out and try playing tennis.” As well as hosting stellar events in London, New York and Hong Kong, World Tennis Day also has the goal of uniting all levels of the game across the 58 nations which participated in the 2013 event. Participating nations had their own grass roots activities during that day, many aimed at getting more children and young people to take up the sport. Some of these activities included Argentina closing the widest road in the world, 9 de Julio Avenue, in order to construct 50 tennis courts for the local children to play on. Cambodia held a children’s ‘Tennis10s’ festival which was broadcast on national television. The ITF is working once again with its National Associations to increase the number of countries involved in World Tennis Day this year, and to continue promoting tennis participation throughout the world. For more information, visit: worldtennisday/ To purchase sport equipment online, visit: isportstore
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 11:09:29 +0000
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