No conflict with pickleball, says tennis chief
KUCHING (April 29): Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) president Dato Patrick Liew believes tennis will continue to grow despite the increasing popularity of pickleball.
He does not see any conflict between the two racket sports.
'I don't think it's anything conflict with tennis. It's two different games. One (tennis) is professional and long-term development. One (pickleball) is a community and social game.
'So I think it should go hand in hand. So those who can continue to perform well in tennis, why not? If those who are unable to perform, like older people or (affected by) injury, they take up pickleball, I think it's okay. At least they exercise. Not hard for them,' he said.
Liew made these remarks after the prize presentation for 42nd Premier Sarawak (l) ITF World Junior Tour J300 Kuching at SLTA Centre on Sunday.
The 42nd Premier Sarawak tournament was the fifth organised by SLTA within a space of two months.
The earlier tournaments were Asia Oceania Pre-Qualifying for the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors, Asia Oceania Pre-Qualifying for the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors for Davis Cup Juniors, Asia-Oceania Final Qualifying ITF World Junior Tennis U14 Girls and Asia-Oceania Final Qualifying ITF World Junior Tennis U14 Boys.
Liew revealed that the International Tennis Federation (ITF) had allocated around USD100,000 to help with running the tournaments while Sarawak government through Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Ministry allocated RM80,000.
He noted that ITF senior manager Catherine Michie has indicated that SLTA is capable of hosting bigger tournaments.
'The most important thing here is our community commitment, support from media and so on. And we definitely continue to promote tennis,' he added. conflict Patrick Liew pickleball tennis
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