A visit from Royalty to Sri Lanka Tennis

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Sri Lanka Tennis Association received its highest honor yet, when the Earl of Wessex and the youngest of the four children of Queen Elizabeth, visited the courts this evening. Their Royal Highnesses,  Prince Edward and his wife, Princess Sophie, are on a visit for the Nation’s 70th Independence Day celebrations.

The royal couple were warmly welcomed by the President of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association along with Hon. Minister of Sports, Dayasiri Jayasekara and other distinguished dignitaries. First on the agenda was a fine performance of some hard-court tennis by the veterans of the Wheelchair Tennis community. Wheelchair tennis was re-introduced in Sir Lanka in 2001 by former SLTA president Suresh Subramaniam, who also graced this historic occasion.

Sri Lanka Fed Cup Team 2018

The National Women’s Tennis Team prepares to compete in the 2018 Asia/Oceania……..

The limelight of the visit was laying of the foundation stone for the new Indoor Tennis Complex, after which a plaque was unveiled to mark the occasion by the Prince. Prince Edward, who is also the present vice patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation in London, met Sri Lanka’s Commonwealth 2018 athletes along with the Sri Lanka Wheelchair Tennis Team, Davis Cup Team as well as the Fed Cup Team.

Sri Lanka Davis Cup Team Preview 2018

The first round of the Asia/Oceania Davis Cup Group II tie between Sri Lanka and Thailand…..

Iqbal Bin Isaack, President of SLTA said, “The British Royal Family has a history of being closely associated with tennis as patrons of the game. SLTA is the second oldest tennis association in Asia and we celebrated our centenary in 2015.  SLTA is honored by this historic Royal visit as we inherited the game from the British. The visit allows us the opportunity to gain worldwide exposure for our wheelchair tennis that has brought immense credit to our country.

He further added “The Rs. 800 million new Indoor Tennis Complex with floodlit courts will be a major leap forward for Sri Lanka’s tennis, and we’re thankful to Mr. Aelian Gunawardene of JAT Holdings  in developing the new complex to uplift tennis in Sri Lanka.”