The second oldest tennis association in Asia, the Sri Lanka Tennis Association will celebrate its 100th year – the first sports association in Sri Lanka to do so – on the 28th of November 2015.

Along with the centenary celebrations, Sri Lanka will also host the prestigious Asian Tennis Federation’s Annual General Meeting , the first time ATF has held such a distinguished event in Sri Lanka, marking it as a truly significant occasion.

Photo Album – Sri Lanka Tennis Association – Acing it 100 & Beyond

At the media briefing held on the 3rd of November to launch the celebrations, the president of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association, Mr. Iqbal Bil Isaack, discussed the standard of tennis in Sri Lanka: being in Group 2 of the Davis Cup for the last 5 years and the steps taken by the association to promote and improve the sport across the country.

Emphasizing on the importance of nurturing and supporting promising tennis players from a young age, the president announced that over 100 teams participated in the Tennis 10s tournament organized for the Under 10 age groups, confirming the growing interest towards tennis in the country.

With this, He also discussed the association’s main vision: to witness tennis players from Sri Lanka make their way into the top world rankings and participate in Wimbledon by the year 2025. The SLTA hopes to obtain the assistance of a foreign coach to train the local players in their bid to become winners and not just participants. To kick-start this vision, the association plans to revamp the coaching structure and partner with all coaching academies by the beginning of next year in order to reach this target.

Addressing the issues faced by tennis professionals and the lack of prospective income generating capability of the sport, the Vice President of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association and Secretary of the Asian Tennis Federation – Mr. Suresh Subramaniam. revealed that the ATF wishes to organize Asian Circuit matches for the first time for the Under 21 age group, to be held in 2016 in Sri Lanka.

In response to a question posed by the media regarding long term plans for the fitness of the players, the committee mentioned that they plan to incorporate a fitness trainer into the coaching line-up in the near future.

In conclusion, the committee re-emphasized that in order to take tennis in Sri Lanka to greater heights, it is important to start at the grassroots level, with the commitment of the players and the parents of players taking centerstage.