KUALA LUMPUR – The Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM) is on a mission to reshape public perception regarding the perceived costliness of tennis in comparison to other mainstream racket sports popularly played across the nation.
Through its coming junior programmes, LTAM is set to collaborate with the Education Ministry, striving to enhance accessibility to the sport for primary school students.
LTAM president Mirzan Mahathir said that these junior initiatives would be rolled out across five regions (North, South, East, Central and Sabah-Sarawak-Labuan) this year, with the ambitious goal of nurturing approximately 10,000 young talents over the next decade.
“While tennis may not enjoy the same recognition locally as badminton or squash, it is a globally renowned sport. Our developmental programmes are geared towards altering these perceptions.
“In terms of purchasing equipment for tennis, we agree that it’s expensive, but this applies to all types of sports, so that’s not the problem. The cost of renting a tennis court for an hour can be as affordable as RM10, but unfortunately, not many people know about this.
“Currently, tennis is an elective sport in schools, so the programmes we are going to work on will mainly focus on schools. We will provide more coaching lessons for children and mould them into future champions.
“The future of the sport relies on the kids, and we need to start our job now if we wish to produce world champions through this sport, just like it’s being done with badminton and squash in our country,” said Mirzan in a press conference at the National Tennis Centre yesterday.
While the exact dates of the programmes remain unconfirmed, LTAM is optimistic that these initiatives will serve as a starting point for aspiring players to learn tennis and eventually vie for positions in the national team.
LTAM is also set to introduce the ROG development programme, catering to players aged 10 and below. This initiative will utilise red, orange and green balls as per the International Tennis Federation guidelines.
Participants will engage in matches using smaller, lighter rackets on mini-tennis courts with lowered nets.
For the record, the Malaysian women’s national team secured a commendable sixth place in the Billie Jean King Cup last July, triumphing over Hong Kong in the classification match.
Malaysia lie fifth in the all-time SEA Games medal table for tennis, with a remarkable tally of 21 medals, including three silvers and 18 bronzes.
The men’s doubles pair of Zainuddin Meah and Mohd Akbar Baba hold historical significance as the first Malaysians to clinch a medal in the SEA Games, achieving this milestone at the 1973 edition in Singapore.
Malaysia also have a record of winning two bronze medals in the Asian Games. – January 13, 2024