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Friday, June 20, 2014
Richmond Review · Page 29
sports
Richmond Futures set to debut
“Our whole objective is to increase the awareness of tennis
in the Richmond area,” says Richmond Country Club tennis pro
Henry Choi, who in addition to
serving on the organizing committee is also committed to play.
“(Worldwide) tennis is booming. Tennis Canada, within the
last decade, has put a lot of resources into the sport and the
long-range plan is to make it a
successful sport here,” said Choi,
33, who is originally from Toronto.
“One of the ways is by trying
to improve the system in which
kids learn the game. In Toronto
and Montreal, especially, a lot
of resources have been put into
high performance and you see
the results with the likes of Milos Raonic (ranked ninth in the
world) and Eugenie Bouchard
(the 13th ranked women’s player
in the world).”
Historically, tennis has also
been seen by many as a sport
Pro tennis event
will feature
international stars
of tomorrow
by Don Fennell
Sports Editor
The future is now at the Richmond Country Club.
Armed with at least a threeyear commitment, pro circuit
tennis is set to debut locally this
weekend with the launch of the
$15,000 Richmond Futures.
Sanctioned by the International
Tennis Federation, the 2014 draw
June 21 to 29 will feature several
up-and-coming internationallyranked players in the men’s
event. Among them are familiar
local names such as Filip Peliow
of North Vancouver (ranked
236th in the world), Philip Bester
(419) and Brayden Schnur (564).
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for the elite. But Choi says that’s
changing, with more private
clubs opening their arms to
high-performance programs
and more public facilities being
constructed.
“There are a lot of different
factors as to why tennis in B.C.
is growing,” says Choi. “Certainly
one factor is the emergence
of players on the international
scene likes (Vernon’s) Vasek
Pospisil (currently ranked 35th in
the world) and Rebecca Marino
(the Vancouver woman who decided in early 2013 to take an indefinite break from tennis after
reaching the ranking of 38th in
women’s single play). I think it’s
built a passion for the sport in
B.C. after kind of being an afterthought. No one really came out
of B.C. before.”
Though the Richmond Futures
is an entry-level professional
tournament, the calibre of players is more than deserving of
support. Choi says the players
are keen to move up the rankings
and through events such as this
that can happen quickly.
“Everyone has a starting point
and having success at an event
like this really builds on your
world ranking,” he says. “And it
helps too when you get a strong
field this like featuring a lot of
guys who’ve already done a lot
of good things in tennis and
a bunch of future stars in the
game. I think seeing them in action will inspire a lot of younger
players in our programs at the
moment.”
The Richmond Futures, with
Davis Trading as the title sponsor,
is among a growing number of
pro circuit events in B.C. The Stanley Park Open, traditionally one
of the biggest amateur events in
North America, is also set to become a futures tournament this
year. Kelowna Future Tennis, June
28 to July 6, is also part of the
International Tennis Federationsanctioned Pro Circuit.
yourone stop
Henry Choi will also play in the Richmond Futures he’s
helping to organize June 21 to 29 at Richmond Country Club.
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