Exciting Times Ahead for the Singapore Tennis Scene

17 SEP 2015

Exciting Times Ahead for the Singapore Tennis Scene

Caroline Wozniacki, former world number one tennis player shares some pointers with our local tennis players at the Singapore Sports Institute.

Singapore, 17 September 2015 – The excitement is picking up in the Singapore tennis scene and Sport Singapore is privileged to have Caroline Wozniacki to visit the Singapore Sports Institute (SSI) to meet and greet local young tennis players ahead of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global 2015 to be held in October later this year.

Caroline Wozniacki shared her personal experiences, formative years as a player, aspirations when she was growing up and what keeps her going when she is down against her opponent. In a session involving some 60 local school team players, WTA Future Stars, SEA Junior Tournament participants and coaches, the current world number six proceeded to demonstrate some tennis strokes and invited some of the young tennis players up to have their strokes analysed at the SSI Biomechanics Laboratory.

Shaheed Alam, 17, from Singapore Sports School, who also participated in last year’s SEA Junior Tournament, said, “My favourite part of the session was when Caroline Wozniacki was going through the strokes and giving tips on the serve. I was also talking to one of the biomechanists, and he was telling me about the different contact points and details. I’m looking forward to being able to go back and do a full analysis on my strokes. I also managed to take a selfie with Caroline, and that was really awesome!”

Kaitlynn Arumugam, 13, a SportCares participant from Bishan Park Secondary School shared that, “There aren’t many sports where women are so strongly represented as they are in tennis. It makes me happy that I get the opportunity to play tennis with Love Singapore and to meet Caroline Wozniacki in person. I am still new to the sport but I am already dreaming of representing Singapore some day.”

Vibrancy in the Singapore Tennis Scene

This will be the second year that Singapore is hosting the WTA Finals and the sport has picked up in participation amongst Singapore residents since then. A routine survey on sports participation conducted amongst Singapore residents indicated that the percentage of Singapore residents who played tennis at least once a week has risen by 34% from 2014 to 2015.

“Leveraging on opportunities created by the WTA Finals to inspire greater participation and involvement in the sport of tennis, we at Sport Singapore are also working towards improving the accessibility to tennis coaching, as well as quality, in Singapore,” said Mr Toh Boon Yi, Chief of Strategic Development & Marketing Group, Sport Singapore.

ActiveSG Programming

Since ActiveSG was launched in April 2014, there have been almost 2,000 participants in tennis programmes ranging from:

  • Learn to Play tennis programmes
  • School Holiday Camps
  • Open House and Carnivals; and
  • Competitions

This year on 25 to 26 March, tennis players from various secondary schools had a chance to learn from a current professional tennis coach on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) circuit, Robert Davis in a two-day clinic by ActiveSG.

Participants of the two-day Tennis Clinic with Robert Davis giving a loud cheer in a show of their enthusiasm at Yio Chu Kang Sports Centre.

In the coming month, Sport Singapore will be organising an ActiveSG tennis teachers’ workshop for all school teachers, as well as an ActiveSG Junior Tennis Clinic for school students. The aim is to bring tennis and its associated benefits to schools through the introduction of tennis and fundamental motor skills using modified tennis equipment and stimulating sport activities, and develop individuals’ character and leadership in the sport arena.

ActiveSG Tennis Teachers’ Workshop (5 – 9 October 2015)
The workshop will be conducted by ActiveSG, with a current professional tennis coach on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) circuit, Mr Robert Davis, as the guest speaker. The aim of the workshop is to equip participants with the concept on how to introduce tennis to a class size of school students using a game-based approach. There will also be opportunities for participants to apply the newly learnt knowledge, skills and concept first hand to students, with guidance from Mr Davis and team.

ActiveSG Junior Tennis Clinic (8 – 9 October 2015)
The clinic aims to promote the sport to schools and inculcate values in students through stimulating tennis activities. This clinic is open to 20 students from each school and there are two sessions, either on 8 October (Thursday) or 9 October (Friday), to choose from.