ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) will host the three Pro-Circuit Tournaments, also called ‘Futures’, to be held at Islamabad from December 4 to 24.

Talking to The Nation, PTF president Salim Saifullah Khan said: “The ITF Futures are returning to Pakistan after nine years. The successful conduct of successive Davis Cup ties, in February and September, had persuaded the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to allocate three Pro-Circuit Tournaments to the PTF, which include ITF Futures-F1 Serena Hotels from December 4 to 10, ITF Futures-F2 Kulsum Saifullah Khan December 11 to 17 and ITF Futures-F3 Benazir Bhutto Shaheed December 18 to 24.”

He said the venue for ITF Futures-F1 and ITF Futures-F2 would be Senator Dilawar Abbas PTF Tennis Complex while the ITF Futures-F3 would be Islamabad Tennis Complex, Embassy Road. “The qualifying round of the F1 will commence from December 2, with player sign-ins scheduled for December 1 while the main round for the F1 is to start from December 4.

“The prize money of each tournament will be $15,000, which is a lucrative amount and attracting the international players to participate in the events while they will also earn ATP ranking points to improve their individual rankings,” he added.

The PTF president said that the number of entries from international players is not only very substantial, with well over 200 from around the globe received until the F1 deadline of the 16th, but it is also highly impressive with several players ranked in the top 300 in the world, this promises an awesome level of tennis for our players and spectators.

“It is to be seen how our best will feature against the world’s top level players at home. The main draws in Futures are for 32 players in singles and 16 pairs in doubles, while the qualifying round for singles is also for 32 players. Several dozen invitation letters have already been issued by the PTF to overseas players to assist them to obtain Pakistani visas.”

While chairing the weekly-management meeting on administrative and event operations matters, Salim expressed gratitude to the International Tennis Federation for awarding the Pro-Circuit Tournaments to Pakistan. He articulated his pleasure on the increase in frequency of international tennis events being allotted to Pakistan.

The PTF chief also lauded the federation’s efforts to help promote tennis, as demonstrated during successful organisation of national and international events, and appreciated the support of the IPC ministry, the government and Law Enforcement Agencies for creating conducive environment in the country for attracting foreign players to various disciplines of sports. “Hosting such events were without a doubt leading diplomatic initiative, to not only provide the deserved soft image of Pakistan worldwide, but also a great source of inspiration for the youngsters aspiring to enter professional sports,” he added.