Fujairah: Hosts the UAE will commence their campaign against Qatar in the men’s and under-18 categories on the opening day of the 2016 GCC Men’s and Junior Teams Tennis Championships to be held over the next few days at the Fujairah Tennis and Country Club (FTCC).
Organised by Tennis Emirates (TE), the GCC Junior U-14 and U-18 and Senior Teams competition is being held from December 18-23, followed by the GCC Individual Men’s Championship at the same venue from December 24-27. Held this year as part of the UAE National Day celebrations, both events are being conducted under the patronage of Shaikh Rashid Bin Hamad Bin Mohammad Al Sharqi, Chairman, Fujairah Culture and Media Authority.
The hosts are up against Qatar in the men’s and boy’s under-18 categories, while the UAE will play Oman in the boy’s under-14 on the opening day. The six teams will play each other over the next few days before the top finisher is declared the winner in each of the three categories.
Next week’s singles competition will have a draw of 32 players, while the doubles will see 16 pairs in action at the FTCC. The closing ceremony will be held on December 27 and the top three finishers will receive trophies and medals.
Teams from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar will be seen in action along with the UAE in the teams’ competitions starting Tuesday. Mohammad Al Gareeb will lead Kuwait’s defence in the singles and teams’ competitions. In the doubles, Al Gareeb had teamed up with Khalid Al Nabhani of Oman for the title after defeating the host country’s Omar Bahroozian and Mahmoud Nader.
Schedule
Men’s: (Start at 9am) Bahrain v Kuwait; UAE v Qatar
Boy’s Under-18: (Start at 9am) Bahrain v Saudi Arabia; Qatar v UAE; Oman v Kuwait
Boy’s Under-14: (Start at 9am) Kuwait v Qatar; UAE v Oman
