Professional Tennis Courts opened at Pegasus Reef Hotel
Young national players at the court opening - Pic by Amila Gamage
Last Saturday, two new superior quality Tennis courts were declared open at Pegasus Reef Hotel, Hendala, in the presence of officials of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA), Principals of schools and Tennis enthusiasts. According to Pegasus Reef General Manger Harsha Jayasinghe, the two hard courts covered, with an acrylic surface, will serve both Tennis enthusiasts as well as the tourists. .
After the official opening, exhibition matches were played, with members of the National Women’s team preparing for the 2018 Asia-Oceania Fed Cup Group II Playoff’s in Bahrain, seen in action.
Guest of Honour, SLTA President Iqbal Bin Isaac, talking to the Sunday Times, confirmed that this is the second hard court outside Colombo, with the other in Negombo.
“This is a great initiative by Pegasus Reef Hotel, with more opportunities made available for schoolchildren and tennis enthusiasts in this area to benefit from this facility. These are initiatives that will help expand the popularity of the game of tennis in Sri Lanka,” he stated
The SLTA President confirmed it has agreed to conduct two tournaments in the Under-14 and Under-10 categories to be played in March and July on the Pegasus Courts. The Hotel has proactively engaged with the SLTA to ensure their courts can be used for professional tournaments.
Ganendran Subrmaniam, a professional coach, will be the Tournament Director and Head Coach for Pegasus Reef Tennis, and will be available for coaching and guiding interested players of the area. Subramaniam, who has a long history in coaching, believes there is an interest in the area and, up to now, players have had to travel to Colombo for their requirements of the game.