GEORGE NEWS - The Telesto clay tennis courts in George received a world-famous visitor earlier this month when Wimbledon referee Gerry Armstrong and his wife Julie dropped by during their holiday in the Garden Route.
"Next to the players, he is one of the biggest figures in the tennis world," said the owner of the courts, Jonathan Hills.
Armstrong, who hails from England, has been the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour supervisor since 1990. His officiating career stretches over 48 years. By 2020, Armstrong has umpired 13 championships finals at Wimbledon, including four gentlemen's singles finals and four ladies singles finals (www.skysports.com).
During his visit Armstrong expressed his delight in the clay tennis courts, right here in George. "Gerry praised the quality of the clay courts, saying it is absolutely world class," said Hills.
"Gerry and his wife came to look at the tracks and were so impressed with what we've done here. They said my passion, drive and vision for the project is special. It meant a lot, coming from them. He offered to introduce me to some key role players in the industry."
Going abroad
Hills was invited to the French Open in May, where he will be for three days. Thereafter he is off to Spain for training in the maintenance of clay courts. Later this year, Hills will attend the Southern & Western Opens in America, before the US Open.
"Telesto is headed for the big time and needs overseas help," said Hills. "We want to bring some of the bigger academies here - such as the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy and Patrick Mouratoglou Tennis Academy - with a satellite academy in George.
"I need advice on international market entry, such as overseas sponsors who want to invest in sports and academics, who want to start a satellite campus here. No one in South Africa has managed it yet; we are pioneering."
Bigger platform
With tennis being the second largest participation sport in the world after soccer, the idea is to create a bigger platform for South African aspiring professionals to be able to enter the professional tennis world on home soil, to be able to obtain ATP points and to win American dollars in prize money.
"The idea is to host an ATP 250 tourna-ment here in four years, which will be a first on clay and coastal level in SA. Such a tournament costs R75m. Co-operation with overseas sponsorships is of utmost importance," said Hills.
"It will be similar to the Sunshine Tour, which creates the same sort of platform for golfers. We want to attract more international players to SA, because our local players desperately need that type of exposure and competition."
According to Hills he is engaging in promising discussions with two investors with national companies and a financial institution, that has shown interest in becoming a venue sponsor.
"SA has incredible talent in all sports, but there is currently no support for tennis players to develop into professional players. We lose talent every year due to a lack of support and loss of background with clay tennis courts," said Hills.
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