KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Inadequate exposure as well as lack of participations in championships impact negatively on the country’s tennis players, especially the back-up athletes.
This disappointment was expressed by national tennis queen, Jawairiah Noordin, 28, who regarded tennis in Malaysia as lacking the attention of sponsors and sports enthusiasts.
It (inadequate exposure) was evident when the last time Jawairiah took part in a championship was the Federation Cup in Tajikistan in February.
“The senior players have no problems, but I pity the back-up players, they need guidance from good coaches and continuous exposure.
“They need to take part in championships at least once a month or to participate in the academy (trainings and programmes), it is undeniable that tennis also lacks sponsorship. We need sponsorships to participate in overseas championships,” she told Bernama after emerging as the women’s singles champion at the 2018 Kuala Lumpur Open, today.
Jawairiah, who is from Penang, defeated 18-year-old Indonesian Oxi Gravitas Putri 6-2, 6-2 at the Jalan Duta Tennis Complex.
Commenting on the matter, Jawairiah admitted that the achievement of back-up players was far behind when compared to senior players.
Apart from that, Jawairiah also hoped tennis players would be more appreciated by not dropping them easily if they were involved with disciplinary problems.
“There are not that many tennis players in Malaysia but we are easily dropped from programmes if we are involved in disciplinary problems. Rightly, the athlete should be given a warning and brainwashed before such a drastic action is taken,” she said. — Bernama
