Following the success of the clinics and masterclasses in Jakarta over the last few years, the WTA Future Stars extends its outreach in Indonesia to Bali, together with hometown hero and former WTA Top 20 player Yayuk Basuki.
Today, Basuki, who will be returning as a WTA Finals Legend Ambassador in Singapore this October, introduced 50 children aged 10-12 years from the Tat Twam Asi Social Foundation to tennis for the first time in a series of fun basic activities and drills.
With six WTA singles titles and nine doubles titles, local role model Basuki shared her experience with the next generation saying, “I have been working with the WTA Future Stars initiative for a few years now, and I am very glad to be able to expand our reach in Indonesia. It is our first WTA Future Stars clinic here in Bali, and it is wonderful to be able to introduce tennis to these children and for me to also share my experience with the sport. Hopefully the experience today will motivate them and give them hope for a better future through tennis.”
The Tat Twam Asi Social Foundation was established in 1987 to accommodate school-aged children, especially daughters from poor or orphaned families, and provide them with opportunities to receive a formal education (elementary to high school). The foundation has an orphanage in Bali that has accommodated more than 900 people since its establishment in 1987 and has successfully channelled foster children to find employment.
Speaking after the clinic, Ketut Dwi Angraeni, a manager from the Tat Twam Asi Social Foundation, said, “I am sure that today is a very special day for the children, to be able to learn the basics of tennis from the very best of our country. Their experience today with Yayuk Basuki and the WTA will be unforgettable, and I believe that it will serve as a good motivation for them to explore opportunities to improve their lives through the sport.”
The WTA Future Stars Clinic is part of a regional platform to promote tennis among children throughout Asia-Pacific, and includes the WTA Future Stars Tournament where each country sends two representatives to compete in the U14 and U16 categories respectively.
Alongside the session today, the Indonesia Tennis Federation also conducted trials to select their representatives for the WTA Future Stars tournament to be held in Singapore in conjunction with the fifth and final edition of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Launched in 2014 when the WTA Finals was first hosted in Singapore, the WTA Future Stars tournament started with 12 countries, and in 2018 will bring together players from 21 markets in the Asia-Pacific region.
The crown-jewel of the WTA calendar will take place in Singapore from October 21 – 28 2018 where the best in women’s tennis will compete for the year’s biggest prize purse of US$7 million. Players accumulate points throughout the season and the top eight singles players and doubles teams on the Porsche Race to Singapore Leaderboard then compete in the season finale at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
