Doha, 24 Feb. 2023 (QNA)

Tareq Darwish Zeinal, Secretary General, Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) in a press release today has said that Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation (QTSBF) is preparing a plan to upgrade the Qatar ExxonMobil Open Tennis Championship from the ATP 250 series to ATP 500 series.

He said that the General Assembly of the Federation, chaired by Nasser Bin Ghanim AL Khelaifi, President QTF discussed upgrading the championship from the ATP 250 to ATP 500, due to the great importance of the Qatar Championship and its distinction among all the championships of the same category.

He said that the tournament participants, including officials from the Professional Tennis Players Association and players, assured the organizing committee that the Qatar Championship would be chosen as the best tournament in its category for the sixth year in a row.

Zeinal said that General Assembly discussed the issue of merging the Padel under the QTSBF umbrella highlighting that the construction of six Padel courts in the vicinity of the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex has been completed and equipped in preparation for the tournament that will be hosted by the federation after the completion of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open championship.

He mentioned the meeting discussed a number of issues in developing tennis. Among these were emphasizing on the strategy to develop sport by organizing local, Asian and international tournaments; developing the capabilities of Qatari players and providing them with more support through setting up camps and participating in Asian and international tournaments.

Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) headed by Thai Kitsombat Euammongkol, held its Ordinary general assembly in Doha. Present on the occasion were QTSBF Secretary-General, ATF Vice President Tariq Darwish Zainal, and members of the Board of Directors in Doha and via visual communication technology.

During the meeting, Qatar requested to host the ATF General Assembly meeting on Dec. 2023, to elect a chairman, vice-chairman and members of the board of directors for a new session.