A trio of UAE players will commence their ITF Junior Championships campaign at the Fujairah Tennis & Country Club this week, as Abdulla Ahli, Fares Al Janahi, and Fahad Al Janahi all take to the court.

The tournament, which is normally held at the Abu Dhabi Country Club, stepped in to host the event instead of the UAE capital club at late notice.

Fahad, 17, whose runner-up showing in Bahrain last October boosted his world junior ranking to 638, faces Russian No7 seed Yan Bondarevskiy in the first round today, while Ahli, also 17, takes on Germany’s Daniil Klimov and Fares, 16, faces Iran’s Armin Rostami.

The tournament represents the first international action of the season for the Emirati teenagers and national team coach Omar Behroozian feels it’s a great opportunity for them to pick up some valuable ranking points.

“The guys have been playing a lot since September. They played four ITFs in a row in October and
November,” Behroozian said.

“They came with me to the Futures in Qatar which was a good experience for them. They played in the Abu Dhabi Sports Council UAE National Cup held before the Mubadala World Tennis Championship as well after having an intense two-week training camp before Christmas. So they’re competitive and ready.”

Behroozian, a UAE Davis Cup player who has taken over the national team’s coaching duties, feels more and more junior tournaments are showing up on the regional calendar, which has been a big help for local players.

“In the GCC it’s not so bad now. There are like 10-12 ITFs held in the region which is very good compared to how it was say seven, eight years ago.”