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28 March 2024

Tennis Emirates eyes Guinness World Record

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By Staff

The UAE will seek to enter the Guinness World Records on Wednesday with the creation of a unique mosaic using only tennis balls on the sidelines of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

The mosaic using only tennis balls will be set up at the Events Arena of Jumeirah Beach Hotel with top dignitaries from the ITF scheduled to visit the site at 5.30 pm September 17.

This will be a first-time Guinness World Record using tennis balls to depict the three-finger victory sign of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The Guinness World Record attempt is one of the side happenings during the course of this year’s AGM. The ITF will also be conducting the draws for the preliminary rounds of the 2015 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas on September 18.

Earlier on Sunday, the Davis Cup – one of the oldest sporting trophies – was unveiled and put up on display at the Dubai Mall by Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum, President of Tennis Emirates.

The trophy will be kept at the world’s biggest mall till September 18 when it will be shifted to Madinat Jumeirah Hotel for the draws ceremony.

“The Guinness World Records attempt is such a fantastic opportunity for the UAE to be in the international limelight. Tennis has a popular following here and I am sure we will have some movement at the grassroots level taking place due to the Guinness World Records attempt and the Davis Cup trophy here,” stated Sarah Baker, General Secretary, Tennis Emirates.

“The unique part of the ITF AGM lies in the fact that this is the first time-ever that such an important meeting is being held in West Asia or the Arab world and that’s reason enough for us to be pleased,” she added.

Scheduled to be held from September 16 to 18 under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), the annual meeting of the ITF has brought together nearly 200 top officials from the world of tennis from across the globe.

The hosting of such an important meeting falls within the strategy and thinking of the Dubai Government at large and the Dubai Sports Council, in particular.

Besides deliberating several issues at the meeting, the delegates will also have an opportunity to take in the culture and heritage of the UAE by participating in various social programmes put in place by the local organising committee.

Backed by Tennis Emirates, Ministry of Interior, Dubai Sports Council (DSC), General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW), Road and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai Convention Bureau and Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the closed-doors ITF AGM got under way from 9 am on Tuesday.

[Image via Shutterstock]