Sabrina Rakhmanova, an under-17 tennis player from Turkmenistan, has been given a ‘wild card’ entry to compete in a regional qualifying tournament for the junior French Open. The winner of the Central and West Asia qualifier, which will be held at Almaty’s Gorky Tennis Park from August 5-9, will earn a place in the competition’s main draw, on the clay courts at Roland Garros in Paris.
The French Open at Roland Garros has been held since in 1891. Its main and junior competitions are one of the four annual Grand Slams, making them one of the world’s biggest tennis tournaments. Rakhmanova’s opportunity to play at the qualifying tournament came thanks to a new partnership between the Asian Tennis Federation and the French Tennis Federation.
Rakhmanova is currently being coached by Turkmenistan’s leading tennis coach, Mirali Hasanov, at a three-week training camp in Uzbekistan.
Turkmenistan organizes various tennis tournaments, and the country marks World Tennis Day with competitions for juniors and adults. The national tennis federation organizes the Central Asian Team Championships in Ashgabat for children under twelve.
