KARACHI: A three-member Pakistan tennis team will fly to Istanbul from Islamabad on Saturday on a 10-day visit to play friendly matches against Turkish players at Koza Tennis Academy.

The trip has been arranged by the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) to provide international exposure to the players, particularly, the youth.

The team includes Pakistan’s top player Aqeel Khan, Yousuf Khan (Peshawar) and Mohammad Abid Mushtaq (Lahore).

Currently, the players are engaged in the Subh-e-Nau tennis at Islamabad and the event concludes on Friday.

Meanwhile, an hectic schedule awaits top tennis players of the country in the next two months. It envisaged half-a-dozen competitions.

After their return from Turkey, the players will compete in a national tournament at Lahore from Nov 12 to 17. This will be followed by the Federal Cup at Islamabad from Nov 18 and another event at POF Wah Cantt from Nov 22.

This will be followed by three legs of the US $15,000 ITF Futures at the Islamabad’s PTF Tennis Complex in December.

The first leg of the Begum Kulsum Saifullah ITF Futures will be played from Ddc 4 to 10. The second leg of the Serena Hotel ITF Futures will be staged from Dec 11 to 17 while the third leg named after the late Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed ITF Futures will take place from Dec 18 to 24.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan carved out 3-2 victory over Thailand in the third round of Asia-Oceania Davis Cup Group II at the Pakistan Sports Board grasscourts in Islamabad last month.

The triumph helped Pakistan to earn promotion in group I in 2018 where they are slated to face South Korea in the first round at Islamabad from Feb 2 to 4.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2017