Squash & Tennis To Join Forces In Rotterdam by Howard Harding 19 August 2013
- Squash and tennis join forces in the Netherlands later this month
when the Double AR Rotterdam Open Squash 2013 and the HDI Gerling
Rotterdam Open Tennis 2013 take place simultaneously at Rotterdam's
renowned multi-sporting club Victoria, which also hosted the combined
men's and women's World Squash Championships in 2011.
The squash event,
which is registered as a PSA Challenger 15 championship with the
Professional Squash Association (PSA), will start on Tuesday 27 August
in the Dutch capital of sports and run through to Sunday 1st September.
The ITF Futures tennis tournament kicks-off three days earlier (August
24th) and also ends on the first day of September.
The cooperation of the
two high-profile sporting events in the Netherlands comes just before
the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on which
sport will join the programme of the 2020 Olympic Games.
Squash is in
contention for the much desired available spot at the Olympics - and
has been supported by many tennis legends, including Roger Federer,
Andy Murray, Andre Agassi and Kim Clijsters, in its Squash 2020
campaign to become an Olympic sport. The highly-awaited decision will
be made on September 8th during the IOC-congress in Buenos Aires with
squash facing tough competition from wrestling and baseball/softball.
Alex Gough, CEO of the
PSA, is very enthusiastic about the initiative of the two events
joining forces: "It is great to be working with Tommy Berden again
after he ran the men's and women's World Championships in Rotterdam in
2011. It was arguably the most successful and biggest squash event ever
held and we are excited that he is helping to bring these two events
together.
"Squash has had
incredible support from the tennis stars, so having these two events
side by side is another great piece of exposure for our sport."
Deputy-director Hans
Zoethoutmaar from Rotterdam Topsport is also delighted with the
partnership: "When there are so many parallels between the two racket
sports, you have to make the most of it as the host city. Both events
have free admission, take place at a fantastic venue and have ambitious
tournament directors that have run world class events before. That is
what we like in our city."
Spokesman Tommy Berden
of the Double AR Rotterdam Open Squash 2013 added: "It is great to work
with the tennis guys. We have adjusted the playing times of both events
to ensure visitors can watch squash and tennis matches when they come
to the club, and are also organizing some side events together, like a
Kids Day on Wednesday and a Business Day on Friday. We will no doubt
continue to work together in the future and aim to extend our
partnership for the 2014 events."
More information about
the Double AR Rotterdam Open Squash 2013 and HDI Gerling Rotterdam Open
Tennis 2013 can be found at the official websites
www.rotterdamopensquash.com (squash) and www.rotterdamopen.com
(tennis). Admission to both events is free throughout the whole week.
Double AR Rotterdam Open 1st round draw: [1] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) v Qualifier Raphael Kandra (GER) v Qualifier Lucas Serme (FRA) v [WC] Sebastiaan Weenink (NED) [4] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v Kristian Frost Olesen (DEN) [3] Olli Tuominen (FIN) v Qualifier Jens Schoor (GER) v Aqeel Rehman (AUT) Steven Finitsis (AUS) v Qualifier [2] Adrian Grant (ENG) v Jan Koukal (CZE)
