Commencing on the 5 November and lasting for six days, Loughborough will take on seven other universities across the globe, including the University of Melbourne, Moscow State University and
Mumbai University.
Playing at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre, a venue that the likes of Andy Murray have played in, the Loughborough students will not only play in world class facilities but will experience a whole host of cultural opportunities in the Chinese city. Chengdu is one of China’s emerging cities, gaining momentum for multiple projects that are aiming to connect the city with the wider world.
The tournament will take on a round robin style format, in which all eight universities will play singles, doubles and mixed double fixtures to crown the winner. Funded by Tennis Australia, the Chinese Tennis Association and Chengdu Sports Bureau, the tournament is brilliant development opportunity for student-athletes from across the world.
On the prospect of travelling to the other side of the world, Director of Tennis Helen Reesby commented:
“This is a fantastic opportunity for our players to pit themselves against fellow student-athletes from across the globe. Being exposed to different cultures, styles of tennis whilstcompeting against and learning from the other nations. This will be a brilliant development opportunity for our six travelling players and we wish them every success. Hopefully they will return to Loughborough with experiences that will further their development and share with the rest of the tennis programme.”
The Loughborough team travelling to Chengdu are:
George Houghton
George Foster
Michael Shaw
Olivia Sofroniou
Nadia Rawson
Katie Morris
Tom Kisiel (coach)
Nathan Bullock (coach)
Loughborough will be hoping this will be one of many invitations from fellow global sporting institutions, building on the current Leicestershire-China strategy seeking to celebrate and grow long-term relations with China.