Twenty years on from the first Liverpool International Tennis Tournament, organiser Anders Borg is pleased to the see city has become a hotspot for developing future stars of the sport.
Back in 2002, Liverpool hosted its maiden International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament as a warm-up event for stars ahead of Wimbledon.
Since then, Borg, along with his sport event management company, Northern Vision, have worked with local communities, organisations, & charities, to develop Liverpool’s tennis calendar into one of the busiest, particularly for up-and-coming athletes.
2015’s Junior International saw a 13-year-old Emma Raducanu make her ITF debut and become the youngest ever winner of an under-18 event, and this year Liverpool has become the city host the most Junior International events in UK.
The first of five tournaments took place last month, with Borg describing it as a huge success due to its scale.
“It was a fantastic event,” he said. “We had participants from more than 40 different countries – it just proves how Liverpool is such a popular destination for tennis players and the tennis audience.
“It’s a city that people want to visit and the fact that we now have four weeks of international junior tournaments each year makes us an even bigger destination for players. That’s something we are really proud of.
“It’s also a fantastic opportunity for the next generation of players from Liverpool, who through our wildcard system can compete in these events even if they haven’t built up any national ranking points.”
One player in particular caught Borg’s attention during February’s Junior International – men’s singles winner Benjamin Gusic Wan – with the young Brit earning high praise for his victory.
“Gusic Wan impressed me as much as Raducanu did when she won her first event. I believe strongly that Gusic Wan is one for the future.
“It’s fantastic [to see our young players go on to do well], said Borg. “It’s everything we stand for. Our main event for 20 years now has been the warm-up for Wimbledon for, but we have always engaged with younger players too. It is a game for life.”
Citing Liverpool Hope University’s 2017 study into tennis’ impact on life expectancy, which found a person playing tennis is at less risk of cholesterol, diabetes and stroke, Borg hopes his work will have a positive impact on future generations.
“We want kids to play tennis to fight obesity, fight mental health issues, and crime. It’s a perfect sport to help people in the right direction of life.
“This is very much part of our corporate social responsibility programme that we tell our partners – you sign up to become a sponsor of the event, and you are also sponsoring all the kids’ programmes and everything else we do throughout the year.”
Now with only two months to go until the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament returns, Borg is excited to be reaching the milestone 20th anniversary.
He said: “I would never have imagined this point when we started 20 years ago.
“When the idea began, we were looking for a place in the UK to bring tennis. It had a sort of ‘snobbish’ environment attached to it because the big events were down in London. Expensive ones to get into, like Wimbledon and Queens, so we wanted to bring it out to the public.
“Our two options were Hampstead Heath and Calderstones Park in Liverpool, and the rest is history.
“At the time everyone I work with thought I was mad, saying ‘Anders, what is happening?’
“But I had worked in the city before, I love the city, even if my beloved Arsenal get beat every single time they come here!
“I’ve seen how fantastically the city has evolved over the years. It’s very underrated because Manchester is taking a lot of new business in the north, they prefer to move there for some reason I don’t understand.
“Liverpool has everything: the most listed buildings outside of London, the waterfront and its sunsets, great golf courses, fantastic universities, all the qualities families and companies will be asking for. I have never regretted bringing the tournament here.”
2021 finalists James Ward and Marcus Willis are set to return for the tournament this June, with more players set to be announced in due course.
Tickets for the event are on sale via https://liverpooltennis.co.uk
