PLETTENBERG BAY TENNIS NEWS - Beach tennis will be coming back to the Garden Route this December for the second edition of the Kia Summer Slam Beach Tennis Tour, with the last qualifying tournament as well as the finals to be played in Plettenberg Bay.
So far confirmed to enter are a host of some of the top beach tennis stars, including defending champions Alessandro Calbucci and Michele Cappelletti, the men's world number 1 and 2 respectively.
Russian world number 4 Nikita Burmakin and Italian world number 5 Tommaso Giovannini will also be making the trip to South Africa to attend.
With many more of the world's top 50 ranked players set to compete alongside a healthy contingent of home-grown talent, South African fans are in for a spectacular showcase of the best that beach tennis has to offer. Home support is likely to rally around local stars Michael de Jongh and Ryan Brookshaw (men), and Jody Claassen, Helga Jeske, Lynn Kiro and Kyla Yelverton (women), who will be looking to make a name for themselves on home turf after representing South Africa at the recent World Team Championship in Moscow and finishing in a respectable 15th place.
At the heart of the action are the men's and women's draw of the International Tennis Federation $35 000 (about R500 000) tournament which is one of the six largest prize money events on the tour.
In the two weeks preceding the $35 000 event in Plettenberg Bay, two more prize money events will be held in the Eastern Cape, starting with the ITF
$3 000 at Kings Beach in Port Elizabeth from 6 to 8 December, and the ITF $3 000 at Cape St Francis from 10 to 12 December.
From 14 to 17 December, Central Beach in Plettenberg Bay will play host to another ITF $3 000 event as a warm-up tournament to the $35 000 event, which will be held at the same beach from 18 to 20 December. The four events which make up the Kia Summer Slam Beach Tennis Tour will all be ITF ranking tournaments.
Reigning ITF world champions Alessandro Calbucci and Michele Cappelletti from Italy will return to South Africa this December to defend their title. Photo: Tennis SA
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