Cairns, Australia, 1 October 2024 | Tennis Queensland
International tennis has returned to Cairns this week. The Australian Pro Tour is in full swing at the Cairns International Tennis Centre with the Queensland players fierce through the Qualifiers and day one of the Main Draw.
Centre court saw Townsville’s Lizette Cabrera [7] ready to embrace the North Queensland heat and kick off the Main Draw today with a clean sweep 6-2, 6-3, against Japan’s Nanari Katsumi, showing she is ready to regain her 2022 title at the event after having to withdraw from the 2023 final due to injury.
“I’m just really happy to be back Cairns. I love playing this tournament and excited for the next two weeks” Lizette said post her Round 1 win.
Today we also saw Tai Leonard Sach, who grew up in Cairns, making the Main Draw in a centre court session against fellow Aussie, Roger Rogowski taking the win 6-1, 6-4.
Court 2 didn’t miss out on the action, with Brisbane based Melisa Ercan also getting it done in two sets 6-0, 6-1 against USA Mia Horvit.
Tomorrow’s on court action starts with World No. 1 Junior Emerson Jones in her debut at this event, against Belle Thompson from 10am.
The Cairns International Pro Tour event consists of two consecutive ITF men’s and women’s singles and doubles events will run from 29 September to 13 October, providing players with the opportunity to compete for a combined prize pool of $100,000 USD, in addition to valuable world ranking points.
The Australian Pro Tour is a collaboration of International Tennis Federation (ITF) women’s and men’s circuit and is a platform used to introduce tennis players to professional tennis and provide a pathway to the WTA and ATP tours.
Tournament Director Andrew Reynolds said, “The Australian Pro Tour is an integral part of the high performance pathway for our emerging athletes and also those we have seen for many years plying their trade.
Being able to host international events such as ITF Pro Tour right here in Cairns is important for providing athletes the opportunity to experience competing at an international level. It has been fantastic to see players from the local area and greater area of north Queensland”
The general public can head along to the Cairns events for free. It’s a fantastic opportunity for families, fans and aspiring players from across the region to get down and watch some of Australia and the world’s best up-and-coming talent.
The Cairns Tennis International #1 and #2 Pro Tour events runs between 29 September – 13 October 2024 and offers a prize money pool of $100,000 US dollars.
2024 Cairns Tennis International #1
Australian Pro Tour information
The Australian Pro Tour is a collaboration of ITF women’s and men’s circuit and is a platform used to introduce tennis players to professional tennis and provide a pathway to the WTA and ATP tours.
For more information about the Australian Pro Tour, Tennis Australia or the players visit www.tennis.com.au/protour.
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