Probably only soccer reaches into as many corners of the world as tennis.
鈥淓very country in the world will have a tennis court . . . I鈥檝e even taught tennis in Micronesia . . . there are a lot of tennis players out there,鈥� said Eric Knoester, racquet sports co-ordinator for the Panorama Recreation Centre.
The rec centre has plugged into the sport鈥檚 wide appeal and this week stages the Panorama Junior Open, the first of three annual International Tennis Federation tournaments the North Saanich facility hosts.
The Panorama ITF junior tournament, one of 40 around the world for elite U-18s, began Monday and runs through Saturday at Panorama with 80 players from sa国际传媒, Germany, China, Japan, India and the U.S. vying in boys鈥� and girls鈥� singles and doubles events.
鈥淭his is the first step in the journey in terms of chasing the dream,鈥� said tournament director Knoester.
鈥淚t鈥檚 part of the world-ranking circuit. How it is run is very similar to pro tournaments. So it鈥檚 a training ground. It changes the level of competition the kids have had until now in their development. It shows what pro tennis life is like. It鈥檚 an entry-level stepping stone to pro tennis or college and university tennis.鈥�
Top-three ranked this week on the girls鈥� side are world No. 349 Sophia Ho of Port Moody, the tournament defending champion who represented sa国际传媒 at the 2017 sa国际传媒 Summer Games, No. 435 Elizabeth Stevens of the U.S. and fellow-American and No. 567 Madison Kim. The seventh seed is Chiho Mushika, a Japanese exchange student attending Oak Bay High.
Top seeds on boys鈥� side are world No. 468 Luka Vukovic of North Vancouver, top five in U-18 in sa国际传媒, and No. 501 Bohua Dong of China. Also in the boys鈥� draw is emerging 16-year-old Jovan Sihota of Victoria, double medallist in the 2017 sa国际传媒 Summer Games.
Singles qualifying play continues through Wednesday, with the quarter-finals on Thursday, semifinals Friday and the finals Saturday. The doubles finals are Friday.
There is no admission charge and on-court seating will be available Thursday to Saturday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really good competition, and these are great kids competing, and it creates a real buzz on and around our courts,鈥� said Knoester.
The Panorama women鈥檚 pro ITF tournament takes place June 16-23 and the rec centre鈥檚 second junior ITF event, the Victoria International, on Oct. 15-21.
