Islamabad to host first World Tennis women's event

Islamabad will host a World Tennis Women’s 15,000 Futures Tournament from October 12 to 17, an event organisers are describing as the first World Tennis women’s competition to be held in Pakistan. The Junaid Family Foundation has announced sponsorship, and the Pakistan Tennis Federation is collaborating on the tournament.

Around 40 international players are expected to travel to Islamabad for the competition, Minute Mirror reported. They will compete alongside emerging Pakistani female players, giving local athletes an opportunity to face overseas opponents on home soil and gain competitive experience at an international level without travelling abroad.

The tournament has been sanctioned by World Tennis. Foundation Chairman Ansir Junaid was quoted as saying that JFF’s support for women went beyond healthcare services, and that promoting women’s health also involved creating opportunities for women and girls to participate, compete and achieve recognition.

Junaid said supporting elite athletes could help draw greater attention to the health and development of women and girls across the country. He added that the tournament would be part of an important period for women’s tennis in Pakistan, with another Futures tournament scheduled to follow and the Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania competition expected to bring further attention to the women’s game.

The foundation said the event would provide an international platform to highlight the achievements and potential of women athletes in Pakistan. Its sponsorship is aligned with wider objectives of supporting initiatives that create opportunities for women and girls and contribute to their development, participation and visibility in society.

JFF operates in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States, as well as in Pakistan. Its work covers healthcare and development, education, equity and diversity, and civic engagement. The foundation said its programmes aim to address generational poverty and create pathways towards long-term prosperity. It has previously run maternal and child nutrition projects in Pakistan.

The foundation described its tennis sponsorship as an expansion into sport, and said that hosting international players could give Pakistani athletes exposure to a higher level of competition. Minute Mirror described the event as a significant development for women’s tennis in Pakistan.