KUCHING: Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) will build on their Sukma XII success by continuing to improve facilities and organise six international events a year to further boost the standard of the game in the state.

In the recent Sukma in Terengganu, tennis raked in three gold and five silver medals for Sarawak – the best showing to date.

Aileen Tsan was the star, bagging three gold medals in the team event, the women’s doubles and the mixed doubles.

SLTA president Patrick Liew told a press conference yesterday the players’ dedication and team spirit were pivotal to their success at the Games.

In the 1990 Sukma hosted by Sarawak, tennis contributed two gold medals, repeating the tally in the 1992 Johor Games, won one gold medal each in Pahang (1996) and Penang (2000) and two gold medals in Negeri Sembilan (2004).

Tennis was left out of Sukma in Kedah two years ago.

“It is commitment that contributed to our success this time. When I recalled our players from overseas for Sukma, they all responded without hesitation.

“Three of them — Kelvin Lee, a finalist in the men’s singles, Aileen Tsan and Michelle Liew – flew back from the United States where they are studying, to help us win the medals.

“Aileen topped the women’s performance with her three gold medals. Kevin also did well to beat top seed Mark Pee in the semi-finals after a tough struggle,” he said.

Shirley Ling from Sibu, who started playing in Kuching, also had a good run before meeting national No. 1 singles Jawariah Nordin, ranked 100-plus in International Tennis Federation rankings.

Liew said SLTA was trying to persuade Shirley to move out to study in Kuching where she could receive more attention, being a gold medal prospect in the next Sukma.

Among the upcoming tournaments are the Borneo Games from July 31 to Aug 3 and the Asian Under-14 hosted by Sarawak this year.

On November 13, SLTA will organise the 13th Annual Chief Minister’s Cup while overseas tournaments to the Philippines, Bangladesh and Vietnam are also in the pipeline plus the monthly medal competitions. Liew, who encouraged more parents to send their children for training, said there were now opportunities for tennis scholarships to study in universities abroad.

“Many parents are uncertain when it comes to this. My advice is … send their children as early as four to five years old because the standard is improving every year and, in fact, very high now.

“They must start young and put in a lot of efforts. Nowadays, players as young as 14 or 15 are winning international tournaments — players like Martina Hingis, Maria Sharapova or Rafael Nadal started making a big  impact at 16.”

He said every year, universities in the US were offering 2,000 places for girls and 800 for boys, and on top of that, students were allowed to work in the summer break.

According to him, many Malaysian players have made it academically through tennis such as former Penang mixed doubles champion Keng Pui Ying who holds a PhD, another former player Kho Lik Khoon, now earning his Masters in the UK and Jane Fong, who played in the 2000 Sukma in Penang, is now a doctor.