15-Aug:
Squash and Tennis to join
forces in Rotterdam
Squash
and tennis join forces later this month in Rotterdam, when the
Double AR Rotterdam Open Squash 2013 and the HDI
Gerling Rotterdam Open Tennis 2013 will take place
simultaneously at the renowned multi-sporting club Victoria,
which also hosted the combined men’s and women’s World Squash
Championships in 2011.
The squash event, which is registered as a PSA Challenger 15
championship at the Professional Squash Association (PSA), will
start at Tuesday August 27th in the Dutch capital of sports and
runs through to Sunday September 1st.
The ITF Future tennis tournament kicks-off three days earlier
(August 24th) and also ends on the first day of September.
The cooperation of the two high profile sporting events in the
Netherlands comes just before the decision of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) on which sport will
join the program of the 2020 Olympic Games. Squash is in
contention of the much desired available spot at the Olympics
and has been supported by many tennis legends, including
Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Kim Clijsters and Andre Agassi,
in their Squash 2020 campaign to become an Olympic sport.
The highly-awaited decision will be made on September 8th during
the IOC-congress in Buenos Aires with squash facing tough
competition from wrestling and baseball/softball.
Alex Gough, CEO of the PSA, is very enthusiastic about
the initiative of the two events to join forces: “"It is great
to be working with Tommy Berden again after he ran the men's and
women's World Championships in Rotterdam in 2011. It was
arguably the most successful and biggest squash event ever held
and we are excited that he is helping to bring these two events
together. Squash has had incredible support from the tennis
stars, so having these two events side by side is another great
piece of exposure for our sport."
Also deputy-director Hans Zoethoutmaar from Rotterdam
Topsport is delighted with the partnership: “When there are
so many parallels between the two racket sports, you have to
make the most of it as the host city. Both events have free
admission, take place at a fantastic venue and have ambitious
tournament directors that have run world class events before.
That is what we like in our city.”
Spokesman Tommy Berden of the Double AR Rotterdam Open
Squash 2013 added: “It is great to work with the tennis guys. We
have adjusted the playing times of both events to ensure
visitors can watch squash and tennis matches when they come to
the club, and are also organizing some side events together,
like a Kids Day on Wednesday and a Business Day on Friday. We
will no doubt continue to work together in the future and aim to
extend our partnership for the 2014 events.”
More information about the Double AR Rotterdam Open Squash
2013 and HDI Gerling Rotterdam Open Tennis 2013 can be found at
the official websites
www.rotterdamopensquash.com
(squash) and
www.rotterdamopen.com
(tennis).
Admission to both events is free throughout the whole week.
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