Bright future: Nguyen Thu Phuong is expected to compete at the WTA Future Stars Tournament in Singapore. — Photo dunlopsport.com.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam will compete in the WTA Future Stars Tournament to be held in Singapore at the end of October.

The event will showcase the top ranked U14 and U16 junior girls' players in the Asia-Pacific region from a total of 18 invited federations, including New Zealand, China, Japan and Thailand. This has expanded from 12 in the augural tournament last year.

To qualify for the event, each country will host a "Junior Road to Singapore" event in two age categories - Girls' U14s and Girls' U16s - to determine who will be represented in Singapore.

Viet Nam's qualifying event will be held on August 4-9 in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province.

According to Le Thi Kieu My, a member of the HCM City Tennis Federation, the Vietnamese tournament will attract the participation of 120 girls and boys athletes nationwide.

My said Tran Thi Thanh Truc of HCM City and Nguyen Thu Phuong of Ha Noi are expected to secure tickets to Singapore. Truc and Phuong are winners of the U14 and U16 divisions at the national event this year.

"The WTA Future Stars Tournament will provide young athletes a chance to hone their skills, gain experience and meet famous tennis stars," said My.

Last year's winners - Thailand's Thasaporn Naklo (U14) and India's Karman Kaur Thandi (U16) - were presented with trophies and medals by WTA Legend and two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na in a special on-court ceremony.

Li then met all 24 WTA Future Stars in an informal gathering, introducing the greatest Asian player of all time to the next generation of Asian-Pacific athletes.

"The WTA Future Stars initiative had a phenomenal kickoff in 2014, with a fantastic turnout of young and talented girls throughout the region," said Melissa Pine, tournament director of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

"This expansion across 18 countries in the Asia-Pacific shows our commitment to give back to the community through tennis, and present the stars of tomorrow on a global stage," Pine added. — VNS