KUALA LUMPUR: Tennis Malaysia (TM) has requested additional support from the National Sports Council (NSC) for Mitsuki Leong ahead of next year’s Malaysia SEA Games.
TM secretary Kamaruzzaman Kedah said Mitsuki deserves additional support as he is now the top-ranked men’s singles player in Southeast Asia.
“NSC will be supporting us for the SEA Games campaign and we are working closely with them,” said Kamaruzzaman when contacted yesterday.
“We have requested additional support for Mitsuki and NSC said they will definitely consider this.
“Mitsuki is a touring professional and he is now ranked around No. 400 in the ATP rankings so he definitely deserves it (support).
“He is our only player in the top-500 and it is not impossible he breaks into the top-400 soon.
“The rest of the squad will also get support from NSC but the final number of players in the team will only be known once the number of events for the SEA Games is confirmed. We expect to know the final details by next month.”
Mitsuki, who achieved a career-high ranking of No. 405 last month, is now the highest-ranked Malaysian player of all time.
Currently at No. 408 in the latest rankings, Mitsuki is now just ahead of Thailand’s Kasidit Samrej (No. 409) and Maximus Jones (No. 493). Maximus beat Kasidit in the men’s singles final at the Thailand SEA Games last year.
Indonesia’s Rifki Fitriadi, who secured bronze alongside Mitsuki, is now No. 543.
Meanwhile, Kamaruzzaman confirmed that national duo Koay Hao Sheng and Naufal Kamaruzzaman, as well as promising junior Aqil Adibi Rahiman have received main draw wildcards for next week’s ITF M15 tournament in Kuala Lumpur.
“We hope that Hao Sheng and Naufal will be able to score some points to help us boost our seedings for the SEA Games,” said Kamaruzzaman.
“Aqil has done well in junior tournaments recently and deserves this wildcard. We hope he will gain valuable experience in the competition.”