OREANDA-NEWS. March 29, 2013. From today until the end of the week, the seventh SEB Tallink Open tennis tournament will be held at the Tere Tennis Centre. The competition is an international tennis tournament for women, with the largest prize fund – this level of women’s tennis has never before been played in Estonia.

SEB Tallink Open is a good starting point for Estonian tennis talents. Last year, this competition proved to be a deciding factor in Anett Kontaveit’s entry into the WTA rankings. Peter Roose, member of the management board of Tallink Group and SEB Tallink Tennis Team: “Young Estonian tennis players have developed considerably: last year, we had four young men among the top one hundred in the European rankings of up to 14-year-olds, and there are others knocking on that door. Hopefully, our efforts will bear fruit and Estonia will gain tennis talents whose success we can cheer along with in international arenas.”

Allan Parik, member of the management board of SEB Bank and SEB Tallink Tennis Team: “In addition to the comprehensive support for the development of SEB Tallink Tennis Team members, we wish to make international tennis accessible to everyone. Home court support is a great advantage and thus it is important to offer our young talents a chance to play their first international tournament in Estonia.”

The level of the competition is equally strong this year. Ukrainian Kateryna Kozlova has the highest WTA ranking (WTA 196). The winner of SEB Tallink Open 2010, Michaela Honcova (WTA 266), is also participating in the tournament. Of Estonians, Anett Kontaveit, winner of SEB Tallink Open 2012, and the reigning champion of Estonia, Eva Paalma, will be participating. This year’s prize fund is USD 25,000.