The Turkmenistan team began the preliminary round of the Asia-Oceania zone qualification for the ITF World Junior Championship for boys under 14 with an impressive 3-0 victory over Bahrain. The competition is being held in Isa Town, Bahrain.

The ITF World Junior Tennis Competition Pre-Qualifying, organized under the auspices of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in cooperation with the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF), features 21 teams divided into six groups.

The Turkmenistan team is competing in Group "D" alongside Bahrain and Syria.

The compositions of other groups are as follows:  Group A: Indonesia (1st seed), Guam, Yemen; Group B: Hong Kong (China), Mongolia, Jordan; Group C: Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Bangladesh; Group E: Iraq, Lebanon, Macau; Group F: Philippines, Malaysia, Maldives; Group G: Kyrgyzstan, United Arab Emirates, Oman. 

The group winners will advance to the quarterfinals to compete for two spots in the final qualification stage, which will take place from April 9 to 14, 2025, in Malaysia.

Representatives of the national team of Turkmenistan at the ITF World Junior Tennis Competition qualifying tournament are Ali Geldiyev, an 8th-grade student at the School for Young Olympians and winner of last year’s 3rd Asian Junior Tournament for players under 14 in Doha, Qatar, Kerimgeldi Guldurdyev, an 8th-grade student at the Joint Turkmen-Russian Secondary School named after A.S. Pushkin and winner in doubles at the international "Ashgabat Open 2024" tournament for players under 14, Suleyman Hudayberdyyev, an 8th-grade student at Specialized Secondary School No. 86 in Ashgabat and silver medalist in singles at three international tournaments in Qatar, Ashgabat, and Saudi Arabia in 2024 for players under 14.

The opening match against the host team from Bahrain was relatively easy for the Turkmen players. In the first singles match, Kerimgeldi Guldurdyev defeated Nasser Salman with a score of 6:3, 6:1. In the second singles match, Ali Geldiyev confidently beat Ali Basel Alkhayyat, conceding only two games – 6:0, 6:2. In the doubles match, which was no longer crucial for the overall team victory, Kerimgeldi Guldurdyev and Suleyman Hudayberdyyev crushed the duo of Abdullah Aldoseri/Nasser Salman with a score of 6:0, 6:1.

In their next match, Turkmenistan’s tennis players will face Syria, seeded third.

The ITF team competitions for juniors are held for boys and girls in two age categories – under 14 and under 16. Both tournaments provide young tennis players with an opportunity to test themselves in international competitions and experience the unique atmosphere of team play while representing their country.

It should be noted that just recently on these same courts in Isa Town, Bahrain, Turkmenistan’s girls’ team under 14 achieved their best-ever result by finishing fifth among 18 teams in the ITF World Junior Tennis Competition Pre-Qualifying for the Asia-Oceania zone.

The women’s team was represented by Aylar Kakabayeva, an 8th-grade student at Ashgabat’s School for Gifted Children named after Atamyrat Niyazov, Nazli Hudaygulyyeva, a 6th-grade student at Ashgabat Secondary School No. 87, Sakhra Garahanova, a 6th-grade student at Ashgabat Secondary School No. 90.