OREANDA-NEWS. February 01, 2011. AS SEB Pank and AS Tallink Grupp laid the foundations for a non-profit organisation called the SEB Tallink Tennis Team, which will develop a professional preparatory system for talented young players and help them achieve their goals at the world level, reported the press-centre of SEB Pank.

The strategic goal of the team, which has been designed as a long-term undertaking, is to develop a pool of young talent with the potential to break through in the international game. The players on the team will be given the chance to practise under renowned trainers and to take part in international tournaments.

The head coach of the SEB Tallink Tennis Team will be Andrei Luzgin, while the team will be managed by Riho Kallus.

“We have a very ambitious goal for the team,” Luzgin explains. “In five years’ time we want at least two of the boys and two of the girls we’re training to have made it into the top 100 players on the adult circuit.”

Kallus says the SEB Tallink Tennis Team will also be supporting the organisation of international events in Estonia. “There will be two international ITF women’s tournaments flying the SEB and Tallink flags, with prize pools of 10,000 dollars, and we’re also supporting SEB Tallink league tennis with the aim of getting more people into the sport,” he said.