While the global pandemic continues to evolve, people all over the world have to change their lifestyles, schedules, and careers. Some of them even try to make the world a better place by introducing social projects and initiatives. One of them is Rubin Statham, a top New Zealand tennis player.
Rubin or Jose as he is often called was born in April 1987. He has reached
the 279th ATP ranking in singles in 2013 and 139th – in doubles the same year. In 2020, he defeated Brandon Perez from Venezuela during the World Group I play-off. It was the first group match since February 2019 when Rubin had a serious hip injury. He has a twin brother, Mikal, who also plays tennis professionally.
Recently, Rubin appeared in the headlines of magazines and news thanks to a noble initiative: to organize tournaments and help the most talented players to develop their tennis careers.
Jose, like many other sportsmen across the world, has been staying in New Zealand for months because of the pandemic and wanted to do something valuable and important. That is when the idea of combining music and tennis has crossed his mind. Rubin says that the idea of such an event came to him five years ago but the absence of free time made it impossible to bring it to life. Now he hopes that these events will take place annually.
The first event, Exo Tennis NZ, took place on January 15 at Milford Tennis club and was a real success. It featured Alex Klincharov, Ajeet Rai, Jade Lewis, Paige Hourigan, and Statham himself. Each of them played a one-set match and the event was complemented by performances of Paul Ross and Verity Burgess. What can be better? Six of the top NZ tennis players and two world-class performers showing their skills for three hours!
Rubin Statham has been working on the event for months and wanted to do something to support New Zealand’s tennis players who were also stuck at home without a possibility to participate in tournaments. The only way they could somehow play in the international arena is to join
verified live betting operators for Kiwi punters and try out tennis-themed slots against other gamblers.
The next tournament will take place on January 22 at Parnell Tennis Club (Auckland).
Tickets start at NZD $15 and automatically participate in a prize draw. And to make the event even more fun, tennis stars Marina Erakovic and Brett Steven will also come. In 2012, Marina has achieved the 39th ranking for singles and 25th in doubles but had to miss the French Open and Wimbledon because of a hip injury. Brett Steven is a former NZ tennis player who has reached the quarterfinals in 1993 Australian Open and throughout the career has won nine top doubles titles including The Indian Wells Masters.
Prospects for the future
Unfortunately, there haven’t been many domestic tennis events where players can earn points and sharpen their skills. That is why Rubin is hoping to help players in three different ways: to practice, play against top sportsmen, and raise funds to represent the country overseas.
Statham believes that holding such events every year may significantly boost the development of tennis in the country. When the players will return from overseas after the season, they will have an opportunity to engage with locals, promote this sport, fund their own careers, and do good for the community.
But this doesn’t mean that Statham no longer wants to play. He hopes to return to big sports in 2021. Recently he decided not to participate in the Australian Open qualification in Doha. Rubin thinks that helping local players is a more important mission at the moment and there is no better time for such events. Plus, it is rather difficult to travel considering that each country has its own quarantine requirements. Rubin just doesn’t want to sacrifice anything and waste time sitting at a hotel before being able to return to his regular life in NZ.
Rubin says that he’ll stay in the country at least until the end of winter and once new opportunities appear and the time will seem suitable, he’ll return to playing tennis overseas.