Top-ranked Maltese junior tennis youngsters (12 years and under) are currently in Greece where they are playing in two international tournaments.

The players selected by the Malta Tennis Federation (MTF) to make the trip to Athens are Matthew Asciak, Clive Vella, Elaine Genovese and Leanne Schembri.

These players, accompanied by Level One coach Helen Asciak, have been training under the guidance of national coach Dusan Jancijic for the past six months now.

Jancijic is reported to be doing a fine job and his professional leadership is well reflected in his training sessions. The federation has also decided recently to extend his contract until next December.

It is the MTF's intention to invest in the future of young players in the categories between U-12 and U-18. In fact, the venture in Greece is the first in a series of similar appointments as the U-16 and U-18 selected players will be playing in Yugoslavia in September.

All youngsters playing abroad, including the 12 and under, will spend around a fortnight away from the island.

The first tournament in Greece, the Olympia Cup, was played last weekend at the Hotel Olympion Bay Leptokeria, in Katerini. The other tournament - the Veria Cup - starts today and comes to a close on Friday.

Both these competitions, played on clay courts, are part of the calendar of Tennis Europe and included a draw of 32 in the boys and girls singles competitions.