ISLAMABAD
\nUS Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires Natalie Baker hailed Pakistan\u2019s first international women\u2019s tennis tournament at the W15 level (featuring US$15,000 prize money) and described it as a milestone for women\u2019s sports and an opportunity to strengthen international ties through sports diplomacy.
\nSpeaking at the closing ceremony of the Junaid Family Foundation (JFF) Women\u2019s W15 Futures Tournament in Islamabad on Saturday, Baker congratulated the organisers for bringing together 30 female players from 17 countries and territories.
\n\u201cI was especially pleased to learn that this is the first women\u2019s tournament at this level ever held in Pakistan. That makes it a real milestone, and everyone who helped make this happen should be very proud,\u201d she said.
\nBaker said sports promoted teamwork, resilience and lasting connections between people and countries, adding that such ties extended beyond the sporting arena.
\nShe also expressed hope that more Pakistani athletes would compete at major international events, including the Summer 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, which the United States is preparing to host.
\nThe US diplomat praised the players\u2019 competitive spirit and sportsmanship, as well as the hospitality extended to international participants. She thanked Pakistan Tennis Federation President Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, Ansir and Sufia Junaid, and the federation for organising the championship.
\nBaker also acknowledged Qureshi\u2019s achievement at the 2010 US Open, where he reached the men\u2019s and mixed doubles finals, becoming the first Pakistani tennis player to contest a Grand Slam final.
\nThe tournament was sponsored by the Junaid Family Foundation, led by Pakistani-American philanthropists Ansir and Sufia Junaid, as part of its wider commitment to women\u2019s empowerment, maternal health and education in Pakistan.
\nFrench player Astrid Cirotte won the women\u2019s singles title, while China\u2019s Ru Xi Wu and Thailand\u2019s Kamonwan Yodpetch claimed the women\u2019s doubles championship. Baker joined the foundation\u2019s leadership in presenting prizes to the winners.
\nSpeaking at the ceremony, Ansir Junaid of JFF said the tournament demonstrated how international sporting events could inspire young women while bringing together policymakers, philanthropists and development partners.
\nHe said the event had showcased talented athletes, encouraged young people to recognise their potential and created opportunities for further collaboration.
\n\u201cOur commitment to Pakistan is long term,\u201d he said, adding that the foundation wanted to support initiatives capable of delivering lasting results.
\nSufia Junaid said investments in women\u2019s healthcare, education and sports were interconnected efforts that could help bring lasting social change.
\nShe said better maternal healthcare could give children a stronger start in life, education could open new opportunities, and international sporting events could encourage young girls to pursue ambitions they might not otherwise consider.
\nHeld under the theme \u201cA Powerful Serve for Women\u2019s Health\u201d, the tournament also highlighted the foundation\u2019s work to improve maternal and child health across Pakistan.
\nThe organisers said the initiative aimed to combine international sporting opportunities with broader efforts to support women and children, while showcasing Pakistan\u2019s potential to host international sporting events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD US Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires Natalie Baker hailed Pakistan\u2019s first international women\u2019s tennis tournament at the W15 level (featuring US$15,000 prize money) and described it as a milestone for women\u2019s sports and an opportunity to strengthen international ties through sports diplomacy. Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Junaid Family Foundation (JFF) Women\u2019s W15 Futures Tournament …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":104524,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104541"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104553,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104541\/revisions\/104553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}