Umag once again confirmed its orientation to the development of the city as a destination of activity and sport by receiving the World Tennis Championship for Super Seniors in 2012. Novigrad will be the city partner in hosting this great sports event.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) recognized Umag as one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Adriatic with a long tennis tradition. Apart from the ATP tournament that will be held for the 22nd year in a row, the veteran tennis tournaments also have a long history. The first important tennis tournament for veterans was the world team tennis championship in the category of gentlemen G55, named The Austria Cup, and it was held in 1987. The first international championship for veterans from the calendar of the competition of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) was held in 1992 under the name ZZERO CUP. The tournament was of the 4th rank of ITF, and 43 contestants participated in the first tournament.
During the years, veterans' tournaments became more and more quality and professional, and the effort of the organizers was also recognized by the International Tennis Federation, which reached a decision in December 2010, after the first edition of the ITF GMP CUP in Umag, to promote the tournament into a tournament of the 1st world rank because of the outstanding organization, promotion of world tennis, professional conditions for playing tennis matches, fantastic conditions in beautiful hotels of the company Istraturist, as well as because of the big positive response which the tournament received in the world of tennis. For the same reasons, the International Tennis Federation reached a decision to entrust the organization of the team and individual World Tennis Championship of Super Seniors in 2012 with the Croatian Veterans Tennis Association, after the tour of the locations in the courts of Istraturist in Umag and nearby Novigrad.
This year's edition of the seniors' tournament, GMP ITF CUP UMAG 2011 - the Open Championship of Umag for Veterans, was formally opened on Monday, May 23, in the central court of the ATP stadium Stella Maris, and it lasted until Sunday, May 29, 2011. The tournament gathered 386 players from 36 countries of the world, including 9 current world champions in various categories and many former participants of Wimbledon, US Open, Australian Open and Roland Garros. A home player is the winner of the home finale - Krešimir Ritz won the ITF GMP CUP UMAG 2011 for tennis veterans in the age group M + 35, winning the final match against Tomislav Prpi with the result 6-2, 6-2. In the group M + 40, Slovenian tennis player won the title by defeating the Dutch representative Sander Groen in the finale, while the favorite, Austrian Peter Pokorny, defeated Italian Vittorio Monaco in the group M + 70. In the "eternally young" group M + 75, the tournament was won by Lorne Main from Canada. In the ladies' part of the tournament, the group W + 35 was won by S. Fortun-Lohrmann, by defeating our player Daria Deškovi in the finale. Austrian L. Schwalb-Zelinka is the winner of the group W + 40, Czech Barbara Koutna of the group W + 50, Adrienne Avis, who came from Australia, won the tournament in the group W + 60.
