Ioan Cozma: ‘We want Dr. Oetker Junior Trophy to reach the weight of the Petit As tournament.’ Victor Hănescu awarded prizes to children

General Manager of Dr. Oetker Romania, Ioan Cozma, has his mind set on getting Dr. Oetker Junior Trophy to be a tournament of the same importance as Petit As. “It’s been five years since we created this tournament, together with the great lady of Romanian tennis Florența Mihai and with the team at FRT. Why not admit it, our goal is to get it to reach the weight of the Petit As tournament in Paris. We are slowly getting there, as on this edition we have a very numerous participation of 150 players from 26 countries. I am delighted that Dr. Oetker is a company that is present in all of the countries (except the Bahamas) where the players are from”, said Ioan Cozma.

At the same time, George Cosac, president of the Romanian Tennis Federation, thinks that the Dr. Oetker Junior Trophy is the “little Roland Garros”. “It has become a tradition that around the time of Roland Garros we should have our own little Roland Garros of children under 14, namely Dr. Oetker Junior Trophy. This tournament could not have taken place without the support of Dr. Oetker and for that, I give my thanks to the General Manager of this company,  Mr. Ioan Cozma. It is here where we will see our future champions, the next Djokovic or the next Simona Halep”, says Cosac.

Cătălina Cristea, manager of the Dr. Oetker Junior Trophy tournament, says that there will be a new fair play prize in memory of the late Florența Mihai: “It is a great joy for me to be part of the 5^th edition of  Dr. Oetker Junior Trophy. But I am also pained by the fact that the tournament manager of the first 4 editions, an exceptional person and a star of international tennis, Florența Mihai, is no longer with us. This year, the Romanian Tennis Federation and Dr. Oetker will award a fair play prize in the memory of  Florența Mihai. We have come a long way with this tournament and now, at the 5^th edition we have participants from 26 countries, not only from Europe but also from New Zealand, United States and Bahamas. This tournament could not have taken place without the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and especially of the Dr. Oetker company. I thank Mr. Ioan Cozma, General Manager of Dr. Oetker, who is a great supporter of Romanian tennis.”

Dr. Oetker Junior Trophy, an international competition, part of Tennis Europe, Grade 1, will be disputed between 23-29 May, at the National Tennis Centre in Bucharest.

Gabriel Ispas (State Secretary in the Ministry of Education): “I am very happy that such events are taking place in Romania, not just at senior level, but also at this level, with the implication of students. I am glad that Romanian tennis has got not only a present, but also a future”.

Victor Hănescu participated at the launching conference of the 5^th edition of Dr. Oetker Junior Trophy, awarded prizes to the members of the U12 girls team, who won the 3^rd place at Winter Cup 2016 and offered autographs at the pizza Gusepe – Dr. Oetker stand. “I am very happy to be alongside the children. It is a very beautiful moment for Romanian tennis and Dr. Oetker Junior Trophy is an important international tournament where we will see the best little players. We need more tournaments of this kind, as Romanian tennis is on an ascending path. During the upcoming period I will dedicate myself to a few programs aimed at developing tennis in Romania.”

The competition is supervised by the Tennis Europe Junior Committee, the regional association of the International Tennis Federation. During the tournament days, news and updated information can be found on www.frt.ro and on the tournament’s website: www.juniortrophy.ro, but also on social media on the Facebook page Tennis Junior Stars.

The organizer of Dr. Oetker Junior Trophy is the Romanian Tennis Federation. The official partner of the event is Dr. Oetker Romania.

SCG – Smart Corporation Group is the promoter of this event.