Toulouse. After nineteen months of waiting, the ITTB is finally back
“We were eager to relaunch this event”. The President of the Occitanie Tennis League, Philippe Belou is obviously relieved for the opening, today (from 10 am), of the Toulouse-Balma International (ITTB), an event counting for the ITF circuit ($ 25,000) .
Launched in 2014, the tournament will be played once again in the hard covered courts of the Balma League Center (health pass and wearing a mask compulsory; free entry). And soon, the qualifying table (32 players) will kick off the festivities with sixteen games on the program. The Twenty-three French tricolors will be on the track. Among them, Occitan hopes will rest on the shoulders of Luca Sanchez (Canet 66), Thibault Verdier (La Grande-Motte), Julien Dando (Nogaro-Le Houga), Théo Arribagé (Stade Toulousain), Maxence Brovillé (Stade Toulousain), Paul Cayre (Stade Toulousain), Jérémy Laumon (Blagnac TC), Allan Deschamps (US Colomiers), Clément Andrieu (Tennis padel Cap d’Agde) and Ugo Blanchet (TC Marseillan). Tomorrow, at the end of the second round, eight qualified also have the final table (32 players).
Hugo Gaston only entered in doubles
Among the twenty-four entrants leading in the big picture, the Ligue Occitanie relies on Arthur Reymond (Stade Toulousain, 598th worldwide), Kenny de Schepper (US Colomiers, 616th), Axel Garcian (Stade Toulousain, 1230th) and Robin Bertrand (TC Les Hauts de Nîmes, 1012e). Bib N.1 is worn by Frenchman Antoine Escoffier (362nd, TC Marignanais). In this top 24, there are nine other Habs, two Germans, two Dutch, two Australians, two Americans, an Austrian, an Italian and a Swiss.
In addition to the singles, the Haut-Garonnaise event has, as always, a table of doubles. And the public will be able to see Hugo Gaston (Stade Toulousain, 106th in singles), associated with Axel Garcian, who remains among other things on a final lost on October 10 at the Challenger in Barcelona.
Finally, it should be noted that the Balma League Center will host Saturday and Sunday, on the covered clay courts, the Masters of the Racquets Circuit of “La Dépêche du Midi-BNP Paribas”, with this season a table of six players and a table of six players.