Prince-sponsored players (from left) Rachel Whiteside, Simon James and Luke Miles, who will be playing in Rome

TOTALLY Tennis performance players will be travelling to Rome to compete in a Prince Plugged In (PPI) challenge event in May.

A group of eight players, including Prince-sponsored players Luke Miles, Rachel Whiteside and Simon James, will be accompanied by performance coach David Kirby over the first bank holiday weekend in May.

This will be the first PPI challenge match since Totally Tennis became the first club in the UK - and only the fourth in the whole of Europe - to be granted PPI status last November.

The eight - four boys and four girls - will compete at the Sant'Agnese Tennis Club in Rome in under-12, under-14, under-16 and under-18 matches against the Italian PPI performance players.

Players will practise and play matches in the mornings and will visit the ATP/WTA Rome Masters tournament held on the famous historical clay courts of the Foro Italico in the afternoons.

There will also be trips to historical places of interest.

The Rome Masters is considered to be the second most prestigious clay court tournament in the world, after the French Open.

It is part of the ATP Masters Series of nine tournaments that are held throughout the year in Europe and North America.

The tournaments are mandatory for the top male players on the professional circuit and the stadium court at the Foro Italico has a capacity of 8,000 spectators.

PPI challenge events help the PPI academies measure the development and performance of their players and academy programmes.

The events give the players competitive opportunities and experience in other countries.

Prince's ground-breaking PPI programme ties together an exclusive group of high-level training centres across the world and the selected centres are at the forefront of breakthroughs in teaching, coaching and training initiatives.

Challenge events and training sessions are an integral part of the PPI programme.

The Sant'Agnese Tennis Club is near the centre of Rome and is located in the shadow of the Mausoleum and the Basilica to Sant'-Agnese and is designed as a tennis garden with eight courts.

Kirby said: "It's really exciting to be involved with the PPI programme and it's a privilege for me to be part of Totally Tennis' first PPI challenge match to another club in Europe and in what is such an historic city."

4:57pm Monday 31st March 2008

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