In brief
Since 2007, Kazakhstan’s Tennis Federation has increased court numbers from 55 to 412, expanded coaching ranks from 20 to 700 and lowered practice costs to make tennis accessible. Vice president Dias Doskarayev signals that a new generation of players, including Amir Omarkhanov and Zangar Nurlanuly, will pull the nation onto the ATP Tour. The effort reflects a broader strategy to produce elite talent through local development rather than recruiting overseas.
Almaty, Kazakhstan – At the ATP Almaty Open last month, the future of Kazakh tennis unfolded on the sidelines, as vice president and acting CEO Dias Doskarayev reflected on a journey that began when he and his brother fled Shymkent’s two outdoor courts for the capital’s limited facilities. “We would wake up at 5:30 because we were only allowed to play from 7 a.m. till 9 a.m.,” Doskarayev told reporters, describing the cramped hours early generations of players endured.
The landscape in which Doskarayev grew up has changed dramatically. Since 2007, when businessman Bulat Utemuratov assumed the presidency of the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation, the federation has financed a massive development programme that targets infrastructure, coaching and competitive exposure. In his own words, the number of tennis courts in the country has increased from about 55 to 412 spread across 19 regions, while the workforce of qualified coaches has risen from roughly 20 to 700.
More than 300 national tournaments now take place every year, and over 50 international events are held each season under federation supervision. The federation’s national tennis academy, founded in Astana in 2008, pulls promising youngsters from around the country into a centralized training environment. Partnerships with overseas academies also helped raise domestic coaching standards.
The cost of training has become a key factor in widening participation. Doskarayev said that a typical family can now afford regular lessons at about 50 to 60 dollars a month, a steep drop from the 150 dollars per hour that rented courts cost in the capital a generation ago. “The parents don’t see tennis as a rich man’s spor” – the full quote was truncated in the report – underscoring the effort to move the sport toward broader accessibility.
While Kazakhstan has already produced internationally recognized champions such as Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina and ATP representative Alexander Bublik, those players largely emerged from training systems outside the country before switching allegiances. The federation’s long‑term ambition is to replicate that success through locally nurtured talent. Recent prospects, including Amir Omarkhanov and Zangar Nurlanuly, exemplify this shift. Both players have received coaching through the national academy and are now competing on the ATP Tour, signaling that the next stage of Kazakhstan’s strategy is underway.
According to Doskarayev, the federation’s integrated programme – combining infrastructure, coaching, competition and affordability – is designed to produce elite professionals entirely from Kazakhstan’s own developmental system. As the nation’s tennis infrastructure continues to grow, the federation expects that the next cohort of players will emerge, bridging the gap between local promise and global rankings.
