ITF

6 While the compe ons remained extremely successful, we are commi ed to improving both as we look to ensure that all our member na ons benefit from them. Our AGM approved a package of reforms in 2017 which will see the compe ons become even be er for both players and host na ons – an important first step as we aim to realise the full poten al of both events. A er a wonderful summer in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, we have already begun prepara ons for the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020, with site visits and key appointments taking place during 2017. It was also an important year of prepara on for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, a highlight of the junior calendar. The Olympics and Davis Cup and Fed Cup might be the pinnacle of the our sport for most players, but we also seek to ensure that people have ample opportunity to compete – and our ITF circuits cater for tens of thousands of players across the world. Our Junior and Pro Circuits remain the key pathway into the upper echelons of the sport, and in 2017 we announced plans to reform entry-level professional tennis, including the introduc on of a new ITF tour, which we will roll out in 2019. We saw encouraging growth across all our circuits in 2017, and it was par cularly pleasing to see all four Grand Slam tournaments hos ng men's and women's wheelchair singles events, giving the players on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour the recogni on they deserve. Our Seniors and Beach Tennis circuits also saw increases in the number of par cipants, with more successful World Championship events the highlight of the year. In order to fund such projects, we need to have the resources in place to do so – and consequently investment is another key pillar of our ITF2024 strategy. We had an encouraging year in 2017 as we strengthened our revenue streams, with our Commercial department working hard to improve our rela onships with both new and exis ng sponsors. We remain par cularly grateful to BNP Paribas, the tle sponsors of Davis Cup and Fed Cup, and thank them for their con nued investment in our sport. Our thanks also go to our other sponsors and partners across the many ITF compe ons. As a leader in the sport, it is vital that the ITF conducts itself with the utmost integrity, so this is another of our eight strategic priori es. We remain responsible for managing the Tennis An -Doping Programme on behalf of the game, and are a partner in the Tennis Integrity Unit – but our involvement in the integrity of the sport goes beyond that. We consider ourselves the guardians of tennis, with responsibility for upholding its rules. Our Science and Technical team, meanwhile, con nue to innovate and analyse the sport, enabling us to fully understand the modern game. It was a stellar year for Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, capped by stunning finals in November. In Fed Cup, new captain Kathy Rinaldi steered USA to its first tle in 17 years, defea ng Belarus in front of sold-out crowds at the Chizhovka Arena in Minsk. Coco Vandeweghe starred for the Americans as she won all eight of the rubbers she contested in 2017 and became the third player in history to win three live rubbers in the Fed Cup Final. Two weeks later, France defeated Belgium in Lille, with more than 75,000 fans filling the cavernous Stade Pierre-Mauroy and seeing Lucas Pouille overcome Steve Darcis in a decisive fi h rubber. France's strength in depth – not to men on their vivacious captain, Yannick Noah – made them worthy champions. Effec ve collabora on with all of tennis's many stakeholders is crucial to the long-term future of both the ITF and the sport as a whole. In 2017 we con nued to build strong partnerships with the ATP, WTA and the Grand Slam tournaments, securing protected weeks in the calendar for Davis Cup and Fed Cup. We look forward to further construc ve partnership with all those organisa ons over the coming years. And finally, but by no means least importantly, communica on with our member na ons was given a renewed focus in 2017. We created an Interna onal Rela ons department to strengthen our interac ons with NAs and enjoyed a successful ITF Conference and AGM in Vietnam in August. It was wonderful, as ever, to see the tennis family coming together, with both the ITF and the na ons working together for the good of the game. At the 2017 ITF World Champions Dinner in Paris we celebrated the previous year's World Champions and awarded the ITF's highest honour – the Philippe Chatrier Award – to Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez. Their dedica on to developing the next genera on of players, using the skills and experience picked up over long and decorated careers, truly embodies the ITF's mission for the future. There are many things to celebrate from 2017 – but we must never get complacent. We must con nue to strive to be the best we can be. While this report will look back at our ac vi es last year, we are always looking forward, and there are big decisions ahead as, among other things, we look to con nue to improve Davis Cup and Fed Cup and reform the governance structure of the ITF. 2017 was a great year. Now here's to the future. David Haggerty ITF President REVIEW OF THE YEAR (CONTINUED)

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