ITF

The ITF was saddened to learn of the death of Brazilian legend Maria Bueno, a trailblazing player widely regarded to have helped usher in modern women's tennis, in June at the age of 78 following a battle with mouth cancer. Nicknamed 'The Tennis Ballerina' in reference to her elegant style, Bueno is the best female player to have emerged from Latin America having won a total of 19 Grand Slam titles during her career; seven in singles, 11 in doubles and one in mixed doubles. Wowing crowds with her artistic and attacking brand of tennis, Bueno was a natural operator on court and her appeal owed much to her decorative and exotic appearance as her arsenal of shots. Despite learning the game on clay, Bueno, who was born in Sao Paulo in 1939, was at her best on grass with an elegant, fluid service and daring penetrating volleys. Safe shots rarely featured on her agenda, instead preferring to dazzle the gallery with rare grace and artistry and the ability to execute exquisitely constructed winners which left little margin for error. "It is with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of Maria Bueno," said ITF President David Haggerty of a player who enjoyed particular success at Wimbledon and the US National Championships, where she won a combined 16 titles. "Maria enjoyed a hugely successful career in tennis, highlighted by a total of 19 Grand Slam titles in both singles and doubles. She will be sorely missed by the tennis family. Our thoughts go to her loved ones at this very sad time." Bueno, who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978, was honoured by having the centre court at the Olympic Tennis Centre in Rio de Janeiro officially named after her at the Olympic test event in December 2015. Former Tennis Zimbabwe President and ITF Board Member Paul Chingoka sadly passed away in July following a lengthy illness. Chingoka, who helped transform tennis from an elitist sport to one that became popular throughout the country, saw Zimbabwe compete at the highest level of Davis Cup during his tenure – when the likes of Byron Black, Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyet helped to raise the profile of tennis in Africa during the late 1990s. He was honoured with an ITF Award for Services to the Game in 1998, and sat on the ITF Board of Directors from 2001-2005. During that time he also held other roles for the ITF, including his position as Chairman of the Coaches Commission, and Member of both the Development Advisors Group and the African Zonal Davis Cup Committee. Chingoka became President of Tennis Zimbabwe in 1991, a position he would hold for over a decade and a half, and was also President of the Confederation of African Tennis (CAT) from 2003-07. He was chef de mission of tennis at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and was chef de mission of the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee in Sydney for the 2000 Olympics. BEACH TENNIS TO MAKE WAVES IN SAN DIEGO MARIA BUENO PAUL CHINGOKA Next year's inaugural ANOC World Beach Games promises to be a game-changer – offering sure foundations and a magnificent platform to showcase the dynamic and rapidly expanding sport that is Beach Tennis. October 2019 will see the blue waters of the Pacific set the perfect backdrop upon the white sands of Mission Beach, as San Diego opens its arms to the world. Fans will be served up a smorgasbord of beach-based action with a total of 15 sports and 17 disciplines featuring. Tennis will adopt centre stage as one of six core beach sports, alongside handball, karate, soccer, volleyball and wrestling, which organisers have earmarked to make considerable waves on the Californian coastline. The ANOC World Beach Games will be the biggest Beach Tennis event of the year and include some of the world's top stars. In total, 64 players (32 men, 32 women) will compete across men's, women's and mixed doubles. The Beach Tennis event will take place over four days of competition between 10 and 13 October. "At the ITF we're super excited that we're going to see Beach Tennis at the first ANOC World Beach Games, taking place at beautiful Mission Beach in San Diego," said ITF President David Haggerty. "Come and join the party and watch the world's best Beach Tennis players battle it out to become the first ever World Beach Games champions." ROUND-UP NEWS S U M M E R 2 0 1 8 N E W S 40 ITFWorld // SUMMER 2018 O B I T U A R Y O B I T U A R Y

• Cover