ITF

ITFWorld // SUMMER 2018 05 LEADING THE PARTICIPATION DRIVE Away from the AGM, the ITF hosted its inaugural Worldwide Participation Conference in July and again there is a wider piece on this later in the magazine. Development is an integral part of the ITF2024 blueprint and this is why we were thrilled the conference proved so successful. The summit, which was held at Chelsea Football Club's Stamford Bridge stadium in London, focused on the drive to increase the number of people participating in sport and really achieved its aim of stimulating a global conversation and providing a forum for the sharing of best practice. It is vital that the ITF leads discussions on development and participation and there was much for the assembled sporting community to take away, consider and put into practice. MILESTONES It is remarkable to think that this year marks the 30th anniversary of tennis being readmitted to the Olympic Games as a full medal sport. Aside from its role as a demonstration event in 1968 and 1984, tennis had not featured since 1924. Steffi Graf, of then West Germany, and her stunning achievement of sealing a calendar-year Golden Slam on the hardcourts of Seoul in 1988 is unforgettable and it was the perfect way for tennis to announce its return to the Olympic spotlight. Graf's mastery was a tough act to follow but tennis has consistently produced a series of indelible Olympic moments, as the feature later in ITFWorld proves. Looking at the photographs from past Olympics brings back such vivid memories and reminiscing about those and their significance goes to show just how far tennis has come in the last three decades, and the level to which it has established itself and affirmed its position as an Olympic powerhouse. Two individuals who have played their part in sculpting tennis's Olympic Games legacy are Michael Stich of Germany and Czech Republic's Helena Sukova and they were inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July. Such a prestigious accolade is completely befitting Michael and Helena, who, in addition to many other honours, won three Olympic medals between them and contributed so much to the game during their illustrious careers. Congratulations to them both. STARS OF TOMORROW Talking of the Olympics, the third edition of the Youth Olympic Games takes place in October and we will see the world's best players in the 18-and-under category converge on Buenos Aires in Argentina. Three former Youth Olympic boys' medallists in either Singapore or Nanjing currently occupy the top 38 in the men's world rankings, while four girls' medallists from the same Games are in the women's top 42. Damir Dzumhur, Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev, and Jelena Ostapenko, Daria Kasatkina, Daria Gavrilova and Timea Babos all boast a Youth Olympic Games medal, which underlines what a fantastic springboard it can be. The boys' line-up for this year's event is headed by the prodigiously talented Tseng Chun Hsin of Chinese Taipei, who is the runaway leader at the top of the ITF Junior rankings with almost 1,000 points separating him from the rest of the field. What a stunning few months Tseng, who earlier this year received $25,000 as part of the first wave of ITF International Junior Player Grants, has had. In July, he became the first boy to complete a Roland Garros- Wimbledon singles double since Gael Monfils in 2004, having also reached the Australian Open final in January. Tseng plans to depart the junior ranks before too long and it will be intriguing to see whether the 17-year-old can make it a glorious farewell. Either way, I'm sure a bright future beckons. May I extend my best wishes to all the players competing at the Youth Olympic Games and other tournaments between now and the next edition of ITFWorld. ■ ITF President David Haggerty, right, with Wimbledon boys' singles champion Tseng Chun Hsin

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