ITF

ROUND-UP NEWS W I N T E R 2 0 1 8 N E W S 40 ITFWorld // WINTER 2018 Following a six-week voting period, which drew representations from more than 130 countries, the International Tennis Hall of Fame announced the results of the first-ever Fan Vote for Hall of Fame induction in October. Of the eight nominated candidates, China's two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na finished in first place, receiving the highest number of fan votes. Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia came second, while Mary Pierce of France, who won singles titles at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, was third. It will be the first time in the organisation's history that Hall of Fame induction will be determined by a combination of the results from the Official Voting Group, which is comprised of journalists, historians and Hall of Famers, and bonus points earned through the Fan Vote. To be elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame a candidate must receive 75 per cent or more affirmative votes from the combined results of the Official Voting Group and Fan Vote bonuses. As the top three vote recipients in the Fan Vote, Li Na, Ivanisevic, and Pierce will receive bonus points added onto their Official Voting Group results. For first place, Li Na will receive a three per cent bonus, Ivanisevic a two per cent bonus and Pierce a one per cent bonus. In addition to Li Na, Ivanisevic, and Pierce, there are five other candidates also being considered for Class of 2019 induction. They are Jonas Björkman, Sergi Bruguera, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Conchita Martínez and Thomas Muster. The Class of 2019 will be officially announced on 22 January at the Australian Open. The Induction Ceremony will be held on 20 July at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. Li Na tops International Tennis Hall of Fame fan vote The 2019 ITF Worldwide Participation Conference will take place on Sunday 7 and Monday 8 July at Chelsea Football Club's Stamford Bridge stadium in London. At the 2018 Conference, 187 key decision makers and leading international experts from tennis and from the wider sporting community attended, with 55 nations represented. A total of 28 presentations were heard during 11 sessions as delegates networked, shared best practices and identified projects which have proven successful in boosting participation and retention rates in sport. The International Olympic Committee, World Rugby, International Table Tennis Federation, Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, Sport England and Special Olympics were just some of the organisations to present their observations for increasing participation in their respective fields, while others, like the International Golf Federation, were also in attendance. Former Great Britain Fed Cup captain Judy Murray was a keynote speaker for the 2018, sharing her unique insight and experience for increasing participation and interest in tennis, particularly for young females. The conference also held an informative session where member national associations from Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, France, Great Britain, Japan, Netherlands, South Africa, Tunisia and the United States presented their strategies for how they are tackling the need to increase participation. The 2019 ITF Worldwide Participation Conference aims to build on the global conversation that began at the 2018 edition, providing an interactive forum centred around discussions on growing participation in sport and increasing physical activity. Details of registration and the programme for the Conference will be published shortly. Dates announced for 2019 ITF Worldwide Participation Conference COSTA NAMED TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR FOR DAVIS CUP FINALS Albert Costa, a former Davis Cup champion with extensive experience as director of tennis tournaments and development projects, joined Kosmos Tennis's team as Competition Director and Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Finals Tournament Director in October. Costa will oversee all sporting aspects of the competition and the implementation of the new Davis Cup format during 2019, following the agreement signed by Kosmos Tennis at the ITF's AGM in Orlando in August. "We are really proud to have Albert Costa in our team to be part of our project and share with us the vision and enthusiasm to consolidate this new historic stage of the competition," said Javier Alonso, CEO of Kosmos Tennis. "His experience as a former elite tennis player and Davis Cup captain, as well as his subsequent successful tennis projects, will provide huge impetus to the development of Kosmos Tennis's sports capability." Costa is the second former player to join the company following Galo Blanco, Chief Competition Officer of Kosmos Tennis and member of the Davis Cup Steering Committee. Albert Costa said: "Joining this project offers me a superb new challenge. I'm very excited that my work with Kosmos Tennis will give me the opportunity to get involved in the Davis Cup again, a competition I witnessed and enjoyed from the inside and from which I had many positive experiences." Albert Costa competed as a professional tennis player from 1992 to 2006. During his career, he won 12 titles, including 2002 Roland Garros, and was ranked in the world´s Top 10. Costa was also a member of the team that won the first Davis Cup for Spain in 2000 at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, and was the captain of the Spanish team from 2009 until 2011, winning two more titles (Barcelona in 2009 and Sevilla in 2011). He is one of 18 tennis players who have won the Davis Cup title both as a player and as a captain.

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