Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/117483
NEWS ROUND-UP SPRING 2013 Molik and Martinez become Fed Cup captains Alicia Molik took over as the new Fed Cup by BNP Paribas captain for Australia ahead of her country���s first round clash with two-time defending champions Czech Republic in February, replacing David Taylor after seven years in the position. Molik played 22 Fed Cup ties for Australia between 1999 and 2010, compiling an 18-21 total win-loss record. The 31-year-old won the singles bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and is a two-time Grand Slam doubles champion. She reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 8. Spain���s new Fed Cup captain is Conchita Martinez, who had a more successful debut in the role than Molik, guiding Spain to victory against Ukraine in World Group II in February. Martinez, the 1994 Wimbledon champion, took over from her former teammate Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. She helped Spain to win the Fed Cup in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 and in 1998. Venues announced for flagship Beach Tennis events Golden achievement award for Pollard The ITF Beach Tennis World Championships will return to Italy this year when the Italian Tennis Federation hosts the 2013 Championships in the Adriatic resort of Cervia. The event, taking place 31 July-4 August, will feature the best men���s and women���s doubles pairs from around the world bidding to be crowned 2013 ITF Beach Tennis World Champions. The Championships were first held in Italy, at Rome���s Foro Italico, in 2009-11, before moving to Burgas, Bulgaria in 2012. Italy is the dominant nation in this fast-growing form of tennis, but they will face increased competition at all tournaments this year as more nations take up the sport. The World Championships are the flagship event on the ITF Beach Tennis Tour alongside its team equivalent, the ITF Beach Tennis World Team Championship. The World Team Championship will return to the National Tennis Centre in Moscow for its second edition as part of a three-year agreement with the Russian Tennis Federation, and is being held 18-21 July. The event is a mixed competition in which nations compete against each other in a knock-out format. Each team is comprised of two men and two women, with ties consisting of a men���s doubles, women���s doubles and mixed doubles rubber. Fifteen teams were represented at the inaugural championships, with organisers expecting an increased entry in 2013. Another prominent event on the Tour, the European Beach Tennis Championships, will be held in Great Britain for the first time this summer, on 9-11 August, with the English south coast town of Brighton playing host. The ITF Beach Tennis Tour was launched in 2008, and continues to grow each year, with 152 events staged in 32 countries in 2012. Geoff Pollard, ITF vice president and past-president and chairman of Tennis Australia, was presented with the 2013 Golden Achievement Award during the Australian Open. The award is given annually by the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the ITF to an individual who has made important contributions internationally to tennis in the fields of administration, promotion, or education, and who has devoted long and outstanding service to the sport. Pollard was presented with the award by Francesco Ricci Bitti and Hall of Fame President Emerita Jane Brown Grimes. Pollard served as president and chairman of Tennis Australia for 21 years before retiring in 2010. He led the organisation through a period of significant growth, including a governance change to convert Tennis Australia from an amateur association to a modern and successful professional corporate body. As chairman of the Australian Open, Pollard improved the facilities and increased prize money to ensure that the event���s status became equal to other Grand Slams, and in many aspects led them. Pollard has also been president of the Oceania Tennis Federation since 1993, introducing significant youth tennis programming that encourages development of future players and tennis fans throughout the region. He was elected by his international tennis industry peers to his current position of vice president of the ITF, and has been a member of the WTA Tour Board, Grand Slam Committee, and Davis Cup Committee. Obituary: Hunter Delatour ITF Honorary Life Counsellor Hunter Delatour died on 18 January at the age of 95. Delatour was on the ITF Board of Directors from 1983 to 1987, during which time he served as ITF vice president. He was president of the USTA from 1983 to 1984, and president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame from 1986 to 1987. During Delatour���s tenure as USTA president, the NJTL and the USTA merged, and the USTA formed a closer relationship with the International Tennis Hall of Fame and collegiate tennis. 14 ITFWORLD SPRING 2013