ITF World Winter 2020 39 ITF World Winter 2020 39
GUAM
With the aid of an ITF Facilities Grant,
a National Training Centre was built in
Guam – one of the most northerly nations
in the region – in 2019, which includes six
main courts and four purpose-built junior
courts. This has been a major factor in
tennis development there.
Nevertheless, it has been a hugely
challenging year in Guam with numerous
restrictions at varying times due to
Covid-19. A national lockdown was
imposed in March, with tennis then
allowed to return in June.
However, there was a further lockdown
in August, only for tennis to return a
number of weeks later but this time
with the condition that no organised
tournaments were allowed.
Despite these restraints, the Guam
National Tennis Federation has continued
to successfully run their participation
programmes and put on sessions at the
National Training Centre in Hagatna for a
large proportion of the year.
In total, there are around 400 active
tennis players in Guam, with Torgun Smith,
the president of the national association –
also a member of the Davis Cup/Billie
Jean King Cup Taskforce – a major driver
of development there.
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the parents of Abigail and Marcia
Tere-Apisah. Abigail plays on the
ITF World Tennis Tour, while Marcia
is currently at home and coaching
alongside her parents and Eddie
Meara, another local coach.
I spent time in Papua New
Guinea in February, delivering
development sessions to the junior
national team in Port Moresby and
discussing coaching opportunities
with deliverers.
Marcia and I also took the hour-
long flight to Lae, where Glenn
Cabasug is a key figure. While we
were there, we worked with players
aged between six and 16 and this
was the first time that coaches had
been to Lae in 10 years.
There is a lot of good work being
done in Papua New Guinea and
Barbara Stubbings, the president
of the Papua New Guinea Tennis
Association, devotes considerable
time and energy to developing the
sport there.
The Papua New Guinea Tennis
Association run daily tennis sessions
at the Port Moresby Racket Club, a
private facility that opens its doors
to local primary schools in the
capital city.
The intention is to grow the
number of players in the 10-and-
under age category, which in turn
will result in more players joining
club programmes and progressing to
national level.
Enormously beneficial to
achieving that goal is the return
of the Papua New Guinea Tennis
Association to the JTI, which will
hopefully contribute to significantly
developing the sport in the coming
years.
Port Moresby is one of the two
main cities in Papua New Guinea
where tennis is growing – the other
is Lae – and there is a long history
of tennis there, which stems, in part,
from the Tere-Apisah family.
Vera Tere and Kwalam Apisah are
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Above
A coaching
session in
Lae
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