40 Winter 2020 ITF World
Above
Vanuatu is one
of the stronger
tennis na ons in
the region
Above Tennis Fiji
is on course to
deliver a tennis
experience to
10,000 people
in 2020
Left The Regional
Training Centre in
Lautoka has been
crucial to tennis
development
in Fiji
VANUATU
Vanuatu is one of the stronger tennis nations
in the Pacific area with more than 500 active
players, while a new National Tennis Centre was
built in Port Vila in 2017 for the Pacific Mini
Games.
As well as being president of the Oceania
Tennis Federation, Cyrille Mainguy is also the
president of Vanuatu Tennis and he is a huge
supporter of tennis development throughout
the region.
Working under Cyrille at Vanuatu Tennis is
Ian Honila, who oversees a great team of local
development officers and coaches who provide
sessions to more than 600 children in local
schools.
The likes of Johnny Kanegai, Michael Malapa,
Tom Kalmet, Desiree Signo, Pierre Takatavety,
Marie Liwuslili, Daisyrose Sipiti and Eva Boe do
a fantastic job in delivering JTI classes.
There are some good tennis players in
Vanuatu and a focus on performance as a result
but, at the same time, impressive development
pathways exist for players, coaches, officials and
volunteers.
Community engagement there is excellent,
with one example being the availability of
tennis lessons for players from all demographics.
From a holistic perspective, Vanuatu is an all-
encompassing tennis nation.
Most tennis in Fiji is played on the
mainland and in the cities of Nadi,
Suva and Lautoka.
This year, however, there has been
a big focus on delivering sessions
in some of the surrounding towns
and villages and on outer islands,
including Mana Island and Kadavu
Island.
In the case of Kadavu Island, tennis
has been introduced there for the
first time, while, in total, Tennis Fiji
is set deliver a tennis experience to
10,000 people this year. For many,
this will be their first taste of the
sport.
Despite everything which has
happened in 2020 regarding
Covid-19, this staggering figure of
10,000 has been achieved through
clubs, schools and community
programmes and, if that mark is hit,
it will be double the 2019 number.
Local development officers such
as Lemeki Veimateyaki and Qiolevu
Laisenia, under the stewardship of
Tennis Fiji president Richard Breen,
promote the sport superbly well and,
through the national association's
community outreach programme, run
sessions in a variety of locations.
Along with other coaches – Sachin
Reddy, Krishneel Kumar, Raynal Singh,
Vasiti Biu and Seremaia Lalavanua to
name but a few – they pitch up with
ITF rackets, balls and nets, sometimes
at locations – a beach, for instance –
where there is no actual tennis court,
and stage a Tennis 10 session, for
example.
The JTI has also been a huge help
in terms of funding and supplying
equipment.
FIJI
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