ITF

ITF World Spring 2021 05 W elcome to the spring edition of ITFWorld. The last 12 months have been the most challenging times that I and the ITF have ever faced, but Covid-19 has not and will not slow us down. We are working very hard to ensure the ITF is a 24/7 organisation, that we're providing everything that our member nations require and that we're supporting them in every way possible. Hopefully the rollout of the vaccine programme worldwide is the beginning of a journey towards a more normal life for us all. I had my first vaccine recently and have started to think about doing some of the things I miss the most. The world goes on and everybody's safety is paramount but I am really looking forward to reconnecting with people, particularly my family. My granddaughter, who I have not yet met, celebrates her 1st birthday in early April and I cannot wait to meet her. I also have a daughter who is getting married in September and I hope, as a family, we use that weekend to do as many things together as we possibly can. Here in the United Kingdom, I have to say that one of the activities I'm most looking forward to is getting back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to watch Spurs, although hopefully their form will have improved by then. Positive signs More than that, however, I am keen for us all at the ITF to return to the office. While we have learned to work virtually, and better as a result, we need to be together again and have those much-needed synergies. But, as I say, nothing is slowing us down. There are positive signs with regards to the Return to Tennis and I must congratulate Tennis Australia for holding a fantastic Australian Open in February, as well as lead-in tournaments, despite the very complex situation they faced. In terms of the ITF World Tennis Tour, our events are running at about 70 per cent compared to 2019 and we see this continuing and improving throughout the year, which is a positive sign. A big thank you is due to the nations for ensuring the Return to Tennis takes place. Together with the Hungarian National Sports Agency, we have, however, decided to reschedule the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Finals for later in the year. It was disappointing to have to postpone but player and spectator safety remains the priority. But the competition's Play-offs, the winners of which will take their place in the 2022 Qualifiers, are being held in the coming days. These ties will be the first since the competition's rebrand and we are very excited to launch the Billie Jean King Cup. Wider audience We have also made a recent announcement regarding the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals following a thorough review of the inaugural Finals in Madrid in 2019 with event partner Kosmos, the Davis Cup Committee and the ITF Board. The 2019 Finals were a huge success but we wanted to improve the scheduling for players and enhance the spectator experience so fans can really engage with their teams. The Davis Cup Finals in 2021 will now take place over 11 days, which will allow better scheduling for players and spectators and decrease the likelihood of late finishes, which we witnessed in 2019. We are also considering proposals for a multi-city format, which would see two European cities join Madrid as hosts in 2021. Under this approach, the two new cities would each host two group-stage ties and a quarter- final, and would take the competition to a wider audience. Work, meanwhile, is ongoing with ITF World Tennis Number. Our goal was for 100 nations to be signed up to launch the innovative new digital platform by June, but we have surpassed that by some considerable margin already. Singapore became the first nation to formally adopt and launch ITF World Tennis Number, with Ireland in the process of doing so and the United States and Great Britain set to follow imminently. As I have said previously, there is a lot of excitement around ITF World Tennis Number and we see it as a major tool in our quest to reach 120 million players – another 30 million – playing tennis worldwide by 2030. No box-ticking exercise The Oceania Tennis Federation held a very successful AGM in March and I would like to praise the organisation once again for embracing the goals of the ITF's Gender Equality in Tennis strategy. With five out of eight positions on the board filled by women, this is the highest percentage of any regional association and the ITF will continue its support for women in leadership positions throughout the game. As part of this, on 12 April, the ITF, in partnership with iSPORTCONNECT, will deliver to the sports industry a one-off global forum, hosted by Catherine Whitaker, entitled Level the Playing Field. The event, which is previewed on pages 18-19, will bring together influential and inspirational individuals from sport and business to debate and advance greater gender equality through proactive, solution-focused discussion. This follows our announcement on International Women's Day of a new Leadership Development Programme as part of the ITF's ongoing Advantage All strategy. The programme will see more than 100 women from national tennis federations around the world provided with networking and mentoring opportunities, as well as practical support and advice to help them overcome barriers and have fulfilling careers. The ITF's commitment to gender equality is not a box-ticking exercise. It is something truly important for tennis and the future of the game and needs to take place in the boardrooms and on the courts – in terms of administrators, players, coaches and officials – in every region of the world. I am proud of what our Advantage All strategy has achieved to date, although there is much progress still to be made. Likewise, there is much work to do between now and the next edition of ITFWorld in the summer and I look forward to updating you then. In the meantime, enjoy the latest issue and stay safe. n

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