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ITFWorld, Winter 2021

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36 Winter 2021 ITF World ECUADOR Federacion Ecuatoriana de Tenis is headquartered in the city of Guayaquil where its National Tennis Centre is located. This facility has evolved a lot over the years and hosts many tournaments, including Billie Jean King Cup ties. As with most countries in South America, many players in Ecuador play the game at private clubs, while the National Tennis Centre also provides opportunities. Work is ongoing so this facility can gain ITF certification. The likes of Miguel Olvera, Andres Gomez and Nicolas Lapentti are big names within Ecuadorian tennis. Gomez remains very active in the sport and is involved in the organisation of both professional and junior tournaments. A big success for Ecuador was reaching the 2021 Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals, while another noteworthy COLOMBIA When thinking of Colombian tennis, Robert Farah, Juan Sebastian Cabal and their back-to-back Grand Slam doubles titles at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019 spring immediately to mind. What Robert and Juan have achieved is fantastic – and it was amazing to watch them compete for Colombia at the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals 2021 – but what is equally wonderful is the emergence of Camila Osorio. The 19-year-old received an ITF-administered Grand Slam Development Fund player grant in 2020, which followed ITF International Junior Player Grants in 2018 and 2019 and places on several GSDF/ITF Touring Teams. Camila is now just outside the world's top 50 and it will be fascinating to follow her progress in the years ahead. Federacion Colombiana de Tenis (FCT), meanwhile, is headquartered in Bogota, which is also home to the only National Training Centre in South America with ITF-granted Silver Level status. This reflects the quality of facilities, equipment, management, coaching teams, sports science and player programmes at Centro de Alto Rendimiento, which has all the necessary infrastructure needed for high-calibre player development. Much takes place at Centro de Alto Rendimiento, while FCT has 20 affiliated leagues that work in partnership with the national association to ensure the development of tennis throughout the country. It is worth noting that Colombia is a reference point in the region for coaches' education and in 2021 their gold-level ITF recognition was renewed. It is a nation which has a very active course calendar, organises national congresses and, of all countries in the world, is fourth on the list for most ITF Academy registrants. There is also a strong Junior Tennis Initiative there, while Colombia is well-advanced in their ITF World Tennis Number strategy and intends to launch soon. " " " achievement for the nation was their boys' and girls' teams qualifying for August's ITF World Junior Tennis Finals in Prostejov. Ecuador has a very active Junior Tennis Initiative. There are some impressive programmes within schools and a hugely productive Tennis 10s tournament schedule, which is extremely encouraging, as is their approach to coaches' education. Earlier this year, Ecuador obtained white level status through the ITF's Recognition of Coach Education Systems programme and an increasing emphasis upon coaching is pleasing. " Osorio in ac on CLICK FOR MAP VIEW Ecuador at the 2021 Davis Cup Finals DEVELOPMENT R E A D M O R E

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