36 Spring 2022 ITF World
some of those youngsters can say, 'this is what I want
to do.' But it needs to be in a real tournament rather than
a clinic. Kids need to see the intensity; you don't feel
the power of the game on TV, but when you see it from
a few metres and you see how hard they hit the ball,
you see a different thing. And for a kid, that can change
everything."
In the absence of tour-level tournaments, visits by big
names are the next best thing. Serena Williams visited
Ghana about 20 years ago, and there's no question
another couple of visits could inspire a youngster who
might otherwise choose a different sport. She could also
bang the drum for women's sport, as there are some
cultural obstacles to the best girls making the most of
their talent – in West Africa big families are the norm,
and if a mother needs help in the home, the assumption
is that a 16-year-old girl will offer that help, not look
to pursue a tennis career.
The African tennis glass may be only half full, but
it's filling up slowly. There are still many obstacles to
playing at a high level – good facilities could be a long
way from a youngster's home, competition may be hard
to find, the surfaces are often too quick for optimum
coaching, 90 per cent of tennis officials are volunteers
who need to earn their living doing something else,
even the balls can sometimes cost the equivalent
of $15 a can.
"We're not spectators of the situation, we are trying to
act as much as we can," says Ben Makhlouf. "When we
speak about tennis, we speak about the professionals,
we measure the power of a country by players in the
top 100, and it takes more and more to get into the
top 100 as more research is done to enhance the level
of the world's best performance players. So, if we don't
produce a top-100 player from a West or North African
country, that doesn't mean nothing is happening there
to promote tennis.
"We need coaching, travel budgets, and visas – the
average African player wastes two months of the year
applying and waiting for visas. And we don't have
enough dreams. We need African role models so others
are encouraged to believe they can make it, and if they
do, there will be enough money in tennis to warrant the
investment. A few African players have made their dreams
a reality, thanks to the opportunities put in place and
administered by the ITF, such as the Grand Slam Player
Development Programme. There are other innovative
programmes to encourage participation, like the ITF
World Tennis Number global rating and digitalisation
of national associations, as well as developing coaches,
parents, players and wider stakeholder education via the
online ITF Academy and investment in national training
centre facilities. We're working hard to ensure there will
be more African tennis players in the future." n
UNDER THE RADAR
DEVELOPMENT
In many ways Togo is the leading
nation in West Africa, not because it
has the best facilities but because it
is currently the only country whose
tennis federation owns its national
training centre. Building work
started in 2010, and it has courts,
offices and ancillary facilities.
The national tennis federation is
very well structured, and it has
been entrusted with organising all
the junior events in the region at
various different age groups. Togo
is still a small country that will
struggle to get large numbers of
people playing, but it could certainly
benefit from Felix Auger-Aliassime
paying regular visits to inspire
the youngsters.
Senegal will have taken over
from Togo as the country in West
Africa with the best coaching
facilities. It is building its own
national training centre, due to
open when Senegal hosts the
Youth Olympic Games in 2026.
It will be bigger than the Togolese
centre and will host a number of
junior tournaments. Senegal already
has a head start in private facilities
as France left behind many clubs
from its colonial days, including
the huge facility owned by the
Berthe family through which
many players have passed,
notably Yahiya Doumbia.
ALGERIA MAURITANIA
Expect good things from Algeria in
the coming years. There is a new
board taking office at the federation
with some energetic newcomers,
and many eyes are on Ines Bekrar,
an 18-year-old Algerian who has
benefited from ITF support and is
now inside the top 100 of the junior
world rankings. That has created
momentum, and a belief among
other young players that they can
make it to the top 100. "The will
of the federation is very big," says
Ben Makhlouf, "they are organising
events, and they have just created
a partnership with the French
Tennis Federation and the ITF."
In absolute terms, the level of
tennis activity in Mauritania is
tiny, but this is a small country,
most of it desert, and thanks to
the energy of the national
association's president there
are enough activities to put the
country on the tennis map. Ben
Makhlouf says, "In West Africa
when you see a programme
which is just a small tennis school
with Wednesday afternoon, it's
something basic, but in this country
it's really a huge programme.
The ITF is helping with equipment.
The kids know they are privileged
to be there, but there's nothing
comparable to a kid's smile on
a tennis court. It's like water
in the desert, like an oasis."
TOGO SENEGAL
