ITF

"I want my victory to have an impact for the kids in El Salvador," Arevalo said on the night of his triumph in Paris. "In El Salvador we have had problems with gangs and crime, and I hope my success can encourage kids to stay away from the gangs and play tennis. Now is my time to do something for my country, so I want to encourage youngsters." Arevalo tells the story of his dad taking him to the Miami tournament in Key Biscayne when he was around 10, a visit that gave him great motivation, but he and his brother also profited from an ITF programme in El Salvador called 'Talent Search' under which the brothers received tennis lessons for free. The programme was dependent on government funding, and when that stopped in 2009, the initiative closed down, although some private organisations, notably Christian groups, put in money to fund sport as a vehicle to support communities. But the enormity of Rafael's match against Federer at the Beijing Olympics to promote tennis was highlighted in a story told by Cecilia Ancalmo, the ITF's Development Officer for the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America and herself a Salvadoran. "People tell me lots of stories," she said, "but the one that stands out is the one involving a woman who was a teacher in a rural area of Usulutan about three hours from San Salvador. She told me she and her whole family didn't go to work or school that day because they wanted to watch Rafael play Federer in the Olympics on TV. That's how big an event like that can be, and it can stimulate youngsters to play. "And then we had Marcelo's title at Roland Garros. Even before the final, I started receiving congratulations, as it was on the front page of one of the national newspapers that he was going to play for the title. It came just after Alfa Karina Arrue became the first Salvadoran to conquer Everest, so Marcelo's title was combined with Arrue's accomplishment to make for a joint act of national heroism." The US college route One feature of both Rojer and Arevalo that they share with many others from Central America and the Caribbean who have made it on the professional tour is that they have benefited from the closeness of the USA and its college tennis scholarships. That offers a route for many players who show promise as a junior but have difficulty making the transition to the full tour. "College tennis is creating a massive opportunity for Caribbean players," says Goede. "We have a lot of players from the Caribbean who go to American universities and then represent their countries in the Davis Cup or Billie Jean King Cup. It's amazing to see it happen, and we need to keep this road open for the athletes. Even for those who never make it to the top, tennis is a way to get children off the streets, and to help them develop a greater sense of discipline and ambition in life. In every country there are possibilities for youngsters to take wrong paths and wrong roads, but we try to create possibilities in the Caribbean to go down the right road through tennis, and for those who show real promise there is a good route to college tennis." Ancalmo adds, "The college route is not always easy, but it is accessible. A player's chances are greater if they study in bilingual schools as it means they already have the necessary level of English, and they also need to be of a minimum academic level – very few students get in on tennis alone, so tennis players need a subject they are competent in. Those who are already in the US college system often provide a route in for those following on, so word-of-mouth recommendations are important to maintain." A look at promising names from the COTECC region who might become known on the professional tours over the next decade tends to alight on players benefiting from American universities. John Chin is an 18-year-old from Jamaica who played in the NCAA championships for the University of Tennessee and this year picked up his first ATP ranking points from a tournament in the Dominican Republic. Richard Mallory is the youngest player to represent Bermuda in the Davis Cup, and he is now at the University of North Carolina. Up-and-coming girls include Valentina Cruz Bonilla from El Salvador, who is starting this fall at Dartmouth College after a successful and active junior career and representing her country in Billie Jean King Cup events and regional games. Sydney Clarke of the Bahamas attends the University of Alabama, and the St Vincent twins Amarlia and Gabrielle Benn play at Savannah State University. A mission of self-sustainability In the highly competitive world of professional tennis, the low density of population in geographically dispersed islands means creating opportunities for top players from the Caribbean will always " We need to support each national association to become as independent and self-sustaining as possible, so that they can develop the sport in general, make tennis bigger, create more athletes, educate more coaches – and grow the tennis community. John Goede DEVELOPMENT ITF World Summer 2022 35

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