ITF

ITF World Summer 2022 5 Hamburg and Bologna for the group stages of the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals, which will feature the world's best 16 nations lining up in four host cities – the other two being Glasgow and Valencia – to decide which eight nations will advance to November's knock-out stage. More on this later. I'll go back to New York later in September for the UN Women HeForShe meeting with the other HeForShe champions for gender equality. This is a chance to check in and see everyone in person and talk about what the ITF is doing to advance gender equality through our Advantage All programme and our constitutional reforms. The ITF continues to consult with nations on constitutional reform. The goal is to ensure that the ITF remains a leading international federation with high standards of governance of tennis that are fair and sustainable and reflect best practice. We've held seminars with our member National Associations in all regions as part of the consultation process around these constitutional changes and refinements. It's been great to see the high level of engagement from nations on this important subject. A blockbuster November Although we've reached the last Grand Slam of 2022 there is still plenty to play for on court this season, and November particularly is jam-packed with ITF events. The season-ending NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters and ITF Doubles Masters will be held in Oss, Netherlands in the first week of November, at the same time as the 16-and-under Junior Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas which takes place in Antalya, Turkey. The following week sees the Beach Tennis World Cup being contested in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, while the Billie Jean King Cup Finals will be staged in its new home of Glasgow. We announced Great Britain's Lawn Tennis Association as the new hosts for the climax of the women's World Cup of Tennis in June. We're looking forward to a fantastic event featuring the 12 best nations in the world and I'm sure the players are too. Among those counting down to Glasgow is Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina who tells this issue of ITFWorld about her hopes for Kazakhstan's first appearance in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. The ITF wants to make Billie Jean King Cup the premier event in women's sport, and ensure it has the special feeling that only nation- against-nation team competitions can bring. I'm happy to say that we are currently working on securing a partnership for the Billie Jean King Cup as part of our commitment to ensuring equivalent prize money for men and women in the World Cup of Tennis. Our Annual General Meeting is being held in Glasgow at the same time as the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, giving our member national associations a chance to see the event in the same way that they experienced the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid last year. I'm looking forward to interacting with all the nations in attendance and reporting on the latest progress under our ITF2024 strategy. The season ends with the knock-out stage of the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals: the eight-team showdown which will decide the 2022 Davis Cup champion nation. Working with partner Kosmos Tennis, our goal in separating the group stage from the knock-out stage of the Finals, and bringing the group stage forward by two months, was to shorten the calendar for many players. And by adding a new city to both group and knock-out stages, we are giving more fans in different places the chance to get involved. The city of Malaga is hosting the Finals knock-out stage for the next two years and is a great hub for both players and fans to travel to. It will certainly be a November to remember, and I hope you'll enjoy all the great tennis being showcased across the wide spectrum of ITF activities in the coming months. Best wishes to you all. n The city of Glasgow will host November's Billie Jean King Cup Finals

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