ITF

30 Winter 2022/23 ITF World ITF WORLD TENNIS TOUR Main artery The route to the top of tennis – to the top of any sport – is rarely linear, even for players who rise quickly. It almost inevitably involves double-backs and disappointments as a counterpoint to outstanding bursts of form and confidence-boosting match wins. Someone who has seen this from both sides, as a Grand Slam champion turned coach and mentor to young players coming up, is Mary Pierce, who is also an ITF Board member and Chair of the ITF Women's Player Panel. "It can be so tough. Just dealing with the high and lows of winning and losing is one thing, but the other is managing your playing schedule and budget so you can get that match experience and move up the rankings." The ITF World Tennis Tour is a fundamental pillar of the professional game globally and acts as a pathway between the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors and the very top tier of tennis. It is the main artery to the elite levels of the game, providing competitive opportunities for women and men to propel themselves on to WTA, ATP and Grand Slam tournaments. It provides a pathway, and that pathway needs to be robust enough to allow for bumps in the road. It also has to be built in such a way that aspiring professional players have enough opportunities to succeed – opportunities that aren't out of reach and aren't too expensive to take up. "Starting out in professional tennis can be expensive and exhausting, so a player needs chances to play closer to home. That reduces the financial and physical impact, but provides those essential ranking points and competition experience," Pierce says. With this in mind, the ITF World Tennis Tour aims to provide tournaments in as many countries as possible. The ITF is also committed to improving the financial means of players competing on it, and to shaping the pathway to enable prompt progress through the different levels. The last few years have seen greater consultation with players, and strong collaboration with tournament organisers, the ATP and WTA to improve the Tour as the bedrock of the player pathway. And the ITF has more improvements planned. Through Advantage All, the ITF is investing in the women's professional player pathway to ensure equal opportunities all around the world. Mary Pierce

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