ITF

ITF WORLD TENNIS TOUR ITF World Winter 2022/23 31 2023 expansion The Tour staged 1,059 tournaments in 65 countries in 2022, bouncing back strongly from the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. In partnership with the ITF's member national associations and other event hosts, the goal is for further expansion in 2023, with more than 1,080 tournaments expected to be held in 70 countries. Running in tandem with this growth in opportunities for all players is a strong focus at the ITF on achieving gender equality, as part of the ITF's Advantage All programme which aims to develop and maintain tennis as an equal advantage sport for all. On the face of it, the ITF provides more opportunity at different prize money levels for women than men. However, in the men's game, the ITF World Tennis Tour offers tournaments at two prize money levels – M15 and M25 tournaments (events with a prize money pot of $15,000 and $25,000 respectively) – which provide a springboard on to the ATP Challenger Tour. The situation is different in the women's game, with the ITF World Tennis Tour calendar offering events not just at W15 and W25 level but also at the next level up, which is the equivalent springboard for women into the WTA Tour. In 2022, tournaments at this level were the W60, W80 and W100 events, corresponding to prize money brackets up to the $100,000 level. A record number of the higher- prize money W60, W80 and W100 tournaments, which are broadly aimed at players ranked No. 100 to No. 400, were held in 2022 – 96 in all. But more growth is needed to make the player pathway a truly level playing field for men and women: there are more events at ATP Challenger level compared to the equivalent level on the ITF World Tennis Tour. W40 arrives To start to address this gap, the ITF introduced a new women's prize money category at the beginning of 2023 – the W40, which offers $40,000 prize money. This has already proved a popular option for many tournament organisers and players, and the ITF anticipates 40-50 W40 tournaments being staged all over the world this year. With the help of the new W40 category, total prize money for the ITF Women's World Tennis Tour will also increase by 10% to a record $16.5m in 2023. In addition to increasing prize money for the women, saving costs for them on the Tour is important. So, from this year, all W80 and W100 tournaments are required to offer complimentary hospitality, with support and investment, where needed, from the ITF. Pierce, the 1995 Australian Open and 2000 Roland Garros champion, is optimistic about the way ahead. "I'm delighted that, through Advantage All, the ITF is investing in the women's professional player pathway to ensure equal opportunities all around the world. We've also worked hard to structure a calendar of opportunities for women and men on the ITF World Tennis Tour that makes playing and touring easier to schedule and more cost-effective for our professional players, coaches and families." The ITF's goal is to enable more women from more countries to pursue a career in professional tennis. As the new season gets into its stride, we'll enjoy following Bejlek alongside all the other talented young players as they find their path on the ITF World Tennis Tour to the higher levels of the game. n Follow the competition on the ITF World Tennis Tour every week C L I C K H E R E FO R M O R E Clockwise from top le : Aussie Tristan Schoolkate was a three- me singles finalist on the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour last year and won two doubles tles; Danka Kovinic of Montenegro on her way to the tle at W100 Wiesbaden, Germany; Japan's Kurumi Nara with the trophy at W25 Changwon, Korea Rep; Vladyslav Orlov of Ukraine won four tles on the Tour in 2022; Taylor Townsend won two ITF World Tennis Tour tles last year, on home soil at W100 Charleston and W80 Tyler 2022 ITF WORLD TENNIS TOUR IN NUMBERS

• Cover