ITF

2022 ITF Annual Review 47 Good officia ng carried out with integrity and consistency is essen al for tennis from the grassroots level to Grand Slam tournaments. The ITF works in partnership with the WTA, ATP and the four Grand Slam tournaments to deliver the Joint Cer fica on Programme for tennis officials - the chief umpires, chair umpires and referees who maintain the rules and regula ons at tennis events of all levels. Every official's educa on, ability and experience is acknowledged by a cer fica on that is recognised by all the sport's governing bodies. Training and reviewing Our ITF Officia ng Schools programme trains and cer fies men and women so that they can officiate at na onal and interna onal tournaments. We work with our member na ons to recruit and train new officials, and the high standards of exis ng cer fied officials are maintained through our annual recer fica on programme. We offer officia ng schools at four levels, from Na onal (entry level), through Green Badge, White Badge and on to Interna onal (advanced level, qualifying individuals to officiate at major interna onal events such as the Grand Slam tournaments, Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, and ATP, WTA, Challenger and ITF World Tennis Tour events). In 2022, we collaborated with our member na ons to run eight in-person na onal schools, in Bangladesh, Ghana, Greece, Iceland, India, Hong Kong, Netherlands and Rwanda, training 165 officials. The ITF held six White Badge schools, training 125 officials, and three Interna onal schools, for 85 officials. We con nued to work with our Joint Cer fica on Programme partners, the WTA, ATP and Grand Slam tournaments, and together we refreshed the training modules for the 2023 Interna onal schools. We also collaborated in evalua ng and recer fying 543 Interna onal officials and 1,053 White and Green badge officials based on their 2022 performances. We developed a closer working rela onship with the Interna onal Tennis Integrity Agency, who now present on integrity ma ers at officia ng schools. Providing opportuni es As part of our strategic efforts to offer a range of opportuni es within tennis, in 2022 we provided $35,000 in grants to support the travel and development of officials in under- represented regions that do not have enough umpires. We offered officia ng assignments for more than 50 major events covering Grand Slam, ATP and WTA tournaments, Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, ITF World Tennis Tour, ITF Wheelchair and ITF Masters events. There were 292 assignments across all levels of Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge alone. For each assignment we take into considera on geographic distribu on, and the gender balance of officials as part of our Advantage All programme. The ITF launched the virtual Umpires Lounge in 2022, a new training and support tool which enables cer fied officials from all around the world to interact, engage with and learn from each other in an online forum. We also offered wider officia ng educa on for players, parents and coaches, to ensure a be er understanding for everyone of the rules and procedures in place at ITF events. OFFICIATING

• Cover