Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/1524501
36 Tours and Player Pathway Beach tennis is a rapidly- growing version of the sport of tennis played and enjoyed globally. The ITF's goal is for it to be the leading beach sport played by professional and junior athletes worldwide. We want to grow the game, expand its player pathway, and strengthen its fanbase so that we can take tennis to new audiences. Record events and rewards The ITF held a record 303 tournaments on the 2023 ITF Beach Tennis World Tour, a 23% increase on 2022, providing more compe ve opportuni es than ever. Events were played in 35 countries in partnership with our member Na onal Associa ons and local organisers. We welcomed four new hos ng na ons in Curacao, Dominican Republic, Kenya and US Virgin Islands, while Great Britain, Latvia, Mar nique, Netherlands and Tahi returned for the first me since the pandemic. We invested substan ally in prize money, and a record $1,467,000 was available to players in 2023, a 25% increase on 2022, when we took prize money past the $1 million mark for the first me. In total 4,243 players competed on the tour, of whom 39% were women. Sand Series boost The ITF Beach Tennis World Tour offers graded tournaments with corresponding ranking points and prize money. BEACH TENNIS We con nued to build our highest-grade Sand Series tournaments in 2023, expanding our offering from five events to seven with the addi on of new loca ons in Brazil and another in Parnu, Estonia. We also increased Sand Series prize money to $50,000 per event. The Sand Series a racts the very best beach tennis players and is held in iconic beachside loca ons. The ITF Beach Tennis World Championships and ITF Beach Tennis World Cup are the two major events at the pinnacle of the tour, and in 2023 the World Championships in Cesena co, Italy was once again covered by Brazilian broadcaster Play BT, making the event accessible to fans in South America. Brazil was the host of the 2023 ITF Beach Tennis World Cup, with 16 na ons taking part in the professional tournament, and nine compe ng in the junior event. Nicolas Giano , one half of the male winning team at the World Championships, became the first man from France to finish the year at No. 1 in the beach tennis rankings, and Venezuela's Patricia Diaz topped the women's rankings. It was the first year in history that both the men's and women's No. 1 players came from na ons other than Italy and Brazil, an indica on that the sport is expanding beyond its tradi onal powerbases.