ITF

Over the last 12 months the grants programme has enjoyed unprecedented success, with eight current-year and two previous grant recipients moving inside the ATP and WTA Top 100 – a significant performance milestone. Several players recorded nation firsts. These are headlined by the breakthrough of Alexandra Eala, featured on the cover of this publication. Eala is a four-time GSPDP grant awardee and in 2026 became the first player from the Philippines to reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam event and to win a WTA singles title, helping her to a Top 20 ranking. Luis Guto Miguel, who received a grant in 2026, became the first Brazilian to win a Roland Garros junior singles title. Fellow 2026 recipient Xinran Sun, 15, reached three consecutive junior Grand Slam finals and at the US Open became the first Chinese player to win a junior Grand Slam singles title since 2018. Both players topped the junior rankings. Nigeria's Oluwaseun Peter Ogunsakin, 17, who trains at the African Regional Training Centre, advanced to the boys' doubles semi- finals at Wimbledon to become the first player from his nation to reach this stage of a Grand Slam event at either junior or professional level. Touring Teams Touring Teams for promising junior players age 14-18 are funded by the GSPDP, with player selection and team organisation carried out by World Tennis. In 2026 we ran nine international teams featuring 52 players from 26 countries, and 24 regional teams featuring 157 players from 60 nations (these last give 14-17-year-olds from a particular region the chance to compete at events outside it). The Touring Teams programme continues to provide valuable high-performance competition opportunities for talented players, with travel to tournaments provided under the guidance of a coach. A notable achievement in 2026 was that of Ziga Sesko, who became the first Slovenian boy to win a Grand Slam singles title when he won the Australian Open in January. (see photo on page 22). Sesko was the first member of a Touring Team to win a junior Grand Slam singles title since Ricardas Berankis in 2007. Regional Training World Tennis supports programmes for excellence in Africa and the Pacific to ensure that talent is nurtured in every region. Fifteen players from Algeria, Botswana, Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa and Tunisia received full-time training and educational support via the African Regional Training Centre in Sousse, Tunisia in 2026. One of these players is currently ranked inside the Top 100 and eight more have represented their countries in major international team events (pro and junior). The Pacific Oceania Regional Development Programme provided enhanced coaching and competitive opportunities for 245 players and 330 school children in seven nations, supported by 64 coaches. 14-and-under development World Tennis's 14-and-under development strategy continued in 2026, with the goal of strengthening player performance pathways for 14-and-under (14&U) and 12-and- under (12&U) players into World Tennis junior team events and World Tennis Tour Juniors tournaments. The strategy is being overseen jointly by our Development and Juniors departments under the guidance of the World Tennis Juniors Committee. A Regional Association working group is in place and key priorities for this year have included: developing an integrated 12&U regional competition calendar, maintaining the 14&U calendar introduced in 2025, assessing World Tennis Number integration at 12&U level and reviewing age eligibility rules. 37 l We Are World Tennis 2026 Development

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