Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/1547080
In 2025, 127 nations introduced more than 427,000 children to tennis through the JTI, the largest ever total for a single year and 42% up on the previous year. There were more than 767,000 cumulative competition entries, up 32% on 2024. Sessions were delivered by 2,081 schoolteachers and tennis coaches at 2,381 schools, tennis clubs and community venues. In 2026, JTI is active in 130 nations. While primarily a participation programme, the JTI offers competition for the best players, so is also a springboard for talented boys and girls to start out on a performance pathway. World Tennis's support of this programme includes financial assistance for nations to subsidise a National JTI Coordinator and to purchase tennis equipment locally. We also provide access to online educational resources available on the World Tennis Academy and offer the guidance of our Development Officers (see page 42). Tie Break Tens integration Following last year's agreement for Tie Break Tens (TB10) to become the official short-format tennis partner of World Tennis, seven pilot nations have been selected to integrate TB10 and its dynamic scoring system into their JTI programmes. In addition, as part of a new school tennis activation project being delivered through the JTI, TB10 will be recommended as a tool to support school tennis participation and engagement. Red Ball Tennis pilot In collaboration with the USTA, World Tennis is piloting Red Ball Tennis with the Argentine Tennis Association, Tennis Canada and the Italian Tennis Federation as a programme to reduce barriers to participation and increase adult engagement. An Adult Tennis Working Group has been formed with these three National Associations, along with other nations who are collecting participant feedback on the concept as they consider whether to include Red Ball Tennis in their national growth strategies. The USTA has led the way in researching and trialling Red Ball Tennis in the USA as part of its nationwide drive to welcome new adult players to the sport. The format retains the key aspects of tennis but uses the slower stage 3 red ball, and a smaller court size which can be set up in non- traditional tennis spaces. Argentina focus Our collaboration with the Argentine Tennis Federation (AAT) to drive mass participation in the country continues. The project supports the AAT's target of increasing participation by one million players to 5.5 million by 2030. Over the past year, the AAT has increased JTI participation in schools so that nearly 25% of schools in the capital Buenos Aires now introduce boys and girls to tennis. Since starting our collaboration, registrations for entry to national competitions have grown by nearly 50%, the number of young people introduced to tennis through summer camps has grown by 277%, and the number of individuals engaged through tennis festivals and other community events has grown by 189%. This has happened in tandem with the AAT's 'Tenis es Hermoso' (Tennis is Beautiful) national campaign. 35 l We Are World Tennis 2026 Development