ITF

ITF CIRCUITS AND PROFESSIONAL TENNIS EVENTS • ITF PRO CIRCUIT I 15 ITF Women's Circuit An additional 35 tournaments were added to the calendar compared to the previous year, taking the total to 593. In all, $11,250,000 in prize money was on offer. Ten top level $100,000 tournaments were hosted through the year, with events returning to Canada, France, Slovakia and USA and new events introduced in Japan and China. A signifi cant number of new $50,000 tournaments provided additional links between the entry and the higher level tournament categories. Europe staged the most tournaments of all regions with 302 events and a total of $5,300,000 prize money. Although predominantly at the lower entry level category, there was a notable increase in Africa's activity up from 70 to 100 tournaments offering $1,125,000 in prize money. In Asia, a total of $2,210,000 prize money was spread across 95 tournaments. North America held 49 tournaments ($1,665,000) while Central America/Caribbean and Oceania both had 13 tournaments totalling $295,000 and $365,000 respectively. South America saw 22 tournaments staged offering a total of $340,000 in prize money. The ITF's Junior Exempt Project was also put to good use once again with seven players using opportunities to gain entry into Women's Circuit tournaments. Stand- out performances from Junior Exempt players came from Russia's Darya Kasatkina, who won the $25,000 Daytona Beach event, and Slovakia's Kristina Schmiedlova, who reached the fi nal at the $25,000 Grado tournament. ITF Men's Circuit The Men's Circuit saw a three per cent growth in both tournament and prize money fi gures with 694 events and $7,860,000 prize money on offer in 2015. Europe led the rest of the world with 359 events offering $3,975,000 in total prize money. Asia and Africa held 103 ($1,205,000) and 102 ($1,060,000) tournaments respectively, representing a seven per cent and 75 per cent increase in tournament numbers for each respective region – a trend comparable to the Women's Circuit. South America hosted 53 tournaments ($620,000), North America organised 48 ($625,000), Central America/Caribbean held 18 ($210,000) while Oceania staged 11 ($165,000). Five players, across 11 tournaments, made use of the ITF Junior Exempt Project to gain entry to Men's Circuit tournaments. Notable results from these players included Quentin Halys of France reaching back-to-back fi nals at the Italy F1 and F2 Futures events, and Brazil's Orlando Luz recording a runner-up fi nish at the F23 Futures event in Este, Italy. PLAYERS REGISTERED FOR PRO IPIN MEMBERSHIP IN 2015 20,474

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