ITF

ITFWORLD SPRING 2017 1 www.itftennis.com Front cover photography by Paul Zimmer. EDITOR Joanne Burnham CONTRIBUTORS Ian Chadband has been a leading British sports writer over three decades as chief sports correspondent for the Press Association, Evening Standard and Daily Telegraph, as well as athletics correspondent at The Sunday Times. A multi-award winner for his feature writing in national sports journalism, he has written extensively on tennis. Lee Goodall is a former British national junior champion who has worked in tennis for the last 20 years. He is a broadcaster and TV analyst on the men's and women's tours, and regularly writes for the ITF at Davis Cup and Fed Cup ties around the world. Sandra Harwitt, the author of The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players Of All Time, has covered tennis and other sports for over 25 years. She is a regular contributor to ESPN.com and Associated Press. Suzi Petkovski is a Melbourne-based writer who has covered 30 editions of the Australian Open. Tennis specialist at Inside Sport magazine since 1996, she is also a contributor to the ITF's DavisCup.com and FedCup.com. Courtney Walsh is the chief tennis writer for The Australian newspaper. Clive White is a former tennis correspondent of Britain's The Sunday Telegraph and was Team Leader for the London 2012 Olympic News Service at Wimbledon. He regularly writes for DavisCup.com and FedCup.com. PHOTO CREDITS Balbi Photography, Bogdan Cristel, Corinne Dubreuil, Mathilde Dusol, Ivan Evlakhov, Gallo Images, Getty Images, Ray Giubilo, Andrei Golovanov/Sergiy Kivrin, IOC Media, Daniel Kopatsch, Henk Koster, Carmen Lee, Susan Mullane, Jordi Ramos, Sanchez-Casal, Dave Shopland, SMP Images, Srdjan Stevanovic, Vincent van Doornick, Didi Weinreb, Steve Wylie, Franklin Zelaya, Paul Zimmer. DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Clarus · www.clarus-design.com ITFWorld is published by ITF Ltd, PO Box N-272, Nassau, Bahamas. All rights reserved throughout the world. No part of ITFWorld may be reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. The publishers accept no responsibility for return of manuscripts, photos or artwork, but if you send material you must include an SAE. Whilst we make every effort to ensure that all editorial material is factually correct at the time of going to press, we cannot accept responsibility if any errors occur and for matters arising as a result. Views expressed in ITFWorld do not necessarily reflect official ITF policy. It should not be inferred that products advertised in this magazine are officially approved by the ITF. © 2017 ITF Ltd. Please address all correspondence regarding ITFWorld to Joanne Burnham, ITF Communications Department, ITF Licensing UK Ltd, Bank Lane, Roehampton, London SW15 5XZ, UK. Email: joanne.burnham@itftennis.com IN THIS ISSUE 2 WELCOME MESSAGE From ITF President David Haggerty. 4 BRING IT ON Belarus is through to its first-ever Fed Cup by BNP Paribas final, and will host USA in what promises to be a fascinating clash between contrasting nations, says Ian Chadband, who reports on April's semifinals and play-offs. 8 BETTER TOGETHER First outstanding players, then founders of a successful tennis academy, Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez are being recognised for their outstanding contributions to the sport with this year's Philippe Chatrier Award. Clive White spoke to them about their long partnership. 14 HOME COMFORTS The spoils all went to the host nations in April's Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinals, as Lee Goodall reports, to set up two semifinals in Europe in September. 18 MY LIFE AS A DEVELOPMENT OFFICER Cecilia Ancalmo gives ITFWorld a snapshot of her unique life as one of the ITF's Development Officers, who oversee the activities of more than 150 nations in support of the ITF's mission to grow the game worldwide. 24 ITF PRO CIRCUIT RESTRUCTURING The ITF has announced a major restructuring of professional tennis at its entry level, and the creation of a new global ITF transition tour. 26 OLD MASTERS The Australian Open was one for the ages, say Suzi Petkovski. Roger Federer captured his 18th major title to return to the Grand Slam winner's fold, and Serena Williams eclipsed Steffi Graf 's Open era record by winning Grand Slam No. 23. 30 JUNIOR SLAM SPOTLIGHT: THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN Hungary's Zsombor Piros and 14-year-old Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk won their first junior Grand Slam titles in Melbourne. Sandra Harwitt was there. 32 BACK IN THE MIX It was France who lifted the trophy at the season-opening Mastercard Hopman Cup, reports Courtney Walsh. 34 NEWS ROUND-UP Stories from around the ITF. 36 LOOKING AHEAD What's happening in the next few months. CONTENTS SPRING 2017 THE INTERNATIONAL TENNIS FEDERATION'S OFFICIAL MAGAZINE 63 30 14 18 8 8

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