ITF

ITFWORLD WINTER 2017 1 www.itftennis.com Front cover photography by Corinne Dubreuil. EDITOR Joanne Burnham CONTRIBUTORS 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. Tom Moran is a member of the ITF Communications department and has written extensively for DavisCup.com and FedCup.com since 2013. Paul Newman is tennis correspondent for The Independent in the UK. Jamie Renton is the ITF's Senior Coordinator, Digital Services and works across the ITF's family of websites. Alex Sharp works in the realms of tennis as a reporter, producer and video editor. Recent Grand Slam and Davis Cup work has been published by Wimbledon, the Lawn Tennis Association, Tennis Australia, Roland Garros and WTA. Leigh Walsh is a former Irish tennis player who switched her racket for a pen five years ago. Currently based in London, she now spends her time as a freelance sports writer, working for the ITF, Wimbledon, ATP World Tour, Australian Open, LiveWire Sport and Premier League, among others. 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 AELTC Thomas Lovelock, Ron Angle, Reg Caldecott, Manuela Davies, Corinne Dubreuil, Mathilde Dusol, Ray Giubilo, Imagellan, Daniel Kopatsch, Sergio Llamera, Fred and Susan Mullane, Dave Shopland, Martin Sidorjak, Srdjan Stevanovic, Takeo Tanuma, Tennis Foundation, Nikita Uspenskiy, 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 THE CREAM OF 17 ITFWorld showcases the 2017 ITF World Champions, who rose to the top with outstanding performances in a season of contrasts. 10 JUNIOR MASTERY Emil Ruusuvuori and Marta Kostyuk won their ITF Junior Masters titles in style, says Alex Sharp. 12 IN WITH THE NEW Clive White sensed a new era dawning at the season-ending NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters. 16 GLORY DAYS It was a return to the good times for USA as the nation won Fed Cup by BNP Paribas for the 18th time. Sandra Harwitt was there. 20 LA DIXIÈME France finally lifted its glorious tenth Davis Cup by BNP Paribas title in what was a true team effort. Jamie Renton reports. 24 LEARNING AND GROWING More than 600 coaches converged on Sofia for the ITF Worldwide Coaches Conference. Leigh Walsh was there. 28 EXPERIENCE MATTERS The players from the winning nations in the ITF's two junior team competitions will have learnt a lot, says Tom Moran. 32 TOP OF THE HEAP IN NYC At the US Open, Nadal underlined his status as 2017's comeback king, and Stephens surprised us all. Paul Newman looks back. 36 JUNIOR SLAM SPOTLIGHT: THE US OPEN Sandra Harwitt profiles the boys and girls champions from Flushing Meadows. 38 NEWS ROUND-UP Stories from around the ITF. 40 LOOKING AHEAD The 2018 calendar of events. CONTENTS WINTER 2017 THE INTERNATIONAL TENNIS FEDERATION'S OFFICIAL MAGAZINE 65 4 28 24 8 16 '

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