ITF

ITFWorld // SPRING 2018 37 Tennis Europe announced the appointment of Thomas Hammerl as Chief Executive Officer in February. Hammerl, 45, is a former CEO of the Austrian Tennis Federation, where he was responsible for overseeing the organisation's sponsorship, commercial operations and communications, and served as Davis Cup and Fed Cup Team Manager. He has also served on the Junior Tennis Committees of both Tennis Europe and the ITF. The Board also announced the promotion of Magnus Groenvold to the new role of Chief Operating Officer, working closely with the new CEO at the regional association's headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. Dates for ITF Senior flagship events ITF Seniors World Team Championships (50-60 years) Ulm/Neu-Ulm, Germany 12-18 August ITF Seniors World Individual Championships (50-60 years) Ulm/Neu-Ulm, Germany 18-25 August ITF Super-Seniors World Team Championships (65-85 years) Umag, Croatia 16-22 September ITF Super-Seniors World Individual Championships (65-85 years) Umag, Croatia 22-29 September ITF Young Seniors World Team Championships (35-45 years) Miami Beach, FL, USA 21 October-26 October ITF Young Seniors World Individual Championships (35-45 years) Miami Beach, FL, USA 27 October-3 November All dates and venues are now confirmed for the 2018 ITF Seniors World Championships as follows. TENNIS EUROPE APPOINTS HAMMERL AS NEW CEO Former world No. 1 Ken Flach died in March at the age of 54 following a short illness. Flach reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 56, but it was in doubles that he made his name. He was a six-time Grand Slam champion in doubles and mixed doubles and the 1988 Olympic men's doubles champion. Forging a hugely successful partnership with Robert Seguso, Flach and his fellow American won 28 doubles titles together – including the US Open in 1985 and Wimbledon in both 1987 and 1988, and, later that year, the gold medal in Seoul. Flach won 34 men's doubles titles overall, including his second US Open crown – and fourth and final Grand Slam men's doubles title - alongside Rick Leach in 1993. He also won two mixed doubles titles, at 1986 Roland Garros and 1986 Wimbledon, alongside Kathy Jordan. He represented his country in Davis Cup in 13 ties between 1985 and 1991, compiling an impressive 11-2 win-loss record in doubles. He played in the 1991 Davis Cup final in Lyon in his last appearance in the competition, suffering just his second Davis Cup defeat in a four-set loss, alongside Seguso, to Guy Forget and Henri Leconte as France won 3-1. Flach retired from tennis in 1996 but remained involved in the game as a coach, guiding Vanderbilt University to its first-ever NCAA championship finals appearance in any sport in 2003. "It is with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of Ken Flach," said ITF President David Haggerty. "Ken enjoyed a hugely successful career in tennis, highlighted by six Grand Slam titles and an Olympic doubles gold medal, and represented his country with distinction for many years. He will be sorely missed by the tennis family. Our thoughts go to his loved ones at this sad time." Dlamini represented South Africa in the BNP Paribas World Team Cup in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016. During a seven-year playing career, he won 13 ITF quad singles titles and reached a career- best No. 14 in the quad singles rankings in 2014. Dlamini's last tournament was the 2017 Soweto Open, where he was runner-up in the quad singles after losing a hard-fought final against fellow South African Danny Mohlamonyane. Wheelchair Tennis South Africa (WTSA) Manager Karen Losch said, "We have lost another giant, and words simply cannot express how saddened we are by this news about Bongani's passing. He was a talented and determined player. We have special memories to cherish, but this leaves a gaping hole for everyone at WTSA." 2018, Yaneva was her nation's highest-ranked player in either the men's or women's game and in 2017 represented Bulgaria at the World Team Championship and the European Championships. Yaneva also competed at the 2017 World Championships with American partner Krishna de Moura, the duo having received a wild card into the main draw to become the only female Bulgarian and American players to compete in the tournament. Other career highlights include her title win at the $2,500 tournament in Hermosa Beach in October 2016 and back-to-back titles at tournaments in Netherlands in August 2017 with fellow Bulgarian Katina Simeonova. Yaneva played a strong part in the beach tennis community and the ITF sends its condolences to family and friends at this sad time. The ITF was saddened to learn of the death of South African wheelchair tennis quad player and coach Bongani Dlamini, who passed away in March aged 36, three weeks after being diagnosed with meningitis and tuberculosis. The ITF was saddened to learn of the death of Petya Yaneva, 43, a regular player on the ITF Beach Tennis Tour who died in April from an aneurysm. With a beach tennis ranking of No. 116 at 2 April KEN FLACH BONGANI DLAMINI PETYA YANEVA O B I T U A R Y O B I T U A R Y O B I T U A R Y

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