ITF announce winners of highly acclaimed gender equality award

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has announced the bronze, silver, and gold winners of the prestigious Advantage All award at the 2023 AGM conference in Cancun.

Now into its second year, the Advantage All Reward and Recognition programme, part of the ITF’s Advantage All Gender Equality strategy, was developed to encourage national associations to adopt equality related initiatives. For 2023, three award categories were introduced, showcasing coaching, officiating and leadership efforts.  

Launched in 2018, the Advantage All Gender Equality strategy aims to increase women’s presence on and off the court, fostering an equal playing field for all.

Gold Award: Tennis Canada

Tennis Canada’s 5-year Gender Equality strategy, ‘Game. Set. Equity,’ supported by a 10-year partnership with the National Bank, is committed to achieving gender balance throughout the tennis landscape.

With an increased prize fund for all nations, they received a $5000 contribution, providing support to deliver key objectives:

• Increase the number of women national event tournament directors to 50%.
• Enhance the work of the Community Grant Program, supporting leadership development for organisations and women in communities across the country.
• Striving for equal prize money and visibility to both WTP and ATP players.

Silver Award: Tennis Australia

Tennis Australia received $4000 funding after implementing two programs, aimed at promoting an ‘equal advantage’ for women on and off the tennis court:

• ‘Women Leaders in Tennis’ for women aged 18 and over, with access to mentoring and networking facilities.
• ‘Learn 2 Lead program’ targets young women aged 14-18 years, providing essential life and leadership skills via face to face and online workshops.

Tennis Australia’s overarching goal focuses on increasing the number of women in community leadership positions, along with governing roles by 2027.

Bronze Award: Tennis New Zealand

Tennis New Zealand’s coaching initiative provides scholarships and mentoring opportunities for female coaches, alongside a Junior Development Coach qualification. Their commitment to increasing the number of female coaches to 100% by 2025 earned them a $3000 bronze award contribution.

Highly Commended Award

This year, eight nations, across ITF National Association Development Eligibility Criteria tiers, were awarded with a ‘Highly Commended’ status for their progress in achieving equality across the sport.

The nations that received this recognition are as follows: Bhutan, Ecuador, Seychelles, Sweden, Austria, China, United States, and Great Britain (LTA).

This recognition supports less well-resourced and represented NAs, providing an opportunity to be rewarded for their continued efforts. Each nation received $1000 contribution towards their work.

All award-winning nations will have the opportunity to showcase their strategies through a series of webinars later in the year, encouraging others to implement the best practice of gender equality globally.  

ITF President David Haggerty said: “In the game of tennis, the Advantage All strategy serves as a powerful testament to our commitment to making the court a level playing field. Since 2018, we’ve championed gender equality as a top priority, applauding every national tennis association for their strides towards balance. Congratulations to all winners, may their success inspire a future where ‘advantage all” is the rule, not the exception. Together, we shape a future where equality prevails, both on and off the court.