Canada, Australia and New Zealand are all winners of the ITF Advantage Awards

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has announced the bronze, silver and gold winners of the prestigious Advantage All Awards.

In its second year, the Advantage All Rewards and Recognition Program, part of the ITF’s Advantage All Gender Equality Strategy, was created to encourage national associations to adopt equality-related initiatives.

In 2023, three award categories were introduced to showcase coaching, refereeing and leadership efforts. Launched in 2018, the All Gender Equality Strategy aims to increase the presence of women both on and off the field.

Gold Award: Tennis Canada

Tennis Canada’s five-year gender equality strategy, ‘Sport. Place. Equity”, through its 10-year partnership with National Bank, is committed to achieving gender balance in the tennis landscape. With increased prize money for all countries, they received a contribution of $5000, supporting the achievement of key objectives: Increase the number of female competition directors of national events by 50%. Advancing the work of the Community Grants Program supports leadership development for organizations and women in communities across the country. Fight for equal prize money and visibility to WTP and ATP players.

Silver Award: Tennis Australia Tennis

Australia received $4,000 in funding after implementing two projects aimed at promoting “equal advantage” for women on and off the tennis court: ‘Women Leaders in Tennis’ training facilities, mentoring and networking for women aged 18 and over. The “Learn 2 Lead Program” targets young women aged 14-18 and provides them with essential life and leadership skills through in-person and online workshops. Tennis Australia’s overall goal is to focus on increasing the number of women in community leadership positions, including government positions, by 2027.

Bronze Award: Tennis New Zealand

Tennis New Zealand’s coaching initiative offers scholarship and mentoring opportunities for female coaches, with a Junior Development Coach qualification. Their commitment to increase the number of female coaches to 100% by 2025 earned them a $3,000 bronze prize contribution.

Special awards

This year, eight countries across levels of the ITF National Association Development Eligibility Criteria have been awarded “Highly Recommended” status for their progress in achieving equality in sport. Countries that have received this recognition include: Bhutan, Ecuador, Seychelles, Sweden, Austria, China, USA and Great Britain (LTA).