With the same prize money for both men and women, the ITF has already come a long way. Now their president, David Haggerty, would like to see more women in the decision-making bodies.
The American tennis federation USTA has shown the way: Katrina Adams, a woman has been leading the 800,000-member association for several years now. Now the ITF would like to follow suit, as its President David Haggerty let know.
According to Haggerty, tennis can be quite basically proud of itself, especially since it opens up equal opportunities for men and women at the Grand Slam tournaments. We also realize that equality is not yet reflected in leadership roles at the very highest level,”Haggerty explained.
In addition to the existing representations, the “ITF Women in Sport Committee” should ensure that the chances for women and girls to play tennis and take up an important position in the sport of tennis are even greater.
In the history of tennis, this has probably been best accomplished at Court Billy Jean King – to be found in the current movie “Battle of the Sexes”. And here too, the USTA has played a pioneering role – after all, the National Tennis Center in the Flushing district of New York is named after the pioneer of female tennis.
The ITF’s plans for the coming years are already ambitious: from the ongoing reform of the Davis Cup competition to the introduction of a new tour category, which should make it easier to get started in professional tennis, to the reduction of professional tennis players on the side of the ladies and gentlemen – David Haggerty has a lot in mind. And could use some help.