Australia, Argentina, and France win ITF Advantage All Awards
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has unveiled the winners of the prestigious Advantage All Award at its 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Hong Kong, China. Now in its third year, the Advantage All Award recognises nations making significant strides in promoting gender equality across tennis through coaching, officiating, and leadership initiatives.
This year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze awards were presented to Australia, Argentina, and France respectively, acknowledging their innovative efforts in advancing the ITF’s Advantage All Gender Equality strategy.
The Advantage All Reward and Recognition programme is a core element of the ITF’s broader strategy launched in 2018, which aims to increase women’s participation in tennis, both on and off the court. By fostering equal opportunities, this initiative is designed to eliminate barriers based on gender discrimination, empowering nations to push for progress across all levels of the sport. The programme is funded by the Foundation for Global Sports Development and has garnered international recognition for its impact on gender equity.
Gold Award: Tennis Australia
Tennis Australia has been awarded the Gold Award for 2024, having made remarkable progress in elevating the role of women in coaching. Since 2016, the nation has increased the percentage of women coaches from 21% to 32%, with an ambitious target of reaching 35% by 2027. Their comprehensive programme, built on vital research into women's participation in coaching, supports women coaches through a Coach Connect programme, Virtual Series, and a Coaching Scholarship initiative.
Having previously won Bronze in 2022 and Silver in 2023, Tennis Australia’s rise to the Gold Award reflects its ongoing leadership in promoting gender equality in tennis. Their continued dedication has set the standard for other nations to follow, and their $5000 prize fund will support further development toward achieving their 2025 goal of increasing overall coaching numbers by 10%.
Silver Award: Argentina Tennis Association
The Silver Award went to the Argentina Tennis Association for its outstanding commitment to improving gender equality in coaching. Argentina has nearly doubled the number of women participating in their nationwide coach development programmes, with female Play Tennis tutors growing from 20% in 2022 to 43% in 2023. This leap in representation was mirrored in the nation’s ITF Level 2 course, which also saw 43% women’s participation.
In addition to hosting women-only coaching courses, Argentina actively engages in Olympic Solidarity and Olympic Scholarship programmes, further expanding opportunities for women in tennis. The Silver Award comes with a $4000 contribution, enabling the nation to continue its remarkable efforts to create a more inclusive coaching environment.
Bronze Award: French Tennis Federation
The French Tennis Federation received the Bronze Award for its significant progress in increasing women’s representation in officiating. France’s initiative included comprehensive awareness campaigns, workshops, seminars, and personalised training to encourage women to pursue professional certification in officiating. One of the standout achievements was hosting the first all-female White Badge officiating school as part of the nation’s preparations for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
This initiative, with its focus on education and mentoring, aims to create long-term growth in the number of female officials at various levels of the sport. With $3000 in funding, France's success story has the potential to influence many other nations striving to boost female representation in officiating roles.
Highly Commended Awards
In addition to the top three winners, nine nations were recognised with Highly Commended awards for their contributions to gender equality in tennis. These nations—Guatemala, Tunisia, Solomon Islands, Austria, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Ireland, Great Britain, and Switzerland—represent a diverse mix of resources and challenges.
Each Highly Commended nation received $1000 in funding to continue their efforts in promoting equality in tennis.
ITF President Dave Haggerty said, “Congratulations to the winners and to all nations that entered this year’s Advantage All Awards. Your dedication to advancing gender equality is commendable, and we hope that the great work being done by these nations will inspire all National Associations around the world to take meaningful steps toward equality both on and off the court.”
“As the ITF continues its mission to promote gender equality in tennis, the 2024 Advantage All Award winners exemplify the progress that can be made through collaborative efforts, innovation, and unwavering dedication to equality.”