‘Game. Set. Equity’ initiative by Tennis Canada
Tennis Canada has won the gold award in the latest round of ITF commendations for efforts made by national associations under the Advantage All banner to make tennis truly gender-balanced. Chris Bowers looks at the Canadian ‘Game. Set. Equity.’ initiative.
It started as an element of the recovery from Covid, but Tennis Canada’s ‘Game. Set. Equity.’ initiative is already changing the culture within Canadian tennis.
The eight-member Tennis Canada board is now equally divided between men and women, among the senior staff the leadership team also has four women and four men which has never happened before, and one of Canada’s two leading tournaments, the ATP/WTA event in Montreal in August, now has a female tournament director (Valérie Tetreault).
In addition, more women are coming in further down the pyramid, notably in coaching, with a proliferation of on-court initiatives for women and girls. And ‘Game. Set. Equity.’ has spawned two conferences under the name ‘Unmatched’ which have featured inspirational speeches from Billie Jean King and Maria Sharapova.
“We’ve already seen the culture change,” says Eva Havaris, Tennis Canada’s vice-president responsible for participation and partnership who oversees ‘Game. Set. Equity.’ “On the performance side of the sport, it’s traditionally been predominantly men leading the way, so this is a culture shift for tennis to have more women in leadership and influential roles. We’re starting to make inroads, we’re intentional about hiring women in coaching and leadership.”
The strategy was the baby of Tennis Canada’s immediate past president and chief executive, Jennifer Bishop and Michael Downey. Bishop, whose three-year term (2019-22) included the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, was only the second female president in Tennis Canada’s 130+ year history, and she was keen to use her time to create better opportunities for women and girls. Downey, who retired as CEO at the end of 2023, was fully on board, and seized the re-emergence from Covid as the opportunity to create gender equality.
Tennis Canada Unmatched: Billie Jean King with Emily Zajac.
Downey told the 2023 Unmatched conference, “I just felt that, with the support of our board, rebuilding after Covid was an opportunity to diversify the voices around the table.
There’s no doubt there’s a phenomenal level of diversity of opinion, and we’re going to be a better organization for it.”
One of the central planks of ‘Game. Set. Equity.’ has been the creation of a new director-level post specifically for the advancement of women and girls. The first occupant is Terri Temelini, who took up her role in 2023 when the initiative was formally launched. “I have worked in advocacy for women and girls in sport for about seven years,” she says, “and when I used to describe my work, I would often be met with an eye roll. But when Tennis Canada created a dedicated, senior decision-making position for gender equity that is valued alongside other decision-making roles, it changed everything. The job is more than just a title – gender equity being a priority has given me a voice and a platform I did not previously have, which is very rewarding and motivating.”
The scheme has benefited from a 10-year sponsorship with National Bank, and has already helped more than 2250 women and girls via 37 events across Canada supporting girls’ participation, retention and women’s leadership development. In addition, $50,000 (Canadian) has been delivered to grassroots organisations to promote gender parity in tennis.
The initiative is still new. “The biggest thing we had to do in year one was to build a strategy that was going to result in meaningful and sustainable change,” says Havaris.
A word Havaris uses a lot is ‘intentional’, though that comes from a slight nervousness about the potential for some to see the promotion of women as positive discrimination. “We haven’t had anyone accuse us of appointing people because they’re women rather than the best candidates, but then the women we’ve brought in or promoted are not just women but great people – they’re very talented leaders and have earned respect for their talent. Valérie Tetreault is a great example of that.”
“There’s a lot of education involved. You need to be intentional, you need metrics in order to make the case for women to advance. Our efforts are now attracting even more talent to Tennis Canada. High performing, competent women want to work for a boss who values diverse opinions and the contributions that women can make to advance sport. Genuine change starts with a commitment at the top, across the board and staff there’s a commitment to our strategy, and we are attracting great talent, both men and women. So yes, we’re hiring intentionally, and hiring great women.”