‘No limits for women and girls on and off the court'
Continuing our series on national associations who have been commended by the ITF under the Advantage All initiative for their efforts to make tennis truly gender-balanced, Chris Bowers looks at the ‘Women & Girls’ scheme run by Tennis Australia.
Sharon Hambly could so easily have been lost to tennis. After 18 years as head coach of the Seaside Tennis Club just east of Adelaide city centre, she stepped down from her role three years ago. She spent the next 18 months doing bits of coaching, but was drifting away from the sport when Tennis Australia’s ‘Women & Girls’ initiative stepped in.
The initiative is a five-year strategy developed by TA to improve access and opportunities for women and girls to achieve gender equality in the sport. Its vision is uncompromising: ‘No limits for women and girls on and off the court.’
‘Women & Girls’ has the three strategic priorities: Lead, Influence, and Play. To achieve objectives in each pillar, several targeted programs have been implemented, notably Women Leaders in Tennis, Coach Connect, and Talent Coach Scholarships. The overall project aims to have 45% of Australian tennis leadership roles filled by women by 2027, with 40% of officials and 35% of coaches to be female by the same date.
Sharon received an email asking if she wanted to apply to be part of the Coach Connect Talent Development program, which provided professional development and exposure to ‘know the level’ at Junior National Championship events. Encouraged by her partner, she said yes.
"I have built friendships, gained confidence, and been reinvigorated as a coach to support and assist players"
“Without that approach, I would not be coaching now,” says the 54-year-old, who has been coaching since she was 21. “I have built friendships, gained confidence, and been reinvigorated as a coach to support and assist players – and I’m back as head coach at Seaside, with 11 coaches. It’s been a journey both on the court but more importantly in life – my communication skills have improved, and I have a support network from other women that I didn’t have before.”
Sharon is one of 94 coaches enrolled in the Coach Connect program, and more than 100 have attended Coach Connect workshops and networking events which TA has held across Australia.
On Australia’s Pacific coast, Emily Burns was coaching at Coolum Beach in Queensland, around 100km north of Brisbane, when a member of the coach development team suggested she apply for the Talent Scholarship Coach program, which aims to provide opportunities for women to coach in high performance environments and be role models for young female players. Emily, then 25, had been coaching at Coolum TC for six years, and also managing a regional girl’s squad alongside a team of coaches.
“The women and girls funding has changed my life in many incredible ways,” Emily, now 28, says. “I now feel part of something bigger and have such a brilliant and ever growing network of friends and colleagues. I feel I can bring my true self to work and am inspired for what we can all create together within the tennis industry. The biggest takeaways have been in how to coach talented players and useful leadership skills, as well as how to get through an awful lot of notebooks!”
"Participating in Women Leaders in Tennis enabled me to reflect on what I wanted to get out of volunteering in tennis"
The most ambitious target within the Women & Girls initiative is for nearly half of tennis leadership positions in Australia to be taken by women. Fiona Walker is an example of how the talent is there – it just has to be nurtured.
Fiona became president of her local tennis club, Riddells Creek TC about 50 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, in 2019. She had been on the committee for seven years, during which time the club was selected for a gender equality pilot programme, so she had good connections with her local association (Macedon Ranges), her state association (Tennis Victoria) and the federal/national governing body, Tennis Australia.
In 2022, she was invited to participate in the Women Leaders in Tennis program. Since then she has become a director of Tennis Victoria, embarked on a $1m (AUD) project to get Riddells Creek TC a new clubhouse, and she has founded a highly successful junior girls’ program with female coaches delivering each week. And along the way she has gained entry-level qualifications in coaching and officiating.
"It's given me a profound sense of empowerment and encouragement through the support of the remarkable group of women I’ve connected with"
“Participating in Women Leaders in Tennis enabled me to reflect on what I wanted to get out of volunteering in tennis,” she says. “A key activity is goal-setting, so I set three big goals: one for my club, one for my local association and one for myself, all of which I’ve achieved. It’s given me a renewed sense of drive and determination, as well as a profound sense of empowerment and encouragement through the support of the remarkable group of women I’ve connected with.”
Overseeing the Women & Girls agenda is Vicki Reid, Tennis Australia’s director responsible for government and social impact. She says, “It’s my hope that through this strategy barriers are removed and women and girls are supported to reach their potential on and off the court.”