| ITF Performance Tennis Initiative |
 | | Performance Tennis Initiative programme in Tajikistan |  | | Performance Tennis Initiative programme in Uruguay |
The ITF Performance Tennis Initiative (PTI) is a programme which acts as a means of follow-up to the ITF School Tennis Initiative and provides a link to the ITF regional 13/14 & Under circuits. The PTI was introduced during 1999 and encourages member nations to focus on the training and competitive needs of players in the 14 & Under age group. The ITF is able to offer advice and incentives (including equipment, training guidelines and manuals) to nations to encourage the establishment of new national tournaments for this age group (i.e. 14 & Under, 12 & Under, 10 & Under) and to ensure that the nations have high quality and varied training programmes in place for the best young players at the 14 & Under level at club, regional and national level.
The programme’s main objectives are to:
Ensure a link between the mini-tennis introduced in the primary schools and the game played on a full court.
Identify the talent from the grassroots programmes and give them the opportunity to acquire the fundamentals of technique and tactic.
Give opportunities to train on a regular basis.
Give opportunities to compete at the appropriate level (14 & Under, 12 & Under, 10 & Under).
Increase the number of competitions in the younger categories.
This is achieved by:
Training
Implementation of talent squads at the 10 & Under and 12 & Under levels who will take part in training 2/3 times a week.
Introduction of camps – preferably at least one national camp at the following levels: 10 & Under, 12 & Under and 14 & Under of at least one week’s duration.
Competition
In liaison with the Development Officer for the region, quanitifiable targets for tournaments should be set based on the current situation in the nation, with the aim of increasing the number of competitions in younger categories.
An example would be:
- To organise a minimum of 4 events at the 10 & Under level
- To organise a minimum of 6 events at the 12 & Under level
- To organise a minimum of 8 events at the 14 & Under level
All these events must use formats which ensure the maximum number of matches for all participants (feed-in consolation, Round Robin draws etc.).
It is hoped that the Performance Tennis Initiative will lead to Regional Camps being held at the 14 & Under and 12 & Under levels, utilising the ITF’s Regional Training Centres in Fiji, Senegal and South Africa. This in turn would lead to players being selected to become part of the international touring team programme which allows them to take part in international competition around the world.
If your National Association needs further information on or wishes to implement this programme as part of the Junior Tennis Initiative, please contact the ITF Development Officer for the region for the application procedures.
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