Bangkok welcomes 'United Nations of tennis'
Over 600 tennis coaches from a record 113 countries are in the house for the 2019 ITF Worldwide Coaches Conference presented by BNP Paribas. It’s the tennis United Nations, assembled around a specially laid clay court at the palace-proportioned Berkeley Hotel in downtown Bangkok.
"There’s a lot of energy here," commented ITF president David Haggerty, opening the three-day confab. "This is our chance as tennis coaches and the tennis family to congregate, learn from each other, plan for the future and celebrate achievement. To demonstrate that tennis stands strong and that our greatest days as a sport lie ahead.
"These coaches are what make our mission possible," he added.
The WCC is the embodiment of ITF’s goal of growing the game worldwide. Coaches, development officers and experts in sport science and teaching have gathered from all corners of the globe, the Cook Islands to Kosovo and all points between. There are passionate advocates of wheelchair tennis, women’s coaches, elite juniors, seniors and late-starting adult novices - a new goal of the ITF is to make tennis the No.1 sport for over-35s.
The theme of the conference is ‘Maximising the player’s journey: The coach as facilitator and team leader’ which in itself speaks volumes for the evolving role of the coach. The game’s instructors do more than teach and nurture the game, noted Haggerty; coaches "shape lives through the unique power of tennis," especially in resource-poor regions where the ITF can provide financial and other supports.
"Tennis welcomes all, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, ability," said Haggerty. "Our sport is for all, for life."
This is the 21st edition of the biennial WCC, back in Asia after 18 years, when Bangkok also played host. There were some 300 attendees at that 2001 event in the dawn of the Asian tennis boom. This weekend there are 616 participants including regional and ITF representatives in the Thai capital, which also hosted the ITF’s AGM in 2017.
Keynote speakers include Grand Slam champions Emilio Sanchez, Mark Woodforde and Mary Pierce. Newly minted Hall of Famer Pierce is presenting at her third Worldwide Coaches Conference.