Female coaching on the rise in North/Central America and the Caribbean
Anyone in Guatemala or Dominican Republic recently would have been afforded the opportunity to witness Advantage All – the ITF’s gender equality strategy – impacting the sport of tennis in a very real way.
The occasion was North/Central American and Caribbean pre-qualifying for the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors by Gainbridge, Davis Cup Juniors by Gainbridge and ITF World Junior Tennis Finals – but more about that later.
As a reminder, Advantage All was launched by the ITF in 2018 with the overriding goal of developing and maintaining tennis as an equal advantage sport, so it serves as an inspirational role model for all Olympic and Paralympic disciplines.
Through Advantage All, the ITF is committed to improving gender equality across the board, while at the same time empowering, inspiring and enabling women and girls to reach their full potential.
There are many strands to the strategy, but the ITF wants to ensure that every aspect of tennis – from the court to the game’s boardrooms – is influenced by Advantage All and ultimately reflects gender parity.
The 2021 ITF Global Tennis Report showed that only 22.3 per cent of tennis coaches across the globe are female – so room for improvement. While admittedly only a small sample size, the most recent junior team events hint at progress.
At North/Central American and Caribbean pre-qualifying for the ITF World Junior Tennis Finals in Santo Domingo, 24 per cent of team captains were female, up from 17 per cent the previous year.
The region’s Billie Jean King Cip Juniors and Davis Cup pre-qualifying competition followed a similar tend with 21 per cent of the captains being female, which is a six per cent increase compared to 2022.
Such advances do not happen by magic and, in this case, reflect the work carried out by the ITF Female Coaches Network – the strand of Advantage All within the ITF Coaching system.
“We have set some very purposeful goals this year,” Cecilia Ancalmo, the ITF’s Development Officer for Central America and a member of the ITF Female Coaches Network, tells itftennis.com.
“One of the areas we decided to focus upon was seeing 30 per cent of female captains at all ITF junior team competitions and, to see the results we have by March, we are very happy with the outcome.
“The cherry on top of the cake was the captains of the teams which contested the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors pre-qualifying final in Guatemala City were both female, which is something that has never happened previously.
Costa Rica, captained by Andrea Brenes, and Guatemala, captained by Ana Luisa Torres, reached the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors pre-qualifying final
“Also pleasing is that most of the female captains in Guatemala and Dominican Republic were part of ITF coaching programmes last year, so that investment has proven productive.
“We’re working hard to grow female participation within our game, and we have shown that if we set really concise goals, that can be accomplished. It is just a case of putting in the work, which we are happy to do.”
John Goede, the ITF’s Development Officer for the Caribbean, added: “In the COTECC (Central American & Caribbean Tennis Confederation) region, work has been done to develop our females in tennis.
“The influence of strong female coaches in a leadership role has been significant in the development of tennis for girls in various nations. As an ITF representatives during team competitions, I have noticed the positive impact on the individuals, teams and the whole event when there are more female leaders available.”
In terms of the on-court action in Guatemala and Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico topped the Davis Cup Juniors pre-qualifying podium, while hosts Guatemala did likewise in Billie Jean King Cup Juniors pre-qualifying.
In ITF World Junior Tennis – the premier team competition for those aged 14-and-under, Guatemala were victorious in both the boys’ and girls’ draws and now progress to final qualifying.
Final qualifying for both events will take place in Orlando from 20-22 April, with those who triumphed in pre-qualifying competing with USA, Canada and Mexico for place in either the Davis Cup Juniors, Billie Jean King Cup Juniors or ITF World Junior Tennis Finals. The top two nations in each competition in Orlando advance to the Finals.