'Four players on court with a combined age of 360 is so inspiring'
The ITF Masters World Championships for players aged 75-90+ get underway on Sunday in Bol, Croatia. Matt Byford, the ITF’s Executive Director of Juniors, Masters and Beach Tennis previews the final World Championships of the year and the age categories which embody the core values of Masters Tennis.
The fourth and final ITF Masters World Championships of 2025 are nearly upon us and what a year it has been.
For the most part, we have worked our way up the age groups, starting with the youngest, 30-45+, at the Ali Bey Club in Turkiye in March and ending with the oldest, 75-90+, here in Bol, Croatia.
This is only the second time that four ITF Masters World Championships have been hosted in the same year, but as most of you will know we will be staging five during 2026 – in Turkiye, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Japan.
We want to support great hosts with proven records of superb delivery of World Championships, while at the same time create opportunities for players to have different experiences and visit new places.
Matt Byford is the ITF’s Executive Director of Juniors, Masters and Beach Tennis
Having more locations also enables us to give players enhanced on-site experiences by reducing pressure on match courts and avoiding some of the late finishes we have had in the past.
Events of this stature often present challenges due to the volume of players, courts and matches, while there have been some additional challenges this year. At a couple of locations, excessively hot weather, well above the forecasted averages for that time of year, meant we had to build in breaks in play.
Nevertheless, the feedback from players from the three ITF Masters World Championships so far has been superb, and we would mark them all down as excellent. Credit goes to our host organisers, national associations and all others involved in staging the events.
We are now really excited to be here in Bol on Brac Island which is a new venue for the ITF Masters World Championships, although it is well known in the tennis world with the WTA hosting events here previously.
It is an island venue, so a bit trickier to reach than others – you have to catch a ferry from Split – but there is a great hotel and 22 courts on site. Players effectively fall out of the hotel and are on court.
Bol hosted an MT700 event in recent weeks and we are convinced it will be a superb location for the World Championships and we are really excited for the action getting underway on Sunday.
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As is the norm at World Championships, first up is the team event where players represent their nations with pride and passion, followed by the individual event, which gets underway on Saturday 11 October.
Looking ahead, there will be some fantastic players on show. The likes of Jorge Camina Borda, Velasco Ramirez, Nicole Hess Cazaux, Gail Benedetti, Jimmy Parker and Donna Fales are all multiple world champions.
More than that, however, there is no better embodiment of tennis being a sport for life – and all the accepted health benefits associated with tennis – than the age groups on show here.
You walk around an event like this where every player is at least 75 and you cannot be anything but inspired. The players belie their age and look incredibly well, fit and nimble – it is wonderful to see.
If you have not yet seen the Day in the Life video with Masters Tennis stalwart Seb Jackson, it is well worth a watch. In the video, Seb says that when he was younger, he saw players within the older age categories looking so happy and healthy and wanted to emulate them.
It is fantastic to see people wanting to continue playing tennis and remaining on the ITF World Tennis Masters Tour. When we first introduced the Angela Mortimer Cup – the women’s team event for those aged 85 and above – only two teams entered.
I remember debating at the time whether that was enough to have the competition but this year we have five teams, which is brilliant. Players in the 80+ age category are already thinking about moving up to the 85+ category and that is exactly what we want.
To wear their national badge on their chest at the age of 85 or above – wow. What an achievement and to get there means those players have been going down to their local tennis courts to play, train and compete in preparation to take on the world’s best in their age group.
One of my favourite things to do at the World Individual Championships featuring these age categories is watch the 90+ doubles. The four players on court will have a combined age of at least 360, yet they are competing the same way as teenagers would.
This is a really special event, and I cannot wait for it to get started. There will be live streams available on the ITF website, so make sure you tune in and catch some of these incredible individuals!