In the coming days, the Grand Slam Player Development Programme/ITF Touring Team will land at Asuncion airport in Paraguay as a group of aspiring players prepare to take their next steps towards a glittering future.

For those unaware, the GSPDP/ITF Touring Team is a key development initiative financed through the Grand Slam Player Development Programme which affords players from developing tennis nations opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach.

The players in question travel as part of a team, have access to high-performance coaches and gain exposure to high-level competition outside of their region, paving the way for their ascent to the professional ranks.

Grand Slam champions Victoria Azarenka and Jelena Ostapenko, together with a host of other players at the top of the game, have competed as part of the Touring Team at one stage or another.

While the highest of echelons is the goal for most of those invited to tour, that does not always prove to be reality. However, for those whose lives take a different turn, time on the Touring Team still offers exposure to career-enhancing experiences.

Take Mercedes Sullivan, née Del Valle Prieto, who was part of the Touring Team’s trip to Europe in 1995. Originally from Mexico, she proceeded to captain the women’s tennis team at Boston College in the late nineties before embarking on a career away from the court.

Sullivan, bottom right, toured Europe with the team in 1995

Fast-forward to the modern day and Sullivan heads the HR Program Management and Agile Transformation Office at TIAA in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her team delivering complex global tech projects. She describes it as her “dream job”.

“Did I know I would end up here? No,” Sullivan tells itftennis.com. “But the more I reflect on my tennis years, the more I am convinced that it would be impossible for me to be in this position, successfully, without that background and the experiences and skills I gained.

“My time with the Touring Team was one of the most important experiences of my life. I could not be more grateful for that opportunity to this day.

“I will never forget the day I received the letter accepting me into the programme. I was so excited, and then immediately nervous. I had the worst imposter syndrome ever, but I armed myself with valour and off I went.

“Besides meeting incredibly talented players and coaches, I could never have imagined the memories I would collect along the way.”

Sullivan, right, holds many abiding memories from her time with the Touring Team

Some of those recollections include the tunnel at Roland Garros, playing on the Wimbledon grass for the first time, eating too many gelatos in Italy and sharing lockers with Gabriela Sabatini, Steffi Graf, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Martina Hingis.

“The thing that impacted me the most was the human stories,” said Sullivan, who later studied international political and economic development at Boston College and then the University of Sydney.

“Learning about the people behind the racket and their incredibly diverse journeys, especially those who came from difficult situations. In a world full of conflict, by our focus on our difference, I found hope.

“As a young athlete, I also learned all the already well-documented key skills which translate brilliantly to the workplace: hard work, perseverance, grit, leadership and coping with the stress of losing and winning.”

Sullivan now with her children

There were also deeper, unexpected, life lessons learned during that 1995 tour which Sullivan insists have been integral to her ability to innovate, strategise and empower others.

• Intellectual curiosity. "Being exposed to so many new people and places, I started to become aware of my biases, privilege and realities that I had not considered before. It made me want to do and be better."
• Losing has its perks. "I did not have the most stellar results on court, which was not much fun. The upside? Time on the bench to analyse what other people were doing to win. I remember getting so excited about finding patterns in the strategies and habits of others. I began interviewing those players informally about what they did to succeed – my geeky streak began and has not left since. I became a life learner."
• Your ranking (or title) does not define you, "With a losing streak on the tour, this one was hard for me, but it led me to go on an inner journey until it settled in. Self-worth should never be linked to your ranking or performance on the court or to your title in the workplace. Use others as guidelines or role models but do not compare yourself to them. You are on your own journey. Be better than yesterday, every day – for you."
• Growth is not linear. "As time went on, I noticed those that did great as juniors did not always do so professionally and vice versa. Or I noticed people coming out of nowhere to the top of the rankings by making a few changes within months. It really made me think differently about growth and the artificial limits we sometimes impose on ourselves.

Sullivan’s Touring Team experience has clearly been hugely influential and laid significant foundations for a successful career within the American corporate world – a traditionally tough nut to crack.

Her experiences should inspire the current vintage as they prepare for South America, and whether tennis ultimately proves a professional pursuit or not, memories of the upcoming trip are likely to last for some time.

Photo credit: Leonid Andronov

The 2023 tour of South America will begin in Asuncion, Paraguay

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime,” added Sullivan. “My advice for the players going to South America would be take it in, leave your heart out on the court but put it back in with experiences of the wonderful people, food and places around you.

“Don’t be afraid to connect with fellow players: dance, laugh, eat, cry, learn and grow. You never know, one day, 20 years later, you may get teary-eyed listening to the ‘tour song’ which your fellow athletes danced and sung to each tournament.

“Or you may be sitting in your living room telling your middle school children about the time you went bridging in Peru after a match-win and, for once, they think you are cool.”

Class of 2023, take note. Opportunity, in many different forms, is knocking loudly at the door.