Tennis development in Hong Kong has received a major boost after the country’s National Training Centre (NTC) received Bronze Level status from the ITF.

The eight-court facility at Kowloon Tsai Park, which has also benefited from $25,000 worth of investment through the ITF Facility Grant Programme, is the first NTC in Asia to attain certified recognition.

“We are very proud to have achieved the Bronze Level recognition by the ITF for our National Training Centre,” said President of the Hong Kong Tennis Association, Philip Mok.

“We started on this project two years ago and under the guidance of the ITF, our team worked tirelessly to fulfil all the requirements. We intend to maintain and further improve upon these standards in the coming years.

“Other centres in our city will be able to follow this model, leading to an overall improvement of tennis development in Hong Kong.”

In 2018, the ITF and several leading tennis nations established the criteria for NTCs to ensure quality worldwide. ITF recognition is therefore based upon a series of minimum standards at Gold, Silver and Bronze levels.

Applicant nations are required to provide documentary evidence and show that their NTC meets required levels in five key areas – facilities and equipment, management, coaching team, sports science and medicine, and player programmes.

“On an institutional level, any time you have a National Training Centre which is assessed and recognised by the international federation, it means that centre has high quality in every area,” said Jonathan Stubbs, ITF Development Officer for South, South East and East Asia.

“It also means they are able to offer a quality product. From a performance angle, it means they have a great centre with all the medical, sports science, technical and administrative support in place. 

“From the development side, it essentially allows a national association to develop players through the base of a really good centre. Players go to a centre where the quality of training is of a very high level and that also has a knock-on effect in terms of performance.” 

With Hong Kong leading the way in terms of NTC recognition not only across the South, South East and East Asia region but the continent as a whole, Stubbs believes their success could pave the way for others to follow suit.

“Hong Kong getting this recognition is big. If one NTC gets it then others will also want it,” added Stubbs. “It is all about sustainability. Rather than relying on individuals, we want good structures and organisation in place.

“NTCs are a key part of that, and I believe across Asia we’re going to get more and more applications and the quality is going to continue increasing – it could be something of a domino effect.

“We need more quality training centres in the region and around the world. If we have those quality training centres then that puts us in a strong position in terms of development, particularly in Asia where the growth of tennis is so big.”

It has been a busy week for Stubbs, incidentally, who has undertaken a four-day national tutor development course as part of the ITF Coach Education Programme, with 14 representatives from Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei in attendance.

It was particularly significant for Brunei, whose ITF membership was only reinstated on 15 March, and important for them to learn from two of the region’s more established national associations with regards to coaches’ education.