ITF announces players elected to ITF World Tennis Tour Player Panels
The International Tennis Federation has today announced the players who have been elected to the ITF World Tennis Tour Player Panels. Elections for the panels, which will provide a forum for players to provide their input and have their say on how the tour is run, took place between 28 May and 10 June, with more than 1,000 athletes who compete on the ITF World Tennis Tour voting for their preferred nominee.
The elected player members of the panels are:
Men's Tennis Panel
Jose Bendeck (COL)
Ti Chen (TPE)
Niki Kalayanda Poonacha (IND)
Juan Pablo Paz (ARG)
Aldin Sektic (BIH)
Francesco Vilardo (ITA)
TBD*
Women's Tennis Panel
Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)
Ines Ibbou (ALG)
Petra Januskova (CAN)
Yuliana Lizarazo (COL)
Tara Moore (GBR)
Conny Perrin (SUI)
Olivia Tjandramulia (AUS)
The elected player members will serve a term until the end of the 2021 season. Thereafter, elected members will sit for two-year terms. The panels will meet at least two times per year, initially via video conference.
To ensure broad geographical representation, there is a limit of two players per region on both the men’s tennis panel and the women’s tennis panel. Additionally, there is a limit on the number of players in the highest ranking band on each tour’s panel (a maximum of two players with ATP rankings of No. 351-500 in either singles or doubles for the men’s tennis panel; a maximum of three players with WTA rankings No. 151-300 in either singles or doubles for the women’s tennis panel).
*For the men’s tennis panel, there were no further candidates who could be elected for the panel to still meet the regional and ranking requirements. The panel has the option (in consultation with the ITF World Tennis Tour Committee) to appoint a further member who would allow the regional and ranking criteria to be fulfilled.
Full results of the elections can be viewed on here.
The men’s tennis panel will be chaired by Mark Woodforde and the women’s tennis panel will be chaired by Mary Pierce. In addition to their illustrious playing careers, Woodforde and Pierce are also athlete representatives on the ITF Board of Directors. A coach will also be appointed to both the men’s tennis and women’s tennis panel.
Player members will vote, where voting is required, on each tour’s panel to make recommendations to the ITF World Tennis Tour Committee. The chair and the coach are non-voting members. The panels will advise and make recommendations to the ITF World Tennis Tour Committee, which in turn reports to the ITF Board of Directors.
David Haggerty, ITF president, said: “We are thrilled that so many players on the ITF World Tennis Tour were involved with the player panel election process. As part of our ITF2024 strategy, the ITF is committed to improving our communication with athletes at all levels across the world. We look forward to working with the elected members of the player panels to ensure that players’ opinions are at the forefront when making decisions about the World Tennis Tour.”