The ITF Masters World Team Championships in the 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 age categories – one half of the first ITF Masters Tour World Championships of 2023 – get underway on Sunday in Antalya, Türkiye. Matt Byford, the ITF’s Head of Juniors and Masters Tennis, previews the showpiece event which promises to be both gripping and spellbinding in equal measure. ITF Masters Tennis is also set for a new dawn.  

There is great anticipation and much excitement here at the Ali Bey Club in Antalya, Türkiye as the countdown continues to the first ITF Masters Tour World Championships of 2023.

On Sunday, the World Team Championships in the 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 age categories for men and women get underway, followed by the World Individual Championships in the same age groups from 25 March.

I came to the Ali Bey Club for a visit with ITF President Dave Haggerty in November, just after the Davis Cup Juniors and Billie Jean King Cup Juniors Finals, and there was a real sense that Masters Tennis was coming home.

The Ali Bey Club has hosted multiple World Championships, although this will be their first since 2015. The passion of the people here is fantastic and they understand what this tournament means to the Masters community.

While we’re returning to a venue we know well, there is also a feeling that we’re turning a new page in the history of ITF Masters Tennis, with 2023 the first full year of competition since last August’s rebrand from Seniors to Masters.

We have also shifted to a new hosting model. Instead of defined age categories like Young Seniors, Seniors and Super Seniors as before, we now allow our hosts to have flexibility to welcome more or fewer age groups depending on how many courts and hotel rooms they have access to.

That is why here, where there will be more than 70 courts utilised most days, we will have events from 30-plus through to 50-plus, while for the first time there will be a World Team Championships for those in the 30-and-over category.

To show the appetite for ITF Masters Tennis, there is an excellent entry of 160 teams for the ITF World Team Championships.

However, while there is much positivity surrounding the ITF Masters Tour World Championships, it would be remiss not to reference the sadness we all feel following the devastating earthquake which struck the Türkiye-Syria border region in February. The thoughts of everyone at the ITF remain with those affected by this tragedy.

Matt Byford is the ITF's Head of Juniors and Masters Tennis

Winning is not the sole ethos of Masters Tennis and there is a huge focus upon participation for the players and the ITF. Indeed, there is a real desire for Masters Tennis to become the leading sport in terms of tournament participation for people aged 30 and over.

That said, the ITF World Championships is a showpiece event and for every player here, it is likely to be the highlight of their tennis year. In short, players want to be a part of the World Championships and are desperate to do their best.

They will have trained hard and played warm-up tournaments, not only to get selected by their nations, but to make sure they are ready to showcase their talents on such a big stage.

The Masters Tour is not a professional tour, but players do take their tennis extremely seriously and if you take home silverware and medals from either the Team or Individual Championships, that is a phenomenal achievement.

Take someone like former world No. 10 Arnaud Clement, who triumphed with France in the Men’s 45 Dubler Cup in Portugal in 2022.

Success in Masters Tennis is not going to rank alongside his Davis Cup achievements and some of his other career highs. However, I am sure he is very proud to have represented France in the World Team Championships alongside his peers and to have won the 45+ World Team Championships.

Sense of community

Everything which epitomises Masters Tennis – camaraderie, community, competitive opportunity, challenging and testing yourself, fitness benefits, the ability to travel and visit new places and of course sheer enjoyment – will be on show during the next two weeks.

There will be some players, particularly those in the younger age categories, who will be contesting their first World Championships and wondering what they are going into, but I expect after the first day here they will quickly grasp the sense of community among the players.

Those who have been to a World Championships before and are returning for more, they will immediately fit back in and will no doubt have a fabulous time. 

I am looking forward to the whole occasion, but I am especially intrigued to see how players who have had a good ATP or WTA Ranking, or recently played ITF World Tennis Tour events, perform. I am interested to see how they fare against players we already know well on the ITF Masters Tour.

The likes of Germany’s Manon Kruse and Roberto Menendez Ferre, for instance. Both are very successful, iconic and highly decorated ITF Masters Tour players, but how are they going to do against unknown opponents? I cannot wait to find out.

There is nothing quite like the World Championships. We will welcome more than 600 players to Antalya for the World Team Championships, with fascinating matchups and storylines everywhere. It is going to be nothing less than a feast of tennis.

There is little more for me to say except here’s to a great couple of weeks!