Meet the ITF World Tennis Tour Player Panel: Jose Bendeck
Last month, the ITF announced the players elected to the newly-created ITF World Tennis Tour Player Panel. The members will sit on the Panel until the end of the 2021 season and for two-year terms thereafter.
We spoke to all the players on both the men's tennis and women's tennis panels, to find out about their tennis careers to date and their hopes for what they can achieve during their time as panel members. On the men's tennis panel, we have already heard from Aldin Setkic, Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha and Francesco Vilardo.
Today we hear from Jose Bendeck, a 29-year-old player from Colombia. A former college star at the University of Idaho, Bendeck has a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 1039. His main successes have come in doubles, in which he has won five titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour and reached a career-high ATP ranking of No. 481. Here's what he had to say...
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I was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, but I started playing tennis in Guayaquil, Ecuador, when my parents bought me my first racquet. I played in a small club and in the garden. I took my first classes when we came back to Barranquilla.
At the age of 15, I played in a group of six junior players organized by the Colombian Federation in Bogota. I reached an ITF junior ranking of No. 299. Then, at the age of 19, I decided to go to University of Idaho in the US. I graduated in 2014 and I continued my tennis career. Currently, I live in Colombia and train in the Liga de Tenis del Atlántico in Barranquilla.
My best moment in tennis was my first doubles title win at a Futures event in Cali, Colombia, with Alejandro Gómez, and last season was also a highlight. I could only play half of the year because I didn’t have the money but got good doubles results with Cristian Rodriguez and Nicolas Mejia. We reached five finals on the ITF World Tennis Tour and won two titles at M25-level – one in Ecuador and one in Naples, Florida.
I enjoyed my time at college a lot and had brilliant moments. We won the team conference, with Jeff Beaman as a coach, and when Cristobal Ramos and I won the Regional Championship that gave us the chance to play an Indoor National Tournament.
When I saw that the ITF was creating a Player Panel, and after talking with different players, I realised that it was a very good idea to be part of it. I like helping others and want to try and improve the condition of tennis players. One of my friends nominated me and I’m ready to help and to propose improvements to gain a better atmosphere in tennis.
The members of the Panel and the players in general want to be heard, to get a more equitable sport – to improve the conditions for players without leaving behind the organizers and the ITF. But the most important thing is that the Panel acts as a bridge between the players and the ITF. I think this will bring us closer together and contribute to the growth of tennis.
Communication is key. The organizers of tennis need to know what the players need, and the players need to know which resources are available. It will build a better relationship among everyone. We need to work as a team to move forward and communication is vital. We always hope that the decisions taken by the main tennis organisations will benefit the players on the circuit.