29 Apr John Morrissey named for an ITF/Grand Slam Junior Touring team
John Morrissey named for an ITF/Grand Slam Junior Touring team
John Morrissey has been named for an ITF/Grand Slam Junior Touring team which will compete in a series of junior tournaments during May, June and July in Europe. The team is part of the ITF Development Programme, which is financed by the ITF and Grand Slam Development Fund (GSDF).
The Team will be coached by Ivan Molina (COL), Frank Zlesak (CZE) and Roberta Burzagli (BRA) and the tournaments will include:
DATE TOURNAMENT
07 – 9 May ITF Training Camp , Italy
10 – 16 May 32nd Torneo Internazionale “Citta Di Santa Croce”, Italy
17 – 23 May 51 st Trofeo Bonfiglio 2010, Milan , Italy
24 – 29 May 46 th Astrid Bowl Charleroi, Belgium
30 May – 06 June Roland Garros 2010, Paris, France
08 – 13 June 18 th International Junior Tournament of Offenbach/Main
14 – 18 June Training, Lensbury , UK
20 – 25 June Aegon International Junior Tennis Champs, Roehampton
26 June – 4 July The Junior Championships, Wimbledon
During the period 1986 – 2008 more than US$67million has been invested by the ITF and the Grand Slam Nations in tennis development activities in 150 countries worldwide. In 2008, US$4.4million was spent on the Development Programme with US$2.7million being invested by the ITF and the balance of US$1.7million contributed by the Grand Slam nations to the Grand Slam Development Fund partly from proceeds generated from the ATP World Tour Finals. This year’s ATP World Tour Finals will be held in London, England from 22 – 29 November 2009.
With the aim of raising the level of tennis worldwide and increasing the number of countries competing in mainstream international tennis, the ITF Development Programme includes a broad range of initiatives in less developed countries ranging from the grass roots to Grand Slams. Activities include ITF/Grand Slam touring teams, funding for junior and professional tournaments, training centres, coaches education, the supply of tennis equipment and the ITF Junior Tennis Initiative – a 14 & under player development programme, which encompasses the School Tennis Initiative and Performance Tennis Initiative programmes.
Special emphasis has been placed on junior tennis where regional tournament circuits have been developed and teams of young players compete outside their own region. In 2008, 25 regional circuits were supported by the Development Programme providing much needed competition for the best players at 18, 16 and 14 & under age groups across the globe (Central America & Caribbean, South America, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Pacific Oceania).
Players who perform well at these regional circuits are invited to join an international touring team. The ITF/Grand Slam touring team programme aims to facilitate the transition of talented players through regional and international competitions and onto the professional ranks. In 2008, there were 19 ITF/Grand Slam Touring Teams involving 160 players from 68 different countries. Former ITF/Grand Slam Touring Team members include: Gustavo Kuerten (Brazil), Nicolas Massu (Chile), Nicolas Lapentti (Ecuador), Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi (India), Angelique Widjaja (Indonesia), Eleni Daniilidou (Greece), Younes El Aynaoui (Morocco), Paradorn Srichaphan (Thailand), Cara Black (Zimbabwe), Jarkko Nieminen (Finland), Florin Mergea (Romania), Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus), Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine), Viktoria Azarenka (Belarus), Uladzimir Ignatik (Belarus) and Ricardas Berankis (Lithuania).