ITF grant to benefit Zim player
PROMISING Zimbabwean tennis player Sasha Natalie Chimedza is set to go places after she was recently selected among the 44 talented junior and professional players in the world who will receive the Grand Slam Player Grants for 2022, funded by the International Tennis Federation’s Grand Slam Player Development Programme.
The Grand Slam Player Development Programme (formerly known as the Grand Slam Development Fund) was established by the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments in 1986 to encourage and increase competitive opportunities for players from developing tennis regions.
The programme provides Grand Slam grants to support players so that they can gain competitive experience at an international level, including at the Grand Slams. Since its inception, the Grand Slam Player Development Programme has contributed more than US$ 55 million to support player development.
In 2021, former Grand Slam Player Grant recipients Ons Jabeur, Casper Ruud and Hubert Hurkacz made history and finished the year in the Top 10 rankings.
Grand Slam champions Simona Halep, Victoria Azarenka, Jelena Ostapenko and Gustavo Kuerten are also among the Programme’s alumni. For this year’s programme, 44 junior and professional players, who include Zimbabwe’s Chimedza (14), will receive Grand Slam Player Grants.
The players will receive grants of up to US$ 25 000 as a contribution towards competition-related costs, with the aim of aiding their development in professional tennis and enabling them to compete at Grand Slam tournaments.
Zimbabwe’s new rising tennis sensation Chimedza, who is based in South Africa, is currently ranked sixth in Africa and 172 in the ITF Junior World Rankings.
Chimedza, who trains at the Anthony Harris Tennis Academy in Cape Town, is
now set to be part ITF junior development programme which will see her competing in a number of top international junior tournaments around the world, including Junior Grand Slam events.
The grant from the ITF will help the talented Zimbabwean player in further career development and achieving good results in Junior Grand Slam tournaments.
Eight junior players competed at the 2022 Australian Open Juniors as part of the Grand Slam Player Development Programme Touring Team, providing them with the opportunity to travel to and compete at the Australian Open under the guidance of
an ITF Coach. Greg Jones (Australia) led the boys’ team of Ignancio Buse (Peru), Daniel Vallejo (Paraguay), Kalin Ivanovski (North Macedonia) and Lautaro Midon Ballesteros (Argentina) while the girls’ team, under the guidance of Roberta Burzagli (Brazil), consisted of Aysegul Mert ( Turkey), Solana Sierra (Argentina), Laura Hietaranta (Finland) and Angella Okutoyi (Kenya).
Ugo Valensi, executive director of the Grand Slam board said: “On behalf of the four Grand Slams, we offer our congratulations to the 44 recipients of the 2022 Grand Slam Player Grants. We hope these grants continue the legacy of the Grand
Slam Player Development Programme in helping to enable professional and junior players from developing countries to compete internationally in some of the world’s most famous events.”
David Haggerty, ITF president said: “At the heart of our development goals is that any player with talent, no matter where they live or what resources they have available to them, will have the chance to fulfil their potential. The recent successes of players like Ons Jabeur of Tunisia demonstrate the importance of this support and we thank the Grand Slam tournaments for their continued investment in the stars of the future.”