ERSA Pro Stringer Magazine 5 - 2019 prostringer 5-2019 - web | Page 16

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INDUSTRY NEWS
Tennis Europe has announced details of the ‘21& Under Invitational’, an exciting
new competition due to take place in Hamburg, Germany, from July 25-28.
Earlier this year the European Tennis Federation launched its fi rst ever cooperation with a top-level
professional tournament, the ATP 500 Hamburg European Open, where the ‘Hamburg European
Open Champion’ will be crowned.
The organisers, in cooperation with the German Tennis Federation, will host a unique side event
for the 21 & Under age group alongside the main competition, aimed at giving the most
promising young men and women experience of big matches, star treatment, and the chance to
win fi nancial grants to help with their career development and travel expenses.
A total pool of €50,000 is available for the sixteen players – eight men and eight women – that will
take part in the round robin competition. The Best of Five set matches will feature a shorter format;
sets will beplayed as First to Four games with a tie-break at 3-All. There will be ‘No-Ad’ scoring
(receiver decides), the ‘No
Let’ rule applies, and players
will be able to communicate
with their coaches during the
match.
Players aged from 19 - 21 are
selected based on
performances at junior Grand
Slams and their ITF World
Tennis Tour ranking. One wild
card invitation for each event
is reserved for the
organisers.
Great Britain and the Netherlands claimed trophies at the BNP Paribas World
Team Cup - the ITF’s fl agship wheelchair tennis team event, held in Ramat Hasharon,
Israel last month. Britain beat France 2-0 to take the men’s title for a second time, while the
Netherlands won an incredible 31st women’s title with a 2-1
victory over Japan.
Australia will host France in the fi nal of the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas after the teams beat
Belarus and Romania respectively in the semis.
Turin
has been unveiled as the next host of the season-ending ATP Finals. The Italian city will
be the home of the tournament from 2021-2025, succeeding
London.
A new ITF Senior Circuit ranking points table will come into eff ect from 1st July, aimed
at better recognizing successful players at higher grade events, and providing a more suitable ex-
perience for players competing on the circuit at the entry level grades. A ‘shadow ranking’ system
will be in operation in tandem until the new rankings apply.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club has joined Roland Garros and the USTA to
become the latest major sporting body to commit to the United Nations’ Sports for Climate Action
Framework. The AELTC will seek to lead this drive by using the strength of the Wimbledon brand
to advocate for the message that concerted collaborative action is needed.
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ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 5-2019