Tennis Canada wins the ITF’s Gold Advantage All award in recognition of its efforts to promote gender equity in tennis

The Gold Award is the highest honour awarded by the ITF’s gender equality program.

The efforts invested by Tennis Canada and National Bank to promote gender equity in Canadian tennis have garnered global recognition today, as the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced Tennis Canada as a recipient of the Gold Advantage All award — the highest honour of the ITF’s Advantage All Reward and Recognition program.

Also among the 2023 winners were the tennis federations of Australia and New Zealand, who took the silver and bronze awards respectively. Eight other nations – Bhutan, Ecuador, Seychelles, Sweden, Austria, China, USA and Great Britain (LTA) – also received special mentions for their efforts throughout the year. To read the ITF press release announcing the winners, click here.

A year marked by gender equity

Canada stood out this year because of the many initiatives it implemented in recent months to create lasting change for women and girls at all levels of tennis. Here are the key elements that contributed to Tennis Canada’s selection for the Advantage All Gold Award:

• The creation of Game. Set. Equity., Tennis Canada’s ambitious holistic strategy developed in partnership with National Bank to achieve gender balance throughout the tennis landscape.

• The introduction of a path towards equal prize money for WTA and ATP players at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers by 2027 with significant progressive increases in the amounts paid to WTA competitors over the next few years.

• Better representation within Tennis Canada’s management structures as the board of directors nears parity and the leadership team has achieved full parity.

• The creation of the position of Director of Women and Girls’ Advancement—the first of its kind in Canadian sport.

• The appointment of former WTA player Valérie Tétreault as tournament director of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Montréal. Not only is she the first woman to hold the position in the history of the competition in Montréal, Valérie is the only woman to serve as the tournament director of an ATP 1000 event.

QUOTES

Eva Havaris, Vice President of Partnerships and Participation, Tennis Canada

“We’re delighted to receive this recognition from the ITF. For the past several years, we’ve been working in collaboration with National Bank to promote women’s tennis and develop initiatives so women can become fully involved in our sport and thrive at every level. While there’s still a ways to go, we’re privileged that the ITF has recognized our efforts today, and we’ll take a few minutes to appreciate the progress we’ve made.”

Lucie Blanchet, Executive Vice-President, Personal Banking and Client Experience at National Bank of Canada.

“Congratulations to our partner Tennis Canada for earning this distinction which demonstrates its strong commitment to gender equity in sport. I’m proud of our achievements over the last few years, and I’m confident that the future is bright for women’s tennis. We’re proud to continue to support Tennis Canada and its initiatives.”

Additional information

• In addition to the Gold award, Tennis Canada will receive a $5,000 contribution from the ITF to support its gender equity efforts in Canada.

• Tennis Canada’s Game. Set. Equity. commitment developed in partnership with National Bank is available online at www.tenniscanada.com/game-set-equity/our-commitment. Game. Set. Equity. rests on five pillars that are in line with the ITF’s Advantage All strategy.