Tennis Australia’s ‘Women Leaders in Tennis’ program has recently been launched in the South East of Victoria with women from Pakenham and the surrounding Gippsland region enjoying the opportunity of participating in the hugely successful initiative.
The program is designed to increase participation of women and girls in community leadership positions, particularly at tennis clubs, through professional development opportunities.
A key part of this program is the Action Learning Project, where women identify an issue or area of improvement at their club, and undertake it throughout the program…making a real difference within their local community settings.
Although 167 women have completed this throughout Australia, it’s the first time this program will be taken regionally.
The first face-to-face session of the program took place at Sale, with women from Pakenham, Sale, Traralgon, Warragul, Maffra, Neerim South, Eagle Point, Airly and Giffard West will be in attendance.
The program is a key focus area of Tennis’s Women and Girls Strategy.
Australia introduced equal prize money for women at the Australian Open in the early 1980s, and tennis is widely regarded as the leading professional sport for women, with equal prize money and global broadcast exposure at the Grand Slam tournaments, the highest level of the sport.
Nine tennis players feature in the Forbes’ top 10 highest earning sportswomen list for 2022, with two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka at No.1, closely followed by eight-time AO champ and legend of the game, Serena Williams.
“We are justifiably proud of the work tennis has done to create equal opportunities for women at the top end of the sport and we are committed to using this as a platform to support and provide leadership opportunities to women involved in all aspects of delivering the sport, from grassroots to the world stage,” said Vicki Reid, Tennis Australia Director of Government, Social Impact and Stakeholder Relations.
“We’ve designed our Women Leaders in Tennis program to strengthen volunteer pathways through a range of learning, mentoring, and networking opportunities, all with the aim of increasing the number of women leading our tennis communities, whether that’s as a club president or a member of the Tennis Australia or one of the Member Association Boards.
“With women making up just 26 per cent of tennis club presidents in Australia, there is massive scope for improvement and this program will make a difference.
“It is important women take on leadership roles to ensure women and girls have an equal voice and can influence decision making at the community level.
“Having more women in leadership positions helps create a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive environment for all, and will only make our tennis communities stronger.”
The program has been rolled out in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Hobart, Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin, Perth, and Cairns, with women across the country participating in a mix of face-to-face and online learning opportunities.
The four-month program also provides the opportunity for participants to undertake an Action Learning Project, enabling them to identify an area or need within their club and implement the change over the duration of the program.
“We are eager to have these projects put in practice and see the tangible benefits this program will make at the community level,” Reid said.
“Excitingly, 31 per cent of participants are from regional areas, and we hope to see a real impact in these communities.”
Tennis’s Women and Girls Strategy has been developed to improve access and opportunity for women and girls both on and off the court, with the Women Leaders in Tennis program supported by a federal government and Sport Australia grant providing the opportunity to 1000 women and girls for community leadership and mentoring programs by 2024.
WOMEN IN TENNIS – FAST FACTS
• Tennis is one of the only professional sports to offer equal prize money and prime time television exposure for both men and women at the elite level.
• The Australian Open introduced equal prize money for women in 1984 second only to the US Open in promoting parity for men and women.
• Women’s matches at the Australian Open feature on major courts and at peak viewing times, including the women’s final played in prime time on Saturday night.
• In 2022 the women’s semi-finals were played in the prime-time night session at Rod Laver Arena for the first time
• An almost equal number of girls and boys participate in ANZ Tennis Hot Shots, the official junior participation program for tennis in Australia, and Super 10s competitions for children aged 10 years and under.
• Tennis Australia commits equal resources to male and female high performance, with significant investment into both development pathways.
• Since 2016, Tennis Australia has hosted the annual AO Inspirational Series, uniting some of the foremost women in Australia and shining a global spotlight on gender equality.
