Tunisia to be new home of ITF African Regional Training Centre

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Tunisian Tennis Federation have announced that the city of Sousse, Tunisia will be the new venue for the ITF’s African Regional Training Centre.

Based at the El Mouradi Palace Hotel, the centre will be an intensive training hub with the long-term objective of helping more players from the region and the African continent as a whole progress to the sport’s highest levels.

A regional development initiative supported by the ITF, the training centre will offer state-of-the-art facilities and provide talented players aged 13-18 with full-time training, schooling and competitive development.

ITF President David Haggerty and the ITF’s Executive Director of Tennis Development Luca Santilli were joined by Tunisian Tennis Federation President Salma Guizani, Confederation of African Tennis President Tarak Cherif and world No. 2 Ons Jabeur for the announcement.

“It is really exciting to be able to announce Sousse as the new home of the African Regional Training Centre, which will be an important and significant catalyst for player development within the region and beyond,” said Haggerty.

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“TheTre is so much talent and potential within Africa and Ons being present for the announcement illustrates the opportunity which exists for players from this great continent to work hard, develop and perhaps one day also perform on the biggest stages in world tennis.”

Guizani added: “The Tunisian Tennis Federation is proud to welcome the African Regional Training Centre to Sousse, Tunisia.

“With the success obtained by Ons Jabeur, we are sure the training centre will inspire the next generation of African player to follow in her footsteps. Thank you ITF and the Confederation of African Tennis.”

The Tunisian Tennis Federation was selected from a shortlist of three to be the host national association of the new African Regional Training Centre, which replaces the centre previously based in Casablanca, Morocco which closed last year.

The new centre is expected to open its doors in January 2023 with 16 players set to be invited to attend in year one, a number which will increase to 24 when fully operational.

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"The ITF is excited to see the African Regional Training Centre opening in Sousse and becoming a reference point for the best junior players in Africa,” said Santilli. “We have a long and successful history of developing African tennis talents.

“Our hope today is that the new centre provides a bespoke high-performance facility that ensures African players can compete at the highest level on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors.

“Crucially, we want to ensure that these talented individuals then join the pathway and become professional players, representing their nations in Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup and the Olympic Games.”

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As with all regional training centres, focus will be placed upon the complete athlete, with personalised programs offered in schooling, competition and athletic development. In terms of tutoring, the players will be housed at the hotel and attend on-line education sessions.

Their tennis development will be aided by access to the eight outdoor hard courts at the complex, while players will also be able to train on clay courts at a nearby facility.

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"The opening of the African Regional Training Centre in Tunisia represents a great opportunity for African tennis to offer our young African elite the best conditions to distinguish themselves and go towards a higher level," said Cherif.

"As President of the KConfederation of African Tennis, I am delighted for this achievement while expressing my thanks to all the stakeholders including the ITF and the Tunisian Tennis Federation."

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Kevin Anderson (RSA), Raven Klaasen (RSA), Sada Nahimana (BDI), Eliakim Coulibaly (CIV), Henry Adjei-Darko (GHA), Komlavi Loglo (TOG) and Arnaud Segodo (BEN) are some of the players to have attended ITF Regional Training Centres and been ranked within the world’s top 600.

Additional reporting by ITF.