Twelve members of the Grand Slam Development Fund (GSDF) touring team have been at Wimbledon to play in the Junior Championships at the culmination of a tour of Europe.
The squad of talented young players, drawn from 11 different nations, came together at a training camp in Italy in May and have since played in two Italian junior tournaments, the Junior Championships at Roland Garros, and at a junior international event in London before arriving at Wimbledon. Take note of their names – they could be stars of the future!
The GSDF was originally established in 1986 with an initial donation of £100,000 by The Championships at Wimbledon. The purpose of the Grand Slam contributions is to develop competitive tennis opportunities worldwide. Alberto Lim, for example, is coached by his father in the Philippines where the best-ranked player is Jeson Patrombon, at No.1,224 in the world.
Lim says a lack of advanced fitness facilities restricts his training programme. His home country does not have an established professional level, so hitting partners are hard to find. "The assistance provided by the GSDF team is very helpful. It's an amazing feeling to be able to play at Wimbledon. It is a good stepping-stone for me, a Grand Slam Junior [event], and it gives me confidence to play."
It's an amazing feeling to be able to play Wimbledon. It's a good stepping-stone for me...
Basketball was his favourite sport growing up, but now he has experienced a Grand Slam, he declares tennis is the passion he wants to pursue in the future. "I want to do it for my parents, for the country, for everyone," he added.
A number of current and former players have received assistance, including Li Na (China), Gustavo Kuerten (Brazil), Nicolas Massu (Chile), Nicolas Lapentti (Ecuador), Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi (India), Eleni Daniilidou (Greece), Paradorn Srichaphan (Thailand), Cara Black (Zimbabwe), Jarkko Nieminen (Finland), Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus), Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine), Victoria Azarenka (Belarus), and Ricardas Berankis (Lithuania).
From 1986 to 1990, all four Grand Slam tournaments (Wimbledon, Roland Garros, the US Open and the Australian Open) jointly donated approximately US $500,000 each year. From 1990-1999, a new opportunity for greater funding was provided by the Grand Slam Cup, and the Grand Slam Development Fund continued to receive additional funding when the Grand Slam Cup merged with the ATP's season-ending championships to form the Tennis Masters Cup, which was held from 2000-08 and was co-owned by the ITF, Grand Slams and the ATP.
Since its inception, the Grand Slams have been able to donate more than US $41.8 million to the Grand Slam Development Fund to provide travel grants and financial assistance for promising young players from less developed tennis regions worldwide, giving them the opportunity to compete in international competitions at the highest level.
Each young player is identified by their national association and selected to be included on a touring team under the guidance of qualified coaches or provided with an individual travel grant.
Pictured above on the Aorangi Terrace are: Boys (back row, left to right): Jurabek Karimov (Uzbekistan), Juan Jose Rosas (Peru), Manuel Pena Lopez (Argentina), Alberto Lim (Philippines), Yunseong Chung (Korea), Chan Yeong Oh (Korea), Tung-lin Wu (Taipei). Girls (front row, left to right): Vera Lapko (Belarus), Wushuang Zheng (China), Deria Nur Haliza (Indonesia), Maria Fernanda Herazo Gonzalez (Colombia), Pranjala Yadlapalli (India)
