As of 30 September 2023

We are committed to continuing to drive gender equity programs for women and girls.

Tennis never loses sight of its power to make a difference. That’s particularly true at a community level, where targeted programs and initiatives focus on improving access and providing practical support for key groups.

Helped by the support of a $12 million Australian Government investment, Tennis Australia’s Women and Girls Strategy (2022-2027) strives to develop opportunities to achieve gender equality.

With a vision of “No Limits for women and girls on and off the court”, there has been heartening progress made towards increasing the number of women and girls leading and playing tennis.

With targeted programs seeing an increase in teen participation, the numbers of women in coach, official and leadership positions are also on the rise. See more information below:

• Initiatives including #NoLimitsGirls squad and the Learn 2 Lead program (for girls aged 14-18) are helping to keep girls in the sport.
• The Learn 2 Lead program, developed in conjunction with girls’ equality charity Plan International Australia and supported by the Australian Sports Commission, aims to engage young women aged 14-18 within the sport, while building life and leadership skills.
• There were a total of 78 participants in Learn 2 Lead programs in the ACT, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. 75 per cent of participants have increased their involvement in tennis as a result of participation in the program.
• More than 340 women have undertaken the Women Leaders in Tennis program since its January 2022 launch. This includes 35 per cent of participants coming from regional areas.
• The Pacific Women and Girls in Tennis – Emerging onto the World Stage program is supporting the development of leaders, officials, and administrators in the Pacific region. With the support of the PacificAus Sports, the Australian Government’s elite sports pathways program, the four-year journey aims to help build in-country capacity for women and girls to advance their coaching and officiating careers, stay and excel in tennis and strengthen governance and leadership capabilities.
• With a focus on attracting, developing and retaining women coaches through initiatives such as the Coach Connect and President’s Women in Tennis scholarships, there are now more than 945 accredited women coach members delivering the sport across the nation. This represents a 29 per cent increase – which not only meets, but exceeds, the Australian Sports Commission target.
• 154 coaching scholarships were granted to women in the 2022 calendar year – all of them now working at various levels in the tennis community.
• A total of 684 President’s Women in Tennis scholarships have been awarded since its 2016 inception.
• More than 200 women have accessed the Coach Connect Program, which aims to engage, educate, and connect women coaches through mentoring and professional development opportunities.
• The United Cup was a spectacular and innovative addition, allowing top-ranked men and women to compete side-by-side for the first time in a team event for ranking points and national honour.
• Our national teams have thrived as well, with the Australian Billie Jean King Cup team progressing to the finals for the third successive year in 2023, the 16-and-under girls’ team progressing to the quarterfinals at the 2022 Junior Billie Jean King Cup Finals and our 14-and-under girls’ team making the quarterfinals at the 2023 ITF World Junior Tennis Finals.
• A team-based approach, with Tennis Australia’s Performance team working closely with private coaches to help athletes reach their full potential, is delivering impressive results. This was evident with the success of our National Tennis Academy athletes, who have been identified as the most promising prospects aged between 14 and 23. Olivia Gadecki posted encouraging results, while Emerson Jones established herself as one of the world’s top juniors.