Melbourne VIC, Australia, 14 December 2016 | Tennis Australia

Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said today that he is encouraged by a Male Champions of Change Sport report released today that includes unprecedented transparency in gender reporting in sporting organisations.

The report reflects his commitment to deepen the understanding of the barriers that must be tackled to address the unacceptably low levels of women in leadership positions, and the work they must do to change this picture.

“We are determined to build on the momentum for change and create more opportunities. It is a journey, and it will take time, but we are in it for the long-haul,” Tiley said.

“As a sport we have much to be proud of in the area of gender equality. We award equal prize money regardless of sex. We fund and support our representative teams from elite Fed Cup and Davis Cup through to junior competition teams equally.

“ANZ Tennis Hot Shots is one of the few junior sporting programs that can boast an almost equal participation rate between genders with more than 218,000 kids taking part in 2015/16.

“However, there is still more that we can do and as an organisation we are committed to using our position as the host of a global sporting and entertainment event, the Australian Open, to celebrate and promote the cause of gender equality on an international level.

“This year alone, we held the inaugural Celebration of Inspirational Women at the Australian Open, and recognised former Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick in a ceremony on Rod Laver Arena during the women’s semifinals.

“We also signed on to the United Nation’s Women’s Empowerment Principles and hosted Australia’s only consultation for the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment.”

Australian Open 2017 celebrates inspirational women

The Australian Open will hold its second annual Celebration of Inspirational Women as part of the women’s semifinals on Thursday 26 January.

The 2017 event will focus on global leadership and guests will hear from inspirational women in fields as diverse as human rights, medicine, the arts, media and sport.

The brunch will followed by the women’s semifinals – a superb showcase for women’s sport – featuring four of the world’s best female athletes battling for a place in the Australian Open final.

Female coaching scholarships

Australia’s top female player, Sam Stosur, launched a female scholarship program in June 2016, aimed at encouraging women to pursue their Tennis Australia coaching qualifications. Thirty five scholarships have now been awarded to women across Australia.

Scholarships are available in four coaching categories: junior development, club professional, master club professional and high performance.

Recipients will undertake coaching courses in a supportive and innovative learning environment, with access to mentoring and networking opportunities.

Female player scholarships

Tennis Australia provides national scholarships for a number of female athletes, providing the following support and services:

• Access to facilities
• Distance education on site in Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland NA’s
• Individualised strength and conditioning coach support
• Sport psychology
• Wellbeing program
• Physiotherapy
• Access to Dietician for nutritional advice
• Access to Chief Medical Officer

Other initiatives

The WTA Australian Female Camp is an initiative launched in 2016 to unite female Australian professional players, providing on and off-court advice in a supportive environment, including training, travel tips, educational online opportunities and more.

Fit2 Camp: “Females in Tennis” with a “Future in Tennis (Fit2) Camp is a new nation-wide initiative aimed at developing female roles within tennis by exploring the number of exciting careers opportunities made available through the sport.

Over three days, female tennis participants between the ages of 15-18 attended a series of on-court and off-court workshops and seminars, with Tennis professionals helping attendees get a new-found understanding of the different types of tennis careers on offer.

National Female Camps: In 2017, Tennis Australia will host a series of national camps aimed at junior athletes aged 12-16 years. Each camp will be themed to help address a particular issue/topics, providing mentoring and support in a fun, energetic environment.

Gender equality fast facts

• Tennis is rated the most popular sport among female sports fans in Australia (Source: Repucom)
• 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
• 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
• In June 2016, Tennis Australia hosted Australia’s first United Nations Women’s Economic Empowerment Consultation, bringing together 36 business and community leaders to gather stories and actions for a report which was handed to the UN Secretary General in September
• Tennis Australia launched the inaugural Celebration of Inspirational Women at Australian Open 2016, uniting some of the foremost women in Australia and shining a global spotlight on gender equality.