Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 23 October 2024 | Nadia Dimattina

Australians Alicia Smith and Alana Parnaby are two of nine women who have been selected for the WTA Coach Inclusion Program in partnership with Tennis Australia.

The Coach Inclusion Program is being expanded into the Asia Pacific region. The program is geared towards attracting, training, and developing women coaches, with the goal of breaking down barriers and providing opportunities for women entering professional tennis at the coaching level.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to be able to learn from some of the best and I think female coaches are extremely unrepresented in our sport, in sport in general but if we are just looking at tennis – it’s a great chance to learn from the best and be in that environment and soak up as much information and all the experience that we can get,” Parnaby said.

As both current world-ranked players on tour, Parnaby and Smith will be navigating playing tennis while joining the coaching program.

“Coaching is something that I have done throughout my career – it is something that I do really enjoy and something I can see myself doing post playing so it was a great opportunity and the fact I can do it whilst I’m playing is even better,” Parnaby added.

As long-term friends and having completed coaching courses together in the past, the women are excited to be back together again for the WTA Coach Inclusion program.

“We have a lot of the same insights and views – and we are both hoping that after our careers that we can definitely make an impact but be able to end our careers on our terms and know we don’t have any regrets and have given it our all,” Smith said.

Parnaby explained how important it was to have female coaches throughout her tennis career and hopes she can be an inspiration for future generations joining the sport.

“I think back to my early days starting out playing tennis I was really fortunate that I so happened to have a couple of female coaches to coach me and support me during my early years and I think that was really pivotal in me playing the sport,” she said.

“That’s why I am so passionate about female coaches in our sport because I have had that and I really want to give other young girls that experience that I was lucky enough to have.

“From local and junior coaching to Tour-level coaching it is really important that females support females, and trying to get that quality and representation at a higher level is going to help filter down towards the grassroots coaching as well, for females to be able to see that being a tennis coach is viable career path.

“Once it starts at the top, you see that it will help build more and more female coach networks.”

Director of Player Relations at the WTA, Jaslyn Hewitt-Shehadie, joined The Sit-Down podcast this week to talk about her career and the success of the WTA Coach Inclusion program.

Career pathways in tennis 🫡@JaslynHewitt has worn many hats from pro player to high-performance coach, tournament director, and currently WTA Director of Player Relations. This is her story 🎧 https://t.co/Q6r3CarVU1 pic.twitter.com/ZftL6jp1kd

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) October 21, 2024

“We are providing great mentorship for the coaches where we will partner the coaches up with pro-tour coaches that are already out there – it’s a great opportunity for them to build their network,” she said.

“This program has had some really great success – we have had 20 applicants come through the North American program – we have had two seasons of that and they are just about to start their third round of the North American swing. We have had a few coaches that have come through the program and are now Billie Jean King Cup captains.”

Tennis Australia Women’s Coach Lead & Women’s National Team Coach Nicole Pratt is delivering the program alongside Tennis Australia’s Performance Coach Development Manager Belinda Colaneri.

“The WTA Coach Inclusion Program has already seen remarkable success and has made a significant impact on many women coaches. We are thrilled to announce the program’s expansion into Australia and Asia, and we eagerly anticipate working alongside the WTA Tour in these regions,” Pratt said.

“Personally, I am excited about the opportunity to join as a coach mentor and contribute to the development of the next generation of women coaches on Tour. The growth and inclusion of more diverse coaching talent will undoubtedly strengthen the sport and inspire many aspiring women coaches.”

Participants will receive training at an offseason workshop, participate in virtual training sessions, and shadow WTA coaches and players onsite.

The program will begin in October at the Hong Kong Tennis Open. For more on the WTA Coach Program, click here.

2024 WTA Coach Inclusion Program participants

Alicia Smith – Australia

Alana Parnaby – Australia

Orawan Lamangthong – Thailand

Shivika Burman – India

Sandu Gumulya – Indonesia

Shu Su – China

Jihee Lee – South Korea

Vivian Heisen – Germany

Jeanna Schmidt – South Africa