21 April 2023 | Tennis Victoria

Twenty coaches from across Australia have been named as recipients of the President’s Women in Tennis Scholarships for 2023.

Congratulations to Victorian’s Nicole Bauer, Jasmin Iaquinto, Dubravka Cupac, Talia Pati, Jasmina Behlic, Tina Keown and Julie Fidler.

A key component of Tennis Australia’s commitment to increasing the number and quality of female tennis coaches nationally, the scholarship program has been designed to provide more opportunities for women coaches at all levels of the sport.

The selected coaches will have the opportunity to develop their skills, grow their coaching networks and observe Australia’s elite junior players at a workshop currently being held at the 12’s and 14’s Australian Junior Clay Court Nationals in Canberra.

 

A focus of the three-day workshop is to build the network and support system of coaches through Tennis Australia’s Coach Connect program, which aims to engage, educate, and connect women coaches across the country through mentoring and professional development opportunities.

 

Last year 154 coaching scholarships were granted to women, with all of them now working at various levels throughout the tennis community. Women make up just 28 per cent of tennis coaches nationally, so boosting the numbers and providing women coaches with the tools and support to succeed, is a vital component of Tennis Australia’s Women and Girls Strategy.

 

“I’m delighted to congratulate this terrific group of 20 women from across the country on being awarded coaching scholarships. They’ve already achieved and contributed so much to tennis and I and look forward to following their continued progression,” President and Chair of Tennis Australia Jayne Hrdlicka said.

 

“Coaches make an invaluable contribution to our sport and by delivering additional learning and growth opportunities for women coaches, we not only make the coaching pathway a more attractive career, there’s also the advantage of attracting and retaining more girls in tennis at all levels.

 

“Limited support networks have been identified as a barrier for women within the coaching profession. Providing support, professional development, and the tools to help them build their own networks will increase capability and strengthen our cohort of women coaches,” Hrdlicka said.

 

Tennis Australia has offered coaching scholarships for women since 1996 with the aim of providing opportunities for more women to become high performance coaches.

 

2023 President’s Women in Tennis Scholarship Recipients

 

• Madisson Bowler (North Coast, NSW)
• Lucie Frazer (Perth, WA)
• Emily Webb (Darwin, NT)
• Megan Henry (Wheat Belt, WA)
• Nicole Bauer (Gippsland, VIC)
• Jasmin Iaquinto (Melbourne, VIC)
• Ellise Perks (North Coast, NSW)
• Christina Horiatopoulos (Sydney, NSW)
• Michelle Jaggard-Lai (Sunshine Coast, QLD)
• Dubravka Cupac (Melbourne, VIC)
• Genevieve Knight (Brisbane, QLD)
• Georgina Sesto (Cairns QLD)
• Talia Pati (Melbourne, VIC)
• Jasmina Behlic (Melbourne, VIC)
• Suzaan Stoltz (Brisbane, VIC)
• Tina Keown (Melbourne, VIC)
• Julie Fidler (Melbourne, VIC)
• Helen Magill (Parkes, NSW)
• Cherie Roe (Canberra, ACT)
• Patrea Bojack (Home Hill, QLD)