The 49th Annual General Meeting of Tennis Europe took place last weekend in Barcelona, Spain, where the event was hosted by the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation and the Catalan Tennis Federation. | 📸 Photo Gallery
44 national tennis federations were represented by over 105 delegates at the conference, which covered a wide range of topics and was chaired by the organisation’s President, Ivo Kaderka.
A 21st Century Constitution
Amongst the key motions passed were the approval of a modernised constitution for the European Tennis Federation, formulated over the past year following extensive consultation with the ITF, LTA and other member nations. The constitution is coupled with Tennis Europe’s first ever Code of Ethics, which will be implemented with immediate effect. In line with the new Code, four members were duly appointed by the AGM to form a new Disciplinary Commission. An application from Georgia to upgrade to ‘B’ nation membership status was met with approval.
The assembly also approved the 2023 budgets and heard annual reports from the Junior, Professional, Gender Equality and Development committees, as well as an update from International Tennis Federation President David Haggerty.
Delegates at Work
Friday’s Open Session provided delegates with the opportunity to network and to workshop several key concepts, including the future of the Winter Cups by Dunlop junior team competition and strengthening tennis communities through digitalisation. Former ATP world #2 and local hero Alex Corretja brought some star power with a motivational talk that earned the former Davis Cup champion a standing ovation. Gender equality was also high on the agenda, with Florence Alix-Gravellier hosting a panel discussion on the next steps for European nations.
The four-day event was also the location of a Development Workshop for Tier 1 nations, a Board of Management meeting and a friendly tennis tournament for delegates, held at the city’s Olympic Tennis Centre in Vall d’Hebron.
President Kaderka commented, “I would like to thank the RFET President Miguel Diaz Román, his Vice-President & Catalan Tennis Federation President Jordi Tamayo De Winne, and their staff for the flawless organisation of this AGM. The meeting was very productive, both the Open and Plenary Session, with a number of important issues on the table. I am particularly pleased that the new version of the constitution was approved by 100% of the delegates. This was one of the issues that I pledged to solve when I was elected, and it’s great to see the nations of Tennis Europe so united.”
Tennis Europe Awards & European Tennis Trophy
Four individuals - Elena Batoyan (ARM), Henrik Thorsoe Pedersen (DEN), Michel Renaux (FRA) and Theo De Vaal (NED) - were recognised with Tennis Europe Awards in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the sport and its administration in their countries. ‘Player of the Year’ awards were given to Europe’s top junior and senior players, and Italy was revealed to be the winner of the European Tennis Trophy Award for Overall Performance, for the first time since 1998. Full details about the European Tennis Trophy can be found here.
Social events held in conjunction with the meeting included an opening dinner at the Real Club de Polo, and the official dinner at the historic Palau de Pedralbes. The final day of the meeting saw delegates treated to a guided tour of the famous Camp Nou football stadium.
The meeting closed with the announcement that the Slovene Tennis Association will host the 2024 AGM in the city of Portoroz.