Henrik Thorsøe Pedersen has been elected to serve a four-year term as Tennis Europe President.
Elections were held on Saturday at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting, which was hosted by Tenis Slovenija in Portoroz.
The new Board of Management features three re-elected members, and restores gender parity to the executive body, which consists of 4 men and 4 women:
Florence Alix-Gravellier (FRA)*
Nikolina Babic (CRO)*
Milos Karadzic (MNE)
Avraham Perets (ISR)
Sandi Procter (GBR)
Raimondo Ricci Bitti (ITA)
Csilla Suto (HUN)
Cem Tinaz (TUR)* *re-elected
Over 140 attendees from 47 of the European Federation’s 48 member nations were on site for the two-day meeting, which was chaired by Interim President Giorgio Di Palermo. He said, “Sincere thanks to Gregor Krusic and the team at Tenis Slovenija for what was a flawless meeting with a delightful social programme. I’d like to pay tribute to my colleagues on the outgoing Board for what has been an exceptional three year term, during which I believe our unity, enthusiasm and expertise have allowed us to bring Tennis Europe to this very positive moment. My very best wishes to the new President, who will have the benefit of working with an experienced Board of Management brimming with expertise.”
59-year old Mr. Pedersen of Denmark will be the first President from a Nordic country. He used his first official address to assure the assembly that he would be a “President for all nations,” and said that he intended to encourage dialogue, collaboration and unity. “I am greatly looking forward to getting started with the Tennis Europe staff and my new colleagues on the Board of Management, who truly reflect the unique diversity of Tennis Europe nations,” he commented.
Friday’s varied Open Session saw the delegates receive updates from the International Tennis Federation, before taking part in panel discussions and working groups on the topic of stakeholder engagement and digitalisation. Aside from the elections, Saturday’s Plenary Session saw the approval of Tennis Europe’s annual reports by the various committees, the financial statements and the 2024 budget.
Former world #1 Jelena Jankovic and Slovenian tennis legend Mima Jausovec were among the guests of honour at the official dinner, during which the annual Tennis Europe Awards ceremony was held. A full list of winners can be found here | Photo Gallery
The meeting closed with the announcement that next year’s Annual General Meeting will be hosted by the Turkish Tennis Federation in Antalya.