Tennis South Africa's (TSA) Coaches Education system has been upgraded from Silver to Gold status by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for a four-year period ending December 31, 2026, further cementing the country's reputation as a leader in tennis coaching development.
The award places South Africa as the first African country and the 19th nation in the world to meet the World Governing Body's Gold Award quality standard for Coach Education (self-sufficient up to ITF Coaching High Performance Players Course level).
The objective of the ITF's Recognition of Coach Education Systems program is to ensure that coach education in its member countries meets minimum standards.
ITF recognition is based on criteria and minimum standards for coach education that were agreed by the ITF Task Force on Coach Education and subsequently endorsed by the ITF Coaches’ Commission and the ITF Board of Directors.
Nations must provide certain information to the ITF in advance, and then an ITF assessor pays a 2-day visit to the nation in question, where their Director of Coach Education can explain the system in place and show the assessor all of the resources and learning tools used in their program.
"We are delighted to hear that our coaches' education has been upgraded to Gold status by the ITF, which is testament to the hard work put in by our coaching department, led by Ms Ghizela Enslin, tutors, and members of the Coaching Committee," TSA President Gavin Crookes said.
"Good coaches develop good players, and we will not develop good coaches unless we have a good coach education system.
“As a result, it is critical that Tennis South Africa continues to support the ongoing development of coaches by providing quality education opportunities and programmes," Crookes added.