The 42nd Annual General Meeting of Tennis Europe was hosted by the Moldovan Tennis Federation in Chisinau from 17-19 March.
A total of 87 delegates from 29 of Tennis Europe’s member nations were in attendance at the event, which was preceded by a meeting of the Board of Management.
Attended by Moldova’s Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports, Florian Ivan, Friday’s Open Session was on hand as the newly-elected International Tennis Federation President David Haggerty addressed the assembly for the first time. Alongside Chief Operating Officer Juan Margets, he outlined his plans for the governing body in the coming years and discussed the future of the sport’s flagship team competitions.
John Bushell of Sports Marketing Surveys Inc. provided an overview of the state of the European tennis industry based on the organisation’s latest research, much of which was carried out in conjunction with Tennis Europe.
Saturday’s plenary session saw annual reports from Tennis Europe’s President Jacques Dupré and Chief Executive Officer Olli Mäenpää, followed by a question and answer session with the Chairpersons of the four committees, Luisanna Fodde (Development), Karin van Bijsterveld (Junior Tennis), Igor del Busto (Professional Tennis) and Attila Richter (Senior Tennis). Honorary Treasurer Martin Corrie gave a summary of the European Tennis Federation’s accounts and obtained the assembly’s approval of the 2016 budget.
The official dinner was held at the Palace of the Republic of Moldova where the delegates were treated to some spectacular performances in a memorable show. The dinner was also the scene of the presentation of the Tennis Europe Awards, which are nominated by member nations in recognition of outstanding contributions to the sport and its administration. There were seven recipients in total; Vahe Avetisyan (ARM), Niki Pilic (CRO), Leon Smith (GBR), Tamara Semichina (MDA), Jacco Eltingh (NED), Vladimir Dimitriev (RUS) and Natalia Bondarenko (UKR). European Tennis Trophy awards were also presented to Germany (for Senior Tennis), Great Britain and the Netherlands (joint winners of the Wheelchair Tennis category), Czech Republic (Professional Tennis) and Russia (Junior Tennis and Overall Performance).
Tennis Europe President Jacques Dupré said, “This has been a productive meeting and we are very grateful to all of the speakers and delegates for their willingness to engage and contribute to the discussions over both days. I particular I would like to thank Mr. Haggerty for his attendance and contributions at what was his first Tennis Europe meeting. Last but not least, I would like to thank all of the staff of the Moldovan Tennis Federation and especially President Marina Tauber for their exceptional efforts in hosting this meeting, for the warm hospitality, and for giving us the opportunity to see at first hand the exemplary work that they are doing.”
Closing the meeting, Mr. Dupré confirmed that the next Annual General Meeting will be held in Sochi, Russia, from 23-25 March 2017. While some delegates travelled back to their home countries on Sunday, the Moldovan Tennis Federation continued its role as hosts, with an ITF Board of Directors meeting and Module 2 tutor assessment course taking place in Chisinau this week.