'Barriers are real': Watch Advantage All webinar on women in coaching
Asked during an officiating seminar at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games what the solution is to the disproportionate number of girls opting against turning professional compared to boys, ITF President David Haggerty’s response was unequivocal.
Haggerty immediately suggested an increase in the number of women coaches would have a positive impact and encourage more girls to remain within the sport and pursue their dreams.
The 2024 Global Tennis Report showed that the percentage of female coaches around the world had risen to 24.3 per cent from 20.6 per cent in 2019 – an important step towards equitable representation in leadership and mentoring roles.
However, there are plenty of miles still left to travel on this journey and the ITF’s commitment to advancing gender equality and creating a more inclusive future for tennis across the globe endures.
Women in coaching was the subject of the first ITF Advantage All webinar of 2025, which had a particular focus on Oceania and featured guests from Tennis Australia, Tennis New Zealand and the Solomon Islands Tennis Association.
To watch the webinar, sign into/register for the ITF Academy here, click Content Library and Library in the left-hand toolbar. Then search for AdvantageAll
All three National Associations have received ITF Advantage All awards in recent years and are working towards achieving gender equality in tennis through coaching.
Andrea Buckeridge, Tennis Australia’s Head of Women and Girls, was joined by former elite player and renowned professional coach Nicole Pratt, who has coached the likes of Ashleigh Barty, Casey Dellacqua, Alicia Molik and Daria Saville.
“The challenges and barriers are real, gender stereotypes are real,” said Pratt “That means at the higher level of coaching, women only have half the opportunities of men because women can only coach women – that’s the stereotype.
“I have had that stereotype throughout my career and that challenge is still there. We have made some headway but there is a hell of a lot of work still to do.
“I coached a male player for the very first time in 2024. I felt a bit nervous but there was another male player beside the court who said, ‘will you be my coach? I have been listening to every word you have been saying, and you’re bang on’.
“The player I was working with said, ‘no, she is my coach’. Progress can be slow and hard, but my learning is that sport can shift society.”
Buckeridge revealed that there are a record 1138 women coaches in Australia currently, which represents a 55 per cent increase over the past five years. Eight years ago, 21 per cent of coaches in Australia were women whereas now that figure is at 33 per cent.
She acknowledges that most are coaching at beginner and intermediate level, but proceeded to discuss some of the initiatives which have been introduced by Tennis Australia to increase the number of women coaches at the high-performance level.
Tennis New Zealand’s National Sport Development Manager Chris Mundell spoke about the Wahine Scholarship which has had a real impact across the country, and also how tennis compares to rugby union and cricket in respect of women in coaching. He also touched on the importance of mentors.
"New Zealand is at 45 per cent or so female participation, so we have a high percentage of women already in the sport," he said.
"The challenge that we are tackling now is how do we convert those who coach at volunteer or social level and start them on that pathway towards the professional ranks. We want more women in front our kids, acting as role models."
Sandra Constantine from the Solomon Islands Tennis Association was on hand to give the perspective of a smaller nation within the region, but one determined to contribute to gender balance within the game.
"We started our equal opportunities pathway when we noticed there was a drop in player numbers when girls hit their teenage years," said Constantine.
"We wanted to give players extra support and give a vision to them beyond playing. That’s when we put work into educating more coaches – and the results we have seen is a higher number of female participants. It is so important that young girls can see themselves in leadership roles."
The webinar really is worth a watch and is available on the ITF Academy. Without wishing to reveal all topics of discussion, perhaps the final appetite-whetting word ought to go to Pratt.
“Innately, women have so much empathy, compassion and understanding of a person’s journey,” she said. “We are wise, especially in our older years, and I just think we provide something different.
“We know we’re in the minority and I would encourage more players to try something different and working with a woman coaching is something different. Be brave – everyone needs to be brave.”
The webinar, entitled ‘Empowering Women Coaches and Achieving Gender Equality in Oceania Tennis’ is part of the ITF Advantage All initiative – the ITF’s gender equality strategy.
The goal of ITF Advantage All is to develop and maintain tennis as an equal advantage sport. Through Advantage All, the ITF is committed to improving gender equality in all areas of the game.
Advantage All aims to ensure tennis is a leading light in sport and society, while empowering, inspiring and enabling women and girls to reach their full potential. More information on ITF Advantage All is available here.
In addition, the ITF is currently accepting applications to the ITF Advantage All Reward & Recognition Programme. The programme recognises and promotes gender equality initiatives of member nations that increase women’s participation in tennis at all levels, on and off court, through coaching, officiating and leadership roles. Further information is available here.