The WTCA Professional Pathway

The future is female when it comes to coaching professional tennis.

Mission: To create a pathway for female coaches to reach the top of high performance professional coaching – private coach of a WTA tour top 100 ranked player, head coach of an NCAA D1 program or director of a HP academy. 

Note: Not all female coaches who embark on a career in professional tennis coaching will have the ambition to be a WTA top 100 level coach. The WPP upskills female coaches, preparing them for senior high-performance coaching positions.

This 3-day intensive workshop is open to both male and female coaches with a strong emphasis on creating more jobs for female coaches.

 

Changing the coaching game

 It’s no secret that tennis wants to see more female coaches working with top 100 players, the WPP is ready to make that change. The numbers tell us that at time of WPP inception, only 4% of WTA top 100 players had a female head coach.  

Not all female tennis coaches aspire to coach on the WTA tour – with that being said the WPP intends to upskill female tennis coaches giving them the confidence to secure some of tennis’s most senior high performance coaching positions including but not limited to:

  • National federation director of player development
  • Director of High-Performance major academies
  • World Team Tennis team coach
  • Fed Cup / Davis captain/coach
  • Junior Fed Cup / Davis Cup captain
  • National federation coach
  • ITF junior tour coach 

Registration Criteria

Successful applicants must meet the following criteria

  • Hold a current coaching certification recognized by the WTA
  • Submit a criminal background check
  • Knowledge of the WTA tour bylaws and history
  • Must have completed the WTCA Baseline Certification
  • Submit a cover letter with application

Coaches must have achieved one of the following:

  • Former WTA/ATP ranked player 
  • Played D1 NCAA college tennis or international equivalent
  • Former ITF junior ranking of top 150
  • Experience privately coaching an ITF junior ranked player
  • Completed 50 hours under a WTA tour coach
  • 5 years coaching experience with players ranked UTR 6 or above 

why do we need more female coaches? 

Currently, 96% of WTA tour top 100 players have a male coach – WTCA 9/2019 –

Let’s work together to get more female coaches into the upper echelons of women’s tennis. The Women’s Sport’s Foundation penned a report that eloquently articulates the need for more women sports coaches. “Coaching through a Gender Lens,” 2019: The report found that female coaches are powerful role models for girls in sport. Only 27% of the 6.5 million youth sports coaches in the United States are female, but the research clearly illustrates the benefits that girls receive when they have female coaches, which include increased confidence and challenging the negative cultural messages that girls receive about their participation in sport.  

Dr. Deborah Antoine, CEO, Women’s Sports Foundation said: “The lack of female coaches is so alarmingly evident across all levels of education – from youth sports to high school and to the collegiate and professional levels.”  “A coach is often one of the most important adults in a young person’s life, outside of their family, and the lack of female coaches and mentors has far-reaching consequences for the development of girls.”  

There are extensive studies as to why increasing the number of women sports coaches is imperative. Dr. Nicole LaVoi, associate director of the University of Minnesota’s Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport is a trailblazer in changing the face of women’s sports coaching. 

“Sport is one of the most visible and powerful social institutions in the world. Who is seen and known in the world of sports, like head coaches, communicates who is important, relevant and valued (and who is not),” – Dr. Nicole LaVoi. 

“Girls and young women want and need female role models, like former female athletes who become coaches, who have experienced many of the same issues in their sport. Same-sex role models provide emulation, aspiration, self-esteem, and valuation of abilities. Many girls grow up NEVER having had a female coach, whereas 100% of their male peers have had a male coach.”

“When girls and young women see females in coaching roles they will more likely think about coaching as a legitimate and viable career and may aspire to become a coach. Women coached by women are more likely to go into and stay in coaching!”  

Where and when?

2020 Schedule:

  • Newport Beach
  • Miami
  • Stuttgart
  • Cincinnati
  • The Bronx

Workshop Directors:

Ann Grossman Wunderlich and Sarah Stone.

Workshop Manager:

Shawna Barasch Wilson

Workshop Details:

To Register please email sarah@wtcatennis.org

 

Workshop Details:

The WTCA has created a series of global workshops where coaches can gain WTA tour-level experience. This three-day workshop – WPP – will be packed with tips and tools to prepare coaches for high-performance tennis coaching careers.

Workshops are led by extremely experienced female coaches who have worked with many top WTA tour players. Their coaching successes include coaching their players to win multiple Grand Slams, WTA, and ITF singles and doubles titles.