Welcome to the IC of Bolivia!

We are very pleased to announce that the creation of the new IC of Bolivia was formally approved at our AGM in July and warmly welcome their members to our IC community.

Bolivia celebrates a rich tennis history, which started with the arrival of British and North American immigrants at the beginning of the 20th century, who worked in railroad construction and mining and began practising the sport in mines at Uyuni and Oruro. The Bolivian Tennis Federation (FBT) was founded on 24 March 1937 in Catavi (Potosí) with the aim of organizing and promoting tennis, and is now affiliated with the ITF and the South American Tennis Confederation.

Today, there are around 16,000 active tennis players in Bolivia. Nearly 10,000 of these are ranked in the National Federation, and 12 players have also been ranked within the ATP or WTA. The country has 32 clubs spread across nine ‘departamentos’, including three centenary clubs: National Tennis Club Oruro, Tennis Club La Paz and Cochabamba Tennis Club. Other major clubs are in Santa Cruz and other cities, including Sucre and Tarija. The clubs have served as meeting places for people of different backgrounds and have promoted values such as discipline, respect and teamwork.

Discussions around the creation of the IC of Bolivia started at the IC Centenary celebrations at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in August 2024 – which were followed up with approaches to professional players to secure their support. At the start of 2025, the founding team worked alongside the IC Council and members of the ICs of Argentina and Uruguay to create the statutes for a new IC of Bolivia, and held a founding day with their 19 founding members to establish the Constitution on 1 March in La Paz.

The founders presented their plans at the IC AGM on 6 July and the creation of the IC of Bolivia was formally approved.

From this point, the board of the IC of Bolivia plan to:

• Hold their first AGM
• Onboard around 20-30 new members
• Set up a philanthropic programme that will offer tennis coaching for disadvantaged children in key cities around Bolivia
• Start the organisation of an IC of Bolivia Invitational event for 2026 – working with the ICs of Argentina and Uruguay
• Work with the IC Council to create the IC of Bolivia website and social media pages.

Please join us in welcoming the IC of Bolivia to our IC community!

IC of New Zealand celebrates its 60th Anniversary

The weekend of the 27th/ 28th August saw the culmination of the 60th Anniversary celebrations of the IC of New Zealand. Held in Auckland, IC members participated in or spectated some tennis at Parnell Tennis Club, before a “Life of Anthony Wilding” play, and dinner and drinks at Carlton Cornwall Bowling Club. 

Over 120 members attended, coming from all over the country as well as overseas. Guests included the Chairman of the IC Council Executive Committee, Peter McQuibban, and the President of Tennis New Zealand and ITF Board Member, Celia Patrick, who is also an honorary member of the IC of NZ. 

Fittingly, Des Shaw, the President of the IC of NZ, awarded Jeff Robson with a Lifetime Membership of the club. Jeff was a foundation member and patron of the IC of NZ in 1956, and has a remarkable history in NZ sport, in both tennis and badminton. In tennis, he has won the NZ singles title three times, represented the Davis Cup Team before captaining New Zealand’s Davis Cup Team for 10 years. In badminton, with many titles to his name, Jeff was ranked in the top 6 in the world, and then went on to be a controller of badminton at several Olympics for 25 years.  

Sunday saw a great day of golf at The Royal Auckland, organised by Greg Long, followed by a gourmet lunch arranged by John Lockington. Des Shaw remarked; “it was a beautiful day enjoyed by all and fitting conclusion to two days of celebrations of the 60th anniversary”.