Launch of the ITF and IC Player Mentoring Programme

The IC Council is proud to announce the launch of the ITF and IC Player Mentoring Programme, in partnership with Give Learn. This unique initiative is designed to support players as they navigate the demands of professional tennis and plan for life beyond the game.

The programme will offer players on the ITF tours the opportunity to be matched with an experienced mentor from the worlds of finance, technology, entrepreneurship and beyond — someone who can offer guidance, perspective and a genuine connection outside of tennis.

Over the course of twelve months, participants will receive eight one-to-one sessions with their mentor alongside four group workshops covering topics such as building your personal brand on LinkedIn, starting a business while competing, financial planning, and preparing for a career after tennis.

Whether a player is thinking about their next chapter or simply wants to grow beyond the court, this programme could be for them.

Players can apply by logging in to the ITF website at itftennis.com using their IPIN. The deadline for 2026 applications is 30 June 2026.

For more information, click here to read more about the programme or contact player.care@itftennis.com with any queries.

Become a programme mentor

Our global IC community is full of individuals who have built successful careers in a wide range of fields and may have valuable experience to offer participants on the ITF and IC Player Mentoring Programme as mentors.

In particular, we’d like to hear from IC members who have:

• Industry expertise — a recognised leader or specialist in their field with a track record that players can learn from and credibility that commands respect
• Genuine desire to give back — motivated by impact rather than profile, someone who sees mentoring as a privilege not a transaction
• Time availability — senior enough to be valuable, but not so stretched they can't show up consistently for a monthly session
• Cross-cultural awareness — comfortable working with young athletes from diverse backgrounds and nationalities, many of whom are navigating life outside their home country
• Commercial or entrepreneurial experience — able to help players think about life beyond sport, from brand building and investments to business foundations and financial literacy
• Emotional intelligence — understands the unique pressures of elite sport, can listen as well as advise, and knows the difference between coaching and mentoring.

If this sounds like you and you would like to be considered to become a programme mentor, please contact James Cluskey from Give Learn at j.cluskey@givelearn.net. James is a member of the IC of Ireland – you can read more about his tennis and IC background here.

WEDNESDAY REPORT FROM IC WORLDWIDE FINALS

An exciting day with some extremely close matches that now put an interesting twist on the possible winners.

In the match up between the top seeded Italy and The USA it was a close and in many ways a considerable upset based on ITF Junior rankings. After the singles the it was 3 -1 to USA with the USA winning both girls matches. The result was then decided when the USA girls also came in with a doubles win that their boys also managed later. Congratulations go to the USA on beating an IC Italy team that had all players ranked in the ITF top 200 Juniors.

In what was an even closer match Uruguay eventually came through against Japan. After being 3-1 down in the singles Uruguay rallied to take both girls and boys doubles but only with both going to third set tie breaks. This meant the match would be decided on a mixed doubles which Uruguay won in what is always an exciting and tense match and enjoyable for spectators.

The third match between India and South Africa was two teams who had so far had close matches but unfortunately being on the losing side. The singles matches came through at 2 matches each but only after several going to tie breaks. This meant the doubles could determine the result and indeed it did with South Africa winning both to go 4-2 up and win the tie.

The teams now have the following wins:

USA 3 Uruguay 2 Italy 2 Japan 1 South Africa 1 India 0 - see results table below

If USA win their last two matches then they will be the champions but if they were to lose any both Uruguay and Italy could also be in a position to also possibly win. With USA and Uruguay scheduled to meet on the final Friday the result of the tournament will be almost certainly still be open until after that day’s play.  Following on from the days play, the players were treated to a kimono experience where they were dressed up in the traditional kimono by students from Yamano Beauty College.  Photos from the days play and the Kimono experience can be viewed here

Thursdays matches:

Italy v Japan

USA v South Africa

Uruguay v India

IC junior result 2018_10102018.xlsx