Meet your Regional Representative for Europe: Eva-Maria Schneider, IC of Germany

Former professional tennis player and long-standing member of the IC movement, Eva-Maria Schneider, has spent decades combining her passion for tennis with a commitment to building international friendships through the sport. From competing on the world stage as a junior and professional player to helping connect IC members across Europe, Eva-Maria continues to play an active role in strengthening the global IC community.

Eva-Maria’s tennis journey began at an early age in Germany, where she became a member of the German junior national team. As a junior player, she travelled extensively and competed in tournaments around the world, including all four Grand Slam events. One of her standout moments came at Wimbledon in 1985, when she reached the semifinals of the girls’ doubles alongside Wiltrud Probst, who later went on to become a Top 50 WTA player and remains an active member of the IC of Germany.

After finishing school, Eva-Maria spent two and a half years competing professionally on the WTA Tour, achieving a career-high singles ranking of 234 and reaching around 200 in doubles. Alongside her professional career, she was also a member of the Bundesliga team of Bayer Leverkusen. During her university years, she continued combining academics with tennis while playing for the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Eva-Maria became a member of the IC of Germany around 2006, with one of her earliest experiences being competing for the Dunlop Trophy in Great Britain. She recalls being introduced to the IC through former president Alex Kurucz, whose invitation immediately appealed to her.

“What struck me right away was the unique spirit of the IC,” she explains. “It combines so many of the things I enjoy most about tennis and international friendships.”

For Eva-Maria, being part of the IC offers far more than just competition on court. She particularly values the opportunity to play high-level tennis in special and historic venues around the world, experiences that she says she may otherwise never have had. Equally important are the friendships and connections built through the organisation.

“Meeting up with like-minded people, many of whom I have known for years, is incredibly special,” she says. “And beyond that, it is simply a great honour to be part of such a unique group.”

Among her many memorable IC experiences, one stands above the rest: the celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the IC of Great Britain. Spending a full week at Wimbledon and taking part in the extensive anniversary programme remains one of her favourite memories within the organisation.

Another recent highlight came in March 2025 during the founding session of the IC of Bolivia, where members gathered at the remarkable Club de Tenis La Paz at high altitude. The event further reinforced for Eva-Maria the international and inclusive spirit that makes the IC movement so distinctive.

Today, Eva-Maria serves as Regional Representative for the ICs of Europe, a role she greatly enjoys because it allows her to bring people together from different countries and backgrounds.

“I really enjoy connecting with people and learning about the different programmes and activities across the various ICs,” she says. “Our online meetings are always interesting and inspiring, and I learn something new every time.”

Through her experience as a player, organiser and ambassador for international tennis friendship, Eva-Maria Schneider continues to embody the values at the heart of the IC movement: sportsmanship, connection and a lifelong love of the game.

You can connect with Eva-Maria through Facebook.

Winterbotham IC Junior Series

After successful events at the National Tennis Centre and Albany Tennis Academy the third event in The Winterbotham IC Junior Series moved to the Raquet Centre at Baha Mar last weekend and broke records for young under 10’s and 12’s participating.

There were 46 juniors in this round robin series at Baha Mar for the youngest of competitors. Most juniors had 5 matches over the weekend to give them maximum experience and enjoyment.  This time there were even three overseas players in the Boy’s 12 & under from USA and Ecuador adding extra interest. Several late entries that came in after the close and the draw had been done could not be accepted or it would have been over 50 juniors - quite a challenge for the organisers with over 100 matches to be played !  Fortunately the weather held….although windy!

One great feature was that Karl Vukobrat, the Tennis Director at Baha Mar, converted their grass court in to 6 Mini Tennis courts with soft sponge balls. This was for fun play outside of the actual tournament. It was a great success with all the juniors and even some of their younger brothers and sisters who were not in the tournament. It was a superb mixer for everyone in a fun environment. 

Meanwhile it was tournament action Friday night, all day Saturday and Sunday on six hard courts.  After the round robins there were play offs between opposite numbers all the way down each group.  The resulting winners in addition to their Winterbotham IC Trophies and a good tennis experience got a “Free Entry” to the major “Little Mo” tournament in Florida ( worth $200).

The winners were: Michael Major in the Boys 12’s who after some good matches held off the competition from the three overseas players with Tito Chavez from Ecuador the Runner up. In the girls 12’s Sierra Rogers won over her good friend Saphirre Ferguson. In the Boys 10’s it was a final of two Patricks with the young Patrick Mactaggart coming through over the older Patrick Mackey. In the girls 10’s Breann Ferguson won with Millie Beukes the runner up. The “Charlie Farrington” Sportsmanship award went to Saphirre Ferguson.  

The IC ( International Tennis Club) is an organisation of top tennis players with clubs in 40 countries and with the motto of “Hands across the net, friendship across the ocean”. It maintains tennis friendships and competition across all ages up to even 75 year olds. It also  to aims to give back to tennis - the “game for life”.  The IC is delighted with the success and participation in this series and extends a big thank you to both The Racquet Centre at Baha Mar and to Winterbotham Trust Company for their support.  The conduct of the juniors was excellent and supportive of each other. It is a great sign for the future of Bahamian tennis. It is quite possible all those competing could get tennis scholarships to University if they keep working at their games and their academics.  Either way they are making friendships and enjoying a game they can play all their life.

The main organisers at this series are IC Members  Neil Mactaggart, Mickey Williams, Bradley Bain and Kit Spencer. For more information on the worldwide IC organisation go to www.ictennis.net.