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 Trust sponsor new Bahamas IC Junior Tennis Series

To help develop tennis in the younger age groups of U10 and U12, the IC of The Bahamas is to stage a series of five weekend tournaments in The Bahamas throughout 2018. President of the IC of The Bahamas, Kit Spencer, extends his thanks to The Winterbotham Trust Company, who as the major sponsor, are enabling such an exciting event happen.

Ivan Hooper, CEO of Winterbotham Bahamas, said: “We are pleased to support this great new tennis initiative that reaches young Bahamians at an age that is significant in both their tennis and personal development through an organisation we have confidence in. The Winterbotham IC Junior Series adds to our continued support in developing younger generations through education and sports.”

 Organiser Neil Mactaggart, Vice President of the IC of The Bahamas, said: “We have managed to secure five top venues that will reach a wide audience of young tennis players. This includes The Lleyton Hewitt Albany Tennis Academy, the fine new Baha Mar Resort Tennis Facility, the National Tennis Centre, the traditional Gym Tennis Club and a venue yet to be determined on Grand Bahama Island.” The series is BLTA approved.  

The first event is the weekend of 17th/18th February at the National Tennis Centre to be followed by the Lleyton Hewitt Albany Tennis Academy on 14th/15th April and Baha Mar on 19th/20th May. The weekend events are a round robin format to ensure a minimum of three matches each day per player. Regular yellow balls will be used for the U12’s and a softer “green dot” ball for the U10’s will be used with short set format on a regular court. At the conclusion of the five event series, the IC will give awards to top players to help their tennis development.

The IC motto is “hands across the net, friendship across the ocean”, encouraging strong competition with good camaraderie and sportsmanship. The IC plan to include a lunch for players as part of the exercise to help foster young players with potential who can develop as a group of like-minded friends through future years. It is hoped that as the series develops overseas players will be encouraged to compete alongside Bahamian players to increase everyone’s experience.  For more Information on Winterbotham Group: www.winterbotham.com