Tennis SA boss: Stadiums in disrepair, provincial bodies ‘not in good standing’

Tennis South Africa (TSA), which recorded an operating loss of nearly R300,000 for the year ended March 31, has cited several challenges, notably five of its provincial structures not being in good standing and stadiums being in disrepair.

“That some provinces cannot hold annual general meetings, produce reliable financial statements and hold elections for office bearers is astounding,” TSA president Gavin Crookes said in the annual report for 2023/24.

“This reflects a total lack of commitment from members to effectively administer tennis. Provinces and districts should be the ‘core’ of tennis where the development of the game is nurtured.

“Several provinces seem to believe that TSA should take over the running of tennis in their province — TSA does not have the means or capacity to do this,” added Crookes. “Players in the provinces and districts need to take responsibility and accountability for the game.”

Another major issue was the lack of maintenance of tennis venues around the country.

“Of particular concern are the condition of our main tennis stadiums around the country which are reaching stages of disrepair that will result in tennis not being able to be played in them.”

TSA’s revenue shrunk to R22.96m from R33.24m the previous financial year, during which it had reported a surplus of just more than R5m.

The main contributing factor was the loss of its title sponsor, Growthpoint, with sponsorship income dropping from R17.65m to R8.79m.

Conversely, expenses were reduced from R28.17m to R23.28m.

The inflows from a new sponsorship deal inked with American Express from April 1 will be seen only in next year’s financials.

“As I draft this report we are engaging with no fewer than three potential sponsors and have had several other enquiries that hopefully will result in additional support.”

Crookes said TSA was projecting a surplus of about R350,000 for the 2024/25 financial year.

TSA spent R4.97m on International Tennis Federation (ITF) events, down from R5.2m the previous year.

“We are striving to increase the number of local and international events that are hosted in South Africa. In this mix of international events are the ‘upgrading’ of some of the World Tennis Tour (WTT) Tournaments from $15,000 to $30,000 prize money events with the assistance of funding from the ITF.”

Employee costs dropped from R6.1m to R4.25m.

Crookes pointed out that the federation had been unable to find a suitable candidate for the position of CEO, despite reviewing 30 applications in two lengthy processes.

The board decided to “stand down” on the matter and leave it for the new board after the elections later this month.

“This void has necessitated board members having to step up and provide operational leadership.

“I would like to express my gratitude to the board members, particularly those serving on the [management committee] for their selfless and willing contributions in this regard.”

On safeguarding, Crookes said five of seven matters had been finalised and he reiterated that schools employ licensed coaches who were in good standing with TSA.

All coaches need to, among other things, have completed an ITF-approved coaching course, pay annual registration feeds and provide police clearance certificates.

While schools and seniors saw a drop in spending — to R2.02m and R420,912 from R3.28m and R830,339 — wheelchair tennis received a sight increase from R1.29m to R1.35m.

Government grants totalled R3.4m, while R2.28m came from an ITF grant with another R1.17m for Davis Cup.

Affiliation and registration fees brought in R2.15m, tournaments R1.9m and coaching R1.57m.