Israel Tennis Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Sport | Tennis |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | National |
| Abbreviation | (ITA) |
| Affiliation | International Tennis Federation |
| Regional affiliation | Tennis Europe |
| Official website | |
| www | |
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The Israel Tennis Association (the ITA; Hebrew: איגוד הטניס בישראל), founded in 1950, is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in Israel. The ITA governs the arrangements for Israeli tennis leagues and tournaments, Israel's Davis Cup participation, and Israeli participation in tennis tournaments abroad.[1][2] It has a history of stormy relationships with some of Israel's top players and the Israel Tennis Centers.
David "Dedi" Harnik was chairman of the ITA from 1980 to 1988.[3]
1988–90: State of turbulence
Kollie Friedstein, also the executive director of the Israel Tennis Centers ("ITC") and one of the founders of Kibbutz Shoval in the Negev, become chairman of the ITA in 1988 for a 2-year period, at which time "a state of turbulence" existed between the ITA and the ITC. Appointed to head both bodies at the same time, Friedstein felt that by 1990 he had succeeded in bringing "industrial peace" between them.[3]
1990: Chairman Harnik II
In October 1990 Harnik was re-elected chairman of the ITA, a position that he held for many years.[3]
1996: Mansdorf dispute
In early 1996, Amos Mansdorf got into a tiff with the ITA when he accused it of mismanagement, suggesting that it was run in "an amateur fashion".[4]
2005: Dispute with Davis Cup players
2006: Return of pro tennis to Israel planned/cancelled
The ITA announced the return of professional tennis to Israel in 2006; the Anda Open high-level WTA tournament for top women players, featuring more than US$140,000 (NIS 643,000) in prize money.[6] But the ITA cancelled the tournament in August 2006, citing the precarious security situation in the region. The ITA said the decision to cancel the event was taken after Sony Ericsson WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott wrote to them informing them that under the circumstances, the event could not be held. The 2007 tournament remained on the calendar.
2008
At the same time, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz was bringing the ITA and the Israeli Tennis Center to task for squabbling with each other to the detriment of the development of Israeli tennis.[7]
In 2008 Israel's top singles player, Dudi Sela, was very angry at the Israeli Olympic Committee and the ITA which decided not to send him to the Olympics in Beijing. "It maddens me that I am not taking part in the Olympics," Sela said. "Everyone ranked in the top 100 will be there except for me. In the past some players ranked in the bottom 100 have even taken gold medals. But for Israel being ranked in the top 100 is not enough. Not since the days of former Israeli tennis player Amos Mansdorf has Israel been in the top tier of the Davis Cup, and I carried us there. After such an achievement they still don't appreciate me enough to send me to the Olympics. This has sapped my motivation to play in the next Davis Cup."[8] He continued, "No one gets how mad I am at the Association. Who am I playing tennis for in the Davis Cup? For myself?"[8]
The ITA ultimately sided with Sela, but was overruled by the Olympic Committee of Israel (OCI). The decision to leave Sela out enraged the ITA, which appealed immediately, to no avail. The director of Israel's Elite Sport Department, Gilad Lustig, had no regrets of the OCI's decision, and put the blame in part on the ITA. "We set the criteria after a very long process and all the different associations, including the ITA, gave their approval," he maintained.[9]
