The American Samoa Tennis Association has received a US$15,000 Facility Grant from the ITF Grand Slam Development Fund Committee to help towards the cost of resurfacing the 6 courts at their National Tennis Centre. This grant is part of the ITF Development Programme which is financed by the ITF and the Grand Slam® Development Fund (GSDF).
During the period 1986 – 2012 over US$83million has been invested by the ITF and the Grand Slam® nations in tennis development activities in 150 countries worldwide. In 2012, US$4.11million was spent on the Development Programme with US$2.49million being invested by the ITF and the balance of US$1.62million contributed by the Grand Slam nations to the Grand Slam Development Fund partly from proceeds generated from the ATP World Tour Finals.
With the aim of raising the level of tennis worldwide and increasing the number of countries competing in mainstream international tennis, the ITF Development Programme includes a broad range of initiatives in less developed countries ranging from the grass roots to Grand Slams. Activities include ITF/GSDF touring teams, funding for junior and professional tournaments, training centres, coaches education, the supply of tennis equipment and the ITF Junior Tennis Initiative – a 14 & under player development programme, which encompasses Tennis10s (School Tennis Initiative) and Performance Tennis Initiative programmes.
Special emphasis has been placed on junior tennis where regional tournament circuits have been developed and teams of young players compete outside their own region. In 2012, 25 regional circuits were supported by the Development Programme providing much needed competition for the best players at 18, 16, 14, 13 and 12 & under age groups across the globe (Central America & Caribbean, South America, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Pacific Oceania).
Players who perform well at these regional circuits are invited to join an international touring team. The ITF/GSDF touring team programme aims to facilitate the transition of talented players through regional and international competitions and onto the professional ranks. In 2012, there were 24 ITF/GSDF Touring Teams involving 167 players from 80 different countries. Former ITF/GSDF Touring Team members include: Gustavo Kuerten (Brazil), Nicolas Massu (Chile), Nicolas Lapentti (Ecuador), Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi (India), Angelique Widjaja (Indonesia), Eleni Daniilidou (Greece), Younes El Aynaoui (Morocco), Paradorn Srichaphan (Thailand), Cara Black (Zimbabwe), Jarkko Nieminen (Finland), Florin Mergea (Romania), Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus), Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine), Viktoria Azarenka (Belarus), Uladzimir Ignatik (Belarus), Ricardas Berankis (Lithuania) and Li Na (China).