GLTA President’s Address: Happy New Year to Everyone on the GLTA World Tour!
As we launch into a new year, let’s take some time to appreciate all the amazing things that happened in 2024. This year saw many new tournaments in amazing new locations and GLTA players have made both the new & established tournaments huge successes as we continue to see higher and higher numbers of participants. Each GLTA Member Club has worked hard to bring these experiences to us and we all express gratitude to the many wonderful volunteers who make these tournaments possible.
Looking ahead, we are excited to welcome two new faces to the GLTA Board in 2025 – Amy Hasquet (USA) and Grzegorz Gardyjas (Poland). They will be bringing enthusiasm and skillsets that will greatly contribute to keeping the GLTA thriving. They will be joining Leo Reece – our current Rankings Director who has one of the trickiest job in keeping the ranking system operating – Matt Feinberg – our current Secretary who has worked hard this year on our reincorporation as well as reviewing our bylaws & running the annual GLTA Board of Directors Election – and Daniel Cribb – our current Treasurer who keeps all our finances in order and the organisation running efficiently.
After many years of service to the board, we will be saying farewell this year to Merit Lõokene. Merit deserves a special mention for all her amazing work with women’s participation initiatives. Her work on enhancing the GLTA’s engagement with women throughout the world has greatly enhanced the diversity of the GLTA. Merit deserves immense gratitude for her work in making the GLTA a stronger organisation. On behalf of the entire organisation, we thank her and her partner Marion for all they have given. We wish her all the best in everything she does in and out of tennis and look forward to continuing to see her on the tour!
I hope all of you are searching the GLTA Calendar and making plans for your 2025 GLTA season – we have a tournament opportunity for everyone and hope you enjoy all the fun, friendship, and competition. It’s heartening to see how tennis can bring people together and this year I’d like to encourage everyone to bring friends, family, and allies to their next tournament. Help us continue to create spaces for all genders and all allies as we continue to make sure the GLTA is for EVERYONE.
Please reach out directly to me ( president@glta.net ) or any of the other board members at any time if you need anything throughout the year – we are always happy to hear from organisers and players and help them in any way we can.
On behalf of the GLTA Board, I wish everyone a safe, successful and happy 2025.
Kindest regards in the New Year,
Rowen D’Souza
