Marina Erakovic and Marcus Daniell Awarded Te Tohu Taumata Life Membership of Tennis New Zealand

Tennis New Zealand has awarded the prestigious Te Tohu Taumata (Life Membership) honour to former players Marina Erakovic and Marcus Daniell at its Annual General Meeting today.

Te Tohu Taumata is Tennis New Zealand’s constitutional Life Membership. Those who receive this honour have led the sport at an international or pre-eminent national level and embody the following benchmarks:

• Ko te Mana Rangatira, Leadership in Tennis
• Ko te Mana Hiranga, Excellence in Tennis
• Te Mana Motuhake, Legacy in Tennis

Erakovic and Daniell both enjoyed successful professional careers and have made significant contributions off the court, demonstrating leadership, excellence, and a lasting legacy.

Erakovic had a long career on the WTA Tour and proudly represented New Zealand at Grand Slams and international events. She won one WTA singles title and eight doubles titles, achieving career-high rankings of No. 39 in singles and No. 25 in doubles.

During her career, Erakovic was elected as a player representative to the WTA Tour Board, representing the top 200 female players on a range of issues. After retiring, she served as captain of the New Zealand Billie Jean King Cup team in 2020 and 2022, a team for which she played 27 ties for as a player. In 2021, she joined the Tennis New Zealand Board of Directors, serving a three-year term.

Daniell also excelled as a professional player before becoming increasingly involved in impactful off-court initiatives. Over his 17-year career, he achieved a career-high doubles ranking of No. 34 and won five ATP titles, including his first at the Auckland ATP 250 event (now the ASB Classic) in 2010. Alongside Michael Venus, he won the bronze medal in men’s doubles at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. He reached three Grand Slam quarterfinals, two at the Australian Open and one at Wimbledon, and represented New Zealand in 17 Davis Cup ties.

In 2024, Daniell was elected to the International Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission. The commission works to ensure that athletes' viewpoints remain at the heart of all decisions made within the Olympic movement, and was voted on by international Olympic athletes.

Daniell founded High Impact Athletes, a platform that encourages athletes to support high-impact charities. Through this work, Daniell received the ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award, an honour also held by figures such as Nelson Mandela and Roger Federer. At the 2025 Halberg Awards, he received the Sport NZ Leadership Award.

Only 32 people have received Te Tohu Taumata Life Membership, including notable figures such as Dame Ruia Morrison and Chris Lewis.

To view the full list, click here.