Tennis NZ launches philanthropy program in London to create more top players

New Zealand’s top tennis players and Olympians joined forces in London on Monday night in a bid to attract philanthropic support for the country’s next generation of elite players.

The event, labelled Advantage New Zealand, was jointly hosted at New Zealand House by Tennis NZ and the New Zealand Olympic Foundation, and brought together influential UK-based Kiwis, and current and former Olympians.

New Zealand tennis players Erin Routliffe, Lulu Sun and Michael Venus all attended, along with Olympic medal winning rowers Rebecca Scown and Phillip Wilson, plus pole vaulter Olivia McTaggart, who represented New Zealand at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Former Wimbledon finalist Chris Lewis was also there.

Tennis NZ CEO Julie Paterson gave a speech at the beginning of the evening, saying that young New Zealand players don’t lack passion, but to get them to the top takes a joint approach.

“I've been overseeing our organisation for nine years now,” Paterson said. 

“In this time, I have seen players come and go with varying degrees of potential, ambition, and eventual success. 

“But they've all faced very similar challenges and barriers, especially coming from New Zealand. 

“Some New Zealand players really announce themselves to the world, proving that these challenges can be overcome, but nobody does it alone, and there is an opportunity to have a meaningful impact on a player's future.”

New Zealand Davis Cup captain, Artem Sitak, who is based in Cornwall, gave a speech, highlighting the added difficulties Kiwi players face. 

“To create more success we need to be realistic about our position,” Sitak said. 

“Our players always need to travel the most, purely based on our location on the map. “The majority of the world's best tennis players come from Europe and America, and we're at a natural disadvantage with all the travel and extra accommodation costs to factor in.” 

Sitak said that with financial support, New Zealand players can level the playing field. 

“Every opportunity helps to close the gap between New Zealand and more resourced nations,” he said.

The athletes later took part in a panel discussion about their journeys to the top level and what it meant to represent New Zealand

Routliffe spoke about how tough it is to deal with the rollercoaster nature of being a professional tennis player. 

“There are so many highs and lows, and a lot of people only see the highs. To get to those highs, you have to have a lot of lows,” Routliffe said. 

“Four years before I won my first slam, I completely quit tennis. I got another job. I was like, 'OK, I'm not going to do it anymore'. 

“But I wanted to fulfill my potential, and I really wanted to give it my all. I didn't feel like I did that, and so when I came back, I came into it with a new perspective, just giving myself some grace. Tennis is different because you have to lose so often. When you get good at losing, then you ironically start winning more.”

Venus spoke about the challenges of having to be overseas for 10 months of a year, something that European and American players don’t have to experience.

Sun said her mother wanted her to complete all four years at the University of Texas to get her degree, before having a crack at being pro.

“[There was] that sense I always felt like I was behind, because everyone I played with during the juniors was already there, so why did I have to go study?” Sun said. 

“But everyone has a different pathway on their sports journey, and there's no one right way to go about it. So I wouldn't say there's like a lot of sacrifices, it's just different choices in our careers and different pathways that we go along to the very end.”

After the event, Paterson explained the reason for putting on the night. 

“We were working in partnership with the New Zealand Olympic Foundation,” she said.

“We've been talking about it for a number of years, thinking about a philanthropy program, and how we might be able to get started. 

“I had a conversation with Chris Klaassen (NZ Olympic Foundation director) earlier this year at the ASB Classic, and he thought the UK would be a really good market, in particular if we were to be able to run an event around Wimbledon.” 

Tennis NZ and the Foundation invited people coming to Wimbledon or expat Kiwis based in the UK that might have some interest around tennis. 

“The intent was to get people engaged,” Paterson said. 

“Let them hear the story about tennis from New Zealand, and the challenges we face, being geographically so far away from where the majority of tennis is played, and then see if there was any sparking of interest around people that might want to be engaged or support in any way they can, for a program for tennis.”

Paterson said events like this wouldn’t necessarily unearth tennis-loving philanthropists immediately, but this was the start of that process. 

“It takes time to build up the network and build that kind of relationship,” she said. 

“The best thing that could happen is if somebody says ‘I'd really like to be a tennis supporter’, but second best thing is someone saying 'I know people that might be really interested in this, let me introduce you to them.’”

Paterson said Tennis NZ would look to tailor-make any support program, based on what the goals of any philanthropist, whether that was financially backing one or two players, or go into the pot to help fund everything the federation resources. 

“It would depend on what they were after, we wouldn't just have a one size fits all,” she said. 

 Anyone interested in finding out more about this can get in touch with Julie Paterson at +64 21 438 955 or julie@tennis.kiwi