Athlete Development Pathway
Athlete Development Pathway
This document outlines Tennis NZ’s High Performance goals and the strategies we’re using to achieve them.
It’s designed to provide clarity and direction for players, their families, and support teams who are navigating the high performance pathway, from early development through to the professional level.
You’ll also find key resources, insights, and information to help support every step of the journey.
Athlete Development Criteria
The Athlete Development Criteria describes objective standards for players considering professional careers that are interested in being part of the Tennis NZ National Programme.
What You'll Find In The Athlete Development Pathway
Here are quick summaries on some of the topics covered in the Athlete Development Pathway. Please see the full document above for more detail.
TENNIS NZ PROGRAMME STAGES
As seen in the Long Term Athlete Development section of our Athlete Development Pathway, a child needs to be part of a training environment for ten years to optimize their chances for success. Tennis NZ has therefore created and encouraged different programmes in line with a player’s development and skill across the different key age groups.
As the player matures, different training options and possibilities arise. Initially in their club environment, then extending to their region and ultimately moving up to national and international level.
Long Term Athlete Development (L.T.A.D.)
L.T.A.D. is a process that takes into consideration the maturity of a child and offers a more strategic approach to a child’s development.
By following the seven different factors described in the Athlete Development Pathway document, this gives a better chance to maximise the potential and enjoyment for each player.
The seven factors are Long Term, The Basics, Early VS Late Speculation, Development Age, Optimal Windows of Trainability, Periodisation, and Planning Competition.
The health and well-being of all children is the central tenet of L.T.A.D.
Tennis Playing Stages
A player in the beginner stage is someone of any age who is having their first tennis experiences and learning the basic technical and tactical aspects of tennis, learning the rules of tennis and developing positive attitudes towards competition. It is at this stage where players are most likely to fall in love with tennis if they are supported and develop the basic skills. Around 60% of all tennis players in New Zealand fit into this stage.
Who are typical Beginner players?
Players of any age learning technical, tactical, physical and mental fundamentals of tennis. Beginner children aged 4 - 12 are likely to be participating in a Tennis Hot Shots programme and beginner teens and adults will likely be taking part in Tennis Xpress or a similar introductory tennis programme.
This stage represents a broad range of players with a reasonable level of skill who can regularly execute all aspects of playing tennis. Enjoyment and competition are the key drivers for these players, but at the same time performance, challenge and improvement are often key motivators. During this stage, these aspirations across a wide age range need to be catered for through the offering of more in depth and advanced coaching and fun ‘have a go’ type programmes. Around 40% of all tennis players fit into this stage.
Who are typical development players?
Players of any age who have developed relevant technical, tactical, physical and mental skills to compete in tennis to some level. This is a broad group that ranges from progressing through a Tennis Hot Shots Coaching programme, to business house and interclub players, and through to Regional Age Group representatives.
This stage can begin from a young age and involves those athletes who have the ability to play tennis to a high level and are likely to be moving towards national representative tennis and players who are competing in international tennis competitions. It is at this stage that many performance players will become part of talent identification programmes designed to lead to High Performance tennis, and be competing on international tours as a full time professional athlete. Less than 1% of all players fit into this stage.
Who are typical performance players?
Players of any age who have an advanced level of technical, tactical, physical and mental tennis skills. Performance players aged 18 and under are typically competing in National Age Group Championships and Junior ITF tournaments. Those over 18 may be competing in the US College system, or playing tournament circuits in Europe and other destinations, or may be gaining experience competing at the entry level on the pro circuit (Futures). Performance players may also be representing their region/country in inter-region or inter-national events.
At this stage athletes are able to translate their training and technical skills into competing at a world-class level and achieving excellence in tennis. Less than 1% of all players fit into this stage.
Who are typical high performance players?
High performance athletes have mental and physical maturity required to compete at the highest level of tennis. They exhibit the highest levels of technical, tactical, physical and mental tennis skills. High Performance athletes spend the majority of their career competing on professional tennis circuits overseas (Futures, WTA or ATP Tournaments). These athletes may also represent New Zealand playing in Davis Cup or Fed Cup.
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