Jiri Novak named event ambassador for ITF Junior Masters

Jiri Novak, of the Czech Republic, who won seven singles and 17 doubles titles in an outstanding career, has been named event ambassador for the inaugural ITF Junior Masters in Chengdu, China on 3-5 April 2015.

The ITF Junior Masters will showcase eight male and eight female players who qualified on the basis of their 18-and-under ITF Junior World Ranking at the end of 2014. The event will take place at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre in Chengdu.

In his role as event ambassador, Novak will take part in a mentoring programme that the ITF is providing for players during the competition week. Headed by sports sciences expert and peak performance coach Dr Ann Quinn, the programme will look at the transition to professional tennis and focus on training, competition and developing mental toughness.

Novak, who retired in 2007, was renowned for his strong work ethic and consistent results, and took great pride in representing his country. During a 15-year professional career, he reached a career-high ranking of No. 5 in singles and No. 6 in doubles, and represented Czech Republic in Davis Cup for 11 years and at three Olympic Games. Quinn has a long record as a performance coach, having worked with Pat Cash, Pat Rafter and Shingo Kunieda in tennis and wheelchair tennis, but has also coached Australian cricket team members, boxing and kickboxing world champions and multiple Paralympic gold medallists.

"Jiri Novak is an excellent choice to serve as event ambassador," said ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti. "He always showed great professionalism and sportsmanship, and took great pride in playing for Czech Republic. I am all sure the players at the ITF Junior Masters will benefit from his insight."

Novak said: "I am delighted to have been asked to take part in this inaugural event, and look forward to sharing some of my knowledge and experience with these talented young players. This is an important stage of their careers and I hope they find the week a rewarding experience."

The mentoring programme is among a number of ways in which the ITF Junior Masters will assist these top juniors in making a transition from junior tennis to the professional game. The 16 competitors will also be competing for a total prize fund of $160,000 in travel grants, alongside wild cards that have been offered by the ITF’s member nations and professional tournaments.

Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash of Australia also believes that the ITF Junior Masters will benefit some of the game’s most promising young players. He said: "This is a great initiative for young players of many nations to get together to learn in a competitive situation and at the same time advance their knowledge by interacting with world experts in the many different fields of tennis. This really is an amazing opportunity."

Twelve countries will be represented in Chengdu. The men’s singles sees ITF world junior champion Andrey Rublev of Russia joined by US duo Taylor Fritz and Michael Mmoh, Orlando Luz and Marcelo Zormann of Brazil, Korea’s Chung Yunseong and Duck Hee Lee, and Spain’s Jaume Munar.Youth Olympic champion Xu Shilin of China heads the women’s entries, alongside Iryna Shymanovich of Belarus, Jil Teichmann of Switzerland, Kristina Schmiedlova of Slovakia, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, Aliona Bolsova Zadoinov of Spain, Marketa Vondrousova of Czech Republic, and Elena Gabriela Ruse of Romania.

For further press enquiries:

ITF Communications

Tel: +44 (0)20 8392 4632

Email: communications@itftennis.com

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