Email Address
info@tennisworldfoundation.com
Our Location
85 JONKERSHOEK ROAD, STELLENBOSCH, 7600 SA
info@tennisworldfoundation.com
85 JONKERSHOEK ROAD, STELLENBOSCH, 7600 SA
Malawi is a small country in sub-Saharan Africa, nestled between Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique. According to the latest estimates, it is the third poorest nation in the world. Only Burundi and South Sudan precede it in this sad ranking. With a per capita income of less than $400, it is nearly impossible to create and develop top-level athletes.
But there may be some light at the end of the tunnel thanks to the initiative of Federico Coppini who, in October 2021, will give a real dream to two girls from Masasa, a ghetto area of the city of Mzuzu, in the north of the country, not far from the Tanzanian border.
Italian coach Egon Taschler, formerly ranked 2.8 in the Italian ranking, has been teaching tennis in various clubs in Puster Valley (the same region from which Jannik Sinner hails) works in those parts. His strong passion for travel led him to Malawi, where he participated in a project called “Saved by the Ball”, whose goal – as the name implies – is to get children off the road thanks to sport.
The experience excited him to the point of creating a sort of Italian branch of the association, in which he raises funds and aid to provide to those who need them, without limiting himself to tennis. Taschler brings various kinds of equipment from Italy to Malawi, and buys all the products necessary for carrying out the activity, from racquets to clothes.
What Taschler is doing has also reached South Africa, where Coppini carries out conceptually similar activities with the Tennis World Foundation (www.tennisworldfoundation.com). The two met, talked, and this meeting led to the creation of a moving project that mixes the goodness of the initiative with the personal stories of two girls.
In October, Mercy Mbewe and Maggie Banda will be hosted at Coppini’s home and will be able to devote themselves to tennis full time, finding the right environment that’ll help bring out their full potential. Yes, because in Malawi there are no real tennis clubs and the sport is played on makeshift courts and structures.
The stories of these two girls are chilling, especially when compared to the opulence of their Western peers.
Mercy turned 10 on May 3rd, she comes from a family of eleven where only her father works as a cook. The child is very talented, she loves America, Serena Williams, and she tries to imitate her aggressive style.
Maggie will turn 10 on December 14th and lives in even more desperate conditions. The ten people who make up her family live in a small house, without water or electricity. They sleep on the floor and don’t always have enough food.
Yet they live with a smile, despite having to attend a school with more than 100 children per class.
Often Maggie is forced to skip workouts because she has to walk 1km to get drinking water from a common tap. Same story for Mercy, who occasionally sells bananas at the market.
This is an almost inconceivable situation for those residing in Europe: moreover, since there is no TV, the two girls have almost no knowledge of the world outside their environment. And their environment is not beautiful: Masasa is a breeding ground for crime: theft, alcoholism, prostitution, and cannabis use are the order of the day.
Sport – thanks to initiatives like Taschler’s – is perhaps the only tool that allows children not to fall into the world of petty crime. A sport like tennis, then, can give you the opportunity to travel, get to know the West and provide new perspectives on life. And that’s exactly what Mercy and Maggie will be able to do, who have been overjoyed ever since they learned that they will be able to take a plane and go to South Africa, in Stellenbosch, where there is a tennis club very similar to the Western concept of a club, but which for them it is an absolute novelty.
Both are very talented: Coppini has sensed their potential and has chosen to invest in them, opening the doors of his academy, where they will be able to train every day, in the morning and in the afternoon. “And while they are in Stellenbosch they will also participate in some tournaments,” added Coppini, “If things go well, I would like to find a way to get them permanently transferred to South Africa, in order to organize a long-term training project, in addition to allow them to go to school. In this way, they would have a different future.”
We don’t know if Maggie and Mercy will become top level players, and maybe that’s not even the most important thing. What is certain is that they will have an extraordinary, unrepeatable chance, and their life will never be the same again.
Such a beautiful story could only originate from Stellenbosch, where Coppini’s initiatives (Tennis World Academy, Tennis World Foundation, and Tennis World Tour) are giving vigour and serenity to a difficult area. The project with Malawi is ideal to be the beginning of a new journey. For example, Coppini also wants to do something like this in Tanzania.
“In that country I am already active with a tennis project in a school: it was interrupted due to the pandemic, but in the period of crisis we contributed with food aid and medicines,” he said, “In Tanzania I have a trusted contact and we are trying to identify the possibility of doing something similar.”
The Malawi project is an excellent opportunity to take stock of the situation on the Tennis World activity. Right now, much of the effort is focused on four primary schools and an orphanage in Stellenbosch. In particular, a transport service has been set up for primary school children (and all children up to 12 years of age) that allows all children to train. As he has been saying for years, Coppini remembers that the goal is to guarantee an acceptable quality of life for children, but he also shared some technical considerations: “I must say that some boys are not bad, and perhaps they will move on to a later phase in which they can train every afternoon.”
More generally – and with new projects on the way – the Tennis World moment is truly flourishing. The academy is working with 61 boys, and two of them are particularly good. They train directly with Coppini and play in the top American colleges, which puts them in the top-30 ranking in the United States. Thanks to the work that the Academy and the Foundation are doing, the number of players is increasing.
Now there is a great dream for two little girls from Malawi to live.
Tennis World Foundation will cover the costs:
– flight
– transportations
– training 4 hours per day on 6 days per week
– food
– clothes
– visiting Western Cape
– registration fee to Tennis SA Federation
– registration fees to TSA tournaments
TWF established a dedicated Tennis Development Centre for children in Ida’s Valley, Stellenbosch.
All child tennis development coaching and activities take place at the Centre and to date we have invested R1 million into the facility.
Tennis World Foundation has recently been awarded the management of the Van Der Stel tennis centre in Stellenbosch. We now aim to renovate and upgrade this facility to establish a world-class venue for tennis in Stellenbosch.
We require R1,5 million to upgrade and develop the Van Der Stel tennis facility.
Our High-Performance Program is focused on talented players and aims to support children into competitive and ultimately professional tennis. This program is open to any less privileged players that have what it takes to compete on this level. The program is very comprehensive and includes daily coaching, clothing, equipment, transport, and the support needed for the players to be successful and achieve their potential.
The cost per child is R44 000 per year.
There are currently 6 children in this program, totaling a cost of R264 000 per year.
Lisa Mpatemi (Born 2001
Lisa’s tennis career started in 2016 at the Kuyasa center in Kayamandi. He joined our high-performance program in 2019 and his game has developed substantially.
Zachary Parsadah (Born 2007)
Zach started playing tennis at age 4 and is really serious about the game. At age 8 he started playing Wilson tournaments and was selected for the Western Cape Cavaliers team every year since reaching the eligible age. He has been playing TSA tournaments and in 2020 he was selected to play nationals, but the tournament was canceled due to Covid-19. Zach’s vision is to play competitively both in South Africa and abroad.
Shiloh Daniels (Born 2008)
Shiloh started her tennis journey at age 5 and is a hard-working well-rounded player. She was the number one ranked player for the Stellenbosch Wynland team in 2018 and 2019. She is currently number two ranked in the region. She has been selected for the Western Cape Cavaliers team and has represented her province at interprovincial tournaments over the past three years. Shiloh’s dream is to be number one in South Africa and to attain national colors.
Wade Hermanus (Born 2003)
Wade started playing at age 12 and his love for tennis has grown since then.
At this moment he is top 10 in the ranking of TSA under 18
Milani Mazinbuko (Born 2008)
Started tennis: Dec 2018
Goal: as much as I love tennis and it’s in the family. I’d love to go very far, to pro if possible. I can not predict how far I can go, but aimed to getting a scholarship for college tennis.
Long term: work very hard in other to achieve my set goal and remain in tennis as a legend someday.
Short term: Fun is the greatest thing, I will always remember about tennis.
Right handed forehand
Double handed Backhand
Tennis champions, unlike amateurs always looking for new challenges. They thrive on embracing challenges because it pushes them and makes them feel alive.
Serena Williams once said in her tennis masterclass
“if you are playing and wanna get better, one thing that I always try to do is to play with people who are better than me, that way if they’re beating me, then I realized that I need to get better, I need to improve, and it forces you to get better.”
But why it’s often so hard to find a tennis sparring partner?
What if you have a platform full of tennis players, ready for a challenge anytime, anywhere?
At tennisworldtour.org you will have the ultimate platform to challenge tennis players from all around the world at the tip of your fingers.
Not only we provide a platform for tennis matches, also tournaments, ranking systems, badges and much more.
At tennisworldtour.org you will be Practicing your tennis skill in different environments and playing against opponents with different styles that can elevate your game.
Preparation is the shell that holds the egg together, and there is no better way to prepare for tennis than to have a tennis match with another tennis player.
There is despair everywhere, but there is a champion within you
Champion seeks out challenges and opportunities to learn and grow. tennisworldtour.org is your place to be a tennis champion.
Join us now and be part of the global tennis challengers.
Are you up for this challenge?
If you partecipate or you will donate to the Tennis World Tour project….you will help Tennis World Foundation to rise money for its projects.
Also, Tennis World Tour is very important for the kids helped by Tennis World Foundation because they will start to play the first tournaments.
$10.000 for 15 tournaments + Master
TWF hosts two tournaments per month, totalling 20 annual tournaments, open to all the players in the various programmes. The aim of the tournaments is to give all children, regardless of their level of play, the opportunity to compete and advance their game. Tournaments are hosted in Ida’s Valley.
Total cost is R100 000.
Cost per tournament is R5 000. A total of 20 tournaments are hosted annually.
Our orphanages program offers comprehensive residential training clinics in Stellenbosch, South Africa, for talented high-performance players across the African continent. Two clinics are presented per year. They are offered a comprehensive clinic for three weeks and costs include traveling, accommodation, clothing and coaching.
Total cost is R300 000
The goal is to help children to fulfil their potential so that they can be the best tennis players, they can be!
This program is focused on establishing and supporting tennis teams in less privileged schools.
The goal is to help children to fulfil their potential so that they can be the best tennis players, they can be!
Subscribe to our mailing list
TENNIS WORLD FOUNDATION Reg. number: 2019/272498/08