Francesco Ricci Bitti

Präsident des Internationalen Tennisverbandes


It is my pleasure to welcome you to Vienna for the ITFR 5th World Tennis Championship.

It gives me great delight as an honorary member of the Honorary Committee to wish you a wonderful week of tennis, and I hope that you will go home from here and try to encourage others in your region to become involved in tennis.

The Rotarian culture around the world espouses the use of vocational talents within its membership to provide opportunities for young people and to give back to individual communities. I believe sport is a way of contributing to the community that you come from, and as President of the International Tennis Federation, I can assure you this is one thing we believe in strongly.

The International Tennis Federation has an extensive development programme in over 150 countries worldwide with the aim of raising the level of tennis worldwide and increasing the number of countries competing in mainstream international tennis. The ITF Development Programme is funded by the ITF and the Grand Slam Development Fund, which is itself funded by the Grand Slams and administered by the ITF Development Department. Since the inception of the fund in 1985 over $60 million has been spent on the ITF Development Programme which includes a broad range of initiatives in less developed countries ranging from the grass roots to Grand Slams, including touring teams, funding for junior and professional tournaments, funding for tennis facilities, travel grants for talented players, training centres and coaches education, the supply of tennis equipment and Junior Tennis Initiatives.

Of course development work involves not only the ITF but many people like yourselves, who inspire other generations to take up the game through personal contact and teaching. I hope many of you will chose to give back to a sport which you obviously enjoy immensely and has given you so much.

Finally I would like to thank ITFR Chairman Marco Marinaro and Tournament Director Josef Gudenus as well as the many volunteers involved in this event, without their hard work and dedication none of this would have been possible. I wish you all a successful and enjoyable week.

Jacques Dupre

Präsident, Tennis Europe


It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to the 5th International Tennis Fellowship of Rotarians World Tennis Championship.

We are delighted to once again support this prestigious event, and I am sure that the many Rotarians who will participate here will thoroughly enjoy the facilities on offer at the marvellous Colony Club.

Aside from the opportunity to take part in the world’ s leading event for Rotarians, over the next few days you will be able to take advantage of an exciting and inventive schedule of entertainment, tourism and cultural activities.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone involved, whether as players or spectators, a successful week of tennis and a fruitful and enjoyable social programme in Vienna.

Marco Marinaro

Präsident der ITFR (International Tennis Fellowship of Rotarians)


Dear Rotarian Friends,

I am pleased to inform you that from the 24th to the 30th of August 2009 the "5th ITFR World Tennis Championship – Rotarians' Tennis Meeting" (International Tennis Fellowship of Rotarians - www.itfr.org ) will take place in Wien (Austria).

This initiative will be an important occasion for all Rotarians, who play or who are fond of tennis all over the world, to meet each other according to the motto "Score an ace with Rotary … for a winning Service!". Tennis' principles perfectly share the Rotarian spirit, the legality and fair-play used in tennis, make this sport suitable for the rotarians aims.

ITFR is so a privileged instrument to promote friendship and solidarity all over the world. The presence of Rotary International in all continents (168 Countries) gives ITFR the opportunity to network with members of different nationalities having the same Rotarian objectives and the same interest in tennis.

As all Rotarian initiatives, this important event (which will take place in Austria for the first time) will be not only an important achievement for the Fellowship and for the Rotary, but it will also give support to specific initiatives of solidarity thanks to the ITFR that organizes this tournament. In particular, funds raised during the event will go to finance the most important humanitarian project of Rotary International that is "PolioPlus Program" (www.rotary.at; www.polioeradication.org ). and the important project of Districts 1910 and 1920 which hosts the event and that is "The Srebrenica project" for a Rotary Medical Center in Srebrenica City (www.rotary.at ).

The international event has obtained moral support from the most important institutional organizations. Therefore I firstly thank the Mayor Michael Häupl and with him the City Administration of Wien that without hesitation and with enthusiasm has supported ITFR in this ambitious project hosting Rotarian friends from all over the world in this wonderful city.
I thank with particular gratitude Francesco Ricci Bitti, I.T.F. President (International Tennis Federation), Jaques Dupré, President of European Tennis Federation (Tennis Europe), Ernst Wolner, President of Tennis Austria (Austrian Tennis Federation), Adam Helfant, A.T.P. Executive Chairman and President (Association of Tennis Professionals), Dennis Van Der Meer, P.T.R. President (Professional Tennis Registry), whose moral support has given indisputable prestige to the Championship.

My sincere thanks to the Rotary International Governors of the District 1910 Bobby Nemling (2008/09) and Peter Krause (2009/10), and of District 1920 Peter Morawek (2008/09) and Kurt Angerer (2009/10), and to the Presidents and Members of Clubs of Wien who with an intense Rotarian spirit have organized this event. Special thanks goes to Colony Club and its owners Ernst Polsterer and Ernst Scholdan.

Last, but not least, I wish to thank Josef Gudenus, ITFR Austria TD and Tournament Director of 2009 ITFR WTC, and the Organizing Committee, which with great enthusiasm, passion, skill, has made possible the realization of this unique event.

I am sure that we will spend an unforgettable week of Rotarian friendship/fellowship all together, in this wonderful city and country, renowned all over the world for its extraordinary historical and artistic beauty.
I hope to meet you in great numbers “in action” to pursue the common Rotarian action in order to score another … "ace"!

Josef Gudenus

Turnierdirektor


Tennis mit rotarischer Freundschaft zu verbinden und die Erlöse für einen humanitär sinnvollen Zweck einzusetzen, das ist der eigentliche Sinn der 5. ITFR Tennis Weltmeisterschaft in Wien. Es ist eine Verbindung, bei der dem Sport und dem Spaß ein zusätzlicher wertvoller Aspekt verliehen wird. Als Organisator dieses großen Events freue ich mich, Sie Ende August in Wien zu begrüßen – einer Stadt, die, im geographischen Brennpunkt zwischen den "alten" und "neuen" EU Ländern, eine besondere Rolle spielt. Das große Engagement und die Begeisterung, die wir als Organisatoren erleben, wird sich zweifellos auf das Tennis Turnier übertragen und ich freue mich schon auf spannende Wettkämpfe in den unterschiedlichen Bewerben und Altersklassen.
Aber auch das Rahmenprogramm der 5. ITFR Tennis Weltmeisterschaft wäre Grund genug zu kommen. Wir haben ein exklusives, abwechslungsreiches und anspruchsvolles Programm für Erwachsene und Kinder zusammen gestellt, bei dem jede/r auf seine Rechnung kommt. Es erwarten Sie Ausflüge zu den schönsten Plätzen und Sehenswürdigkeiten Wiens, ein Heurigenbesuch, und ein Ausflug mit dem Schiff in die Wachau. Auch für die Abschlussgala und Preisverleihung haben wir uns etwas Spezielles einfallen lassen. Das Gala-Diner ist der krönende Ausklang der rotarischen Tennisweltmeisterschaft und verspricht Wiener Küche vom Feinsten in exklusiver Atmosphäre.
Dabei sein ist alles, ist die Devise, und die Plätze sind limitiert - Sie sollten sich noch heute mit Ihrer Familie anmelden. Es wird eine unvergessliche Woche bei der Tennis, Kultur, Spaß und rotarische Freundschaft für einen guten Zweck im Mittelpunkt stehen werden.
Wir freuen uns, Sie im August in Wien zu sehen.