THE world’s first Boris Becker and Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) Coach Accreditation Scheme was staged at Mission Hills Shenzhen over the weekend.

    The event marked the first time that the Wimbledon-based LTA has brought its wealth of experience to China and exported its coaching certification outside the United Kingdom.

    Under the expert guidance of tennis legend Becker and Dan Thorp, the LTA’s head of coach development, a selection of China’s tennis coaches attended the five-day get-together, starting Friday.

    As well as a series of indoor and outdoor clinics conducted by Becker and Thorp, the program included a junior challenge match between tennis youngsters from Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

    Talking about the potential to produce Chinese Grand Slam champions, six-time Grand Slam champion Becker said: “Give us a bit of time. It won’t happen overnight. This isn’t a quick fix where we come in and next week we have a champion.

    “This takes years and years of dedication from all the people at Mission Hills and all the coaches.

    “What’s unique here is that we’re building the whole thing and looking for the right coaches.

    “The best talent cannot be coached by the wrong people. So this program is very, very important. Without the coaches you won’t get the players.”

    The coach accreditation scheme offers support to coaches to ensure all those taking part in the game have an enjoyable and safe experience by providing a simple check on safety and professional standards.

    In conjunction with Mission Hills, German great Becker launched Asia’s first Boris Becker Tennis Academy in March.

    He is working closely with Mission Hills to establish the Boris Becker Tennis Training Camp and Becker Cup Junior Tennis Series.

    Becker, a former world number one and Olympic gold medalist who also won three Wimbledon men’s singles titles, two Australian Opens and one U.S. Open, said: “As I said when I visited Mission Hills in March, I am passionate about helping young tennis players to develop and it is my great hope that here at the Boris Becker Tennis Academy we can uncover China’s next generation of tennis stars and set them on a path to becoming Grand Slam contenders.”

    As well as the link up with Becker and the LTA, Mission Hills is working with the Hong Kong Tennis Association and Shenzhen Tennis Association to put in place the world’s best coach recruitment program.

    (SD News)