Partnering with National Bank, Tennis Canada launched a new long-term gender equality strategy with a new campaign called ‘Girls, Set, Match’ which showcases talent and resilience of young women through sport.
The campaign, created by agency Sid Lee, launched at the start of June and primarily focused on the retention of young women and girls in the sport through adolescence. It was led by a 30-second ‘You’ve Got game’ film featuring young girls showcasing their character, talent and resilience and also sees Bianca Andreescu as a source of inspiration.
The campaign aims to raise awareness of the different participation opportunities for girls in tennis, a pivotal first step towards equality.
The campaign also includes Canadian tennis star and reigning National Bank Open presented by Rogers champion Bianca Andreescu appointed as the programme’s first ambassador.
“It is a true honour to be named the inaugural Ambassador of this program,” commented Andreescu. “I hope that through this work, we can inspire more women and girls to play tennis, lead a healthy lifestyle and even pursue a future in the sport, whether that be on the court or off it.”
“Men’s tennis content is twice as likely to refer to ‘battle’ terminology, 70% more likely to mention a player’s physical prowess, and 50% more likely to mention the term G.O.A.T,” said Sid Lee Creative Director Isabelle Allard. “But what if we told these young women just how strong and capable they are by using the same language we usually use for boys? That’s something that Tennis Canada, National Bank, and Sid Lee really wanted to explore as part of the creative process.”
“We celebrate Tennis Canada for its commitment to showcasing the power and success of women and girls in tennis through the Girls. Set. Match campaign,” added Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, CEO, Canadian Women & Sport, an important partner of Tennis Canada’s. “We are proud to be working with Tennis Canada to help them bring their vision for gender equality in tennis to life. This campaign will be particularly meaningful within the context of Tennis Canada’s multi-year gender equality strategy, which we are confident will contribute significantly to the long-term growth and development of the sport in Canada.”
The work promotes a 10-year strategy built around a multi-faceted programme designed to ignite direct and indirect support and meaningful actions to drive change for gender equality in Canadian tennis.
The initiative will see Tennis Canada and National Bank create new opportunities for women and girls in tennis: encouraging them to pick up and racket or to continue to play tennis and become life-long participants and coaches committed to supporting the benefits tennis can offer in terms of active lifestyles and personal growth.
The strategy is built around three pillars:
‘Equal Voice: Women’s voice in tennis needs to be equal on all fronts – from bloggers to broadcast commentators and tournament directors, from event broadcast hours and event coverage to the vocabulary used to describe tennis matches and players. Tennis Canada wants to lead by example and strive for women’s voice parity by collaborating with broadcast partners.
‘Professionalisation’: Establishing a succession plan priority for equal women’s representation in key roles and parity across all aspects of the business of tennis from board of directors and senior executives to tournament leaders, coaches and officials.
‘Participation Pipeline’: In partnership with Provincial Tennis Associations (PTAs), the Tennis Professionals Association (TPA) and other delivery partners, Tennis Canada will help provide an inclusive pathway and participation opportunities that attract and retain young girls in the sport of tennis and encourage women to enter and advance to the most senior levels in tennis coaching and instruction.
It has already seen Tennis Canada, as part of the National Bank partnership, hire a new group of highly qualified women coaches and support staff – including former World Number 3 Nathalie Tauziat and former professionals Lan Yao-Gallop, Dana Sinclair and Katy Shulaeva – to act as touring coaches for young women players part of our high performance pipeline.
The initiative follows on from a recent study conducted by Canadian Women & Sport in partnership with Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities which found that one in every three girls drops out of sport during adolescence compared to only one in 10 boys and that 62% of Canadian girls do not participate in sport of any kind.
“The launch of this initiative is a defining moment for tennis in Canada as we aim to increase participation in our sport at all levels among women and girls,” explained Jennifer Bishop, Tennis Canada’s chair of the board and ITF Billie Jean King Cup Committee Member. “I would like to thank National Bank for their incredible support in this game-changing program. We will work together to increase participation and visibility of women in tennis. This program also provides us with an excellent platform to champion our existing women players, coaches, staff and stakeholders as Tennis Canada positions itself as a leader in this space.”
“Inclusion and diversity are core values at National Bank, and we’re very proud to be working with Tennis Canada on this landmark initiative. Participating in sports is great for physical and mental health and can have a positive impact on every aspect of our lives. That’s why we need to give women and girls at all levels an equal opportunity to reach their full potential through physical activity,” added National Bank EVP Lucie Blanchet.
Comment
The campaign and programme sits at the heart of National Bank’s corporate partnership with Tennis Canada and brings to life the bank’s belief in and long-term support for gender equality.
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