Tennis Foundation Ghana: Combining education and tennis to inspire children and change lives

Ghana's potential to compete in international tennis is gaining ground steadily, with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior World Tour tournament ongoing for six consecutive weeks in Accra being a perfect example of the resurgence in global exposure for the sport in this country.

Featuring players from over 40 countries competing for J30 points for the opening two weeks, which climaxed on September 21, and four additional weeks of J60 competition, which began on September 23 at the National Tennis Centre in Accra, this ITF tournament very much encapsulates how tennis is evolving very quickly right in the heart of the Accra Sports Stadium.

It is powered by Tennis Foundation Ghana (TFG), a non-profit outfit combining education and tennis to inspire children and positively affect their lives.

Working in close partnership with the Ghana Tennis Federation (GTF) and with the full support of the National Sports Authority (NSA) and by extension the Sports Ministry, as well as the Ghana Education Service, TFG has introduced many children to the sport, nurtured and instilled education in large numbers of rising stars and has most importantly hosted an ITF competition in Ghana every year since its first in August 2018.

"The ITF tournament is necessary right now because we don't have many competitions at that level for Ghanaians or even West African juniors.

So having the ITF event here is a sure gateway to the global tennis community," the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tennis Foundation Ghana, Roger Crawford, told Graphic Sports in an exclusive one-on-one.

"The exposure is much needed for them to be recognised internationally for those who want to go pro if they are good enough or if they want to attend college or a tennis school in the US. At the end of the day, all the children who play here are not going to play forever," Mr Crawford, himself a former player turned coach, explained.

Ghana is believed to be the only country not just in Africa but anywhere in the world where boys and girls stay for six weeks accruing points.

Having that number of tournaments in one location also saves travel costs. And ITF Development Officer for North and West Africa, Amine Ben Makhlouf, who was in Ghana in the second week of the six-week competition event left very impressed.

He scored TFG high marks for the work it was doing and promised to keep supporting them.

"Ghanaian children are currently the beneficiaries of our hosting these tournaments here in Ghana.

The first week, we had Raphael Dowuona winning the boys' singles and doubles with his Nigerian partner. Our top girl, Sisu-Makena Tomegah, who won some of these tournaments last year lost in the semi-finals. 

Then in the second week, Raphael again ended up in the final and Sisu won the doubles with Iriela Rajaobelina of Madagascar," Roger Crawford pointed out.

"So the progress we are making shows and if you look at the number of boys and girls we have playing tennis now, it's increasing rapidly.

Soon we will have a broad base of very good tennis players and then we will have the best of the best. I'm very hopeful of a very great future for Ghana tennis and hope that more people will see and put their children into tennis," he said.

But TFG is just getting started because aside from plans to establish a Tennis Academy to formally house children for both their classroom and tennis tutorials as done in the US, TFG already has a resident teacher stationed at the head office at the Accra Sports Stadium who children close-by interested in playing tennis come to after school to receive extra lessons and work, all in line with the mission to ensure bright and smart athletes.

"It is a must that children who play in our competitions are enrolled in schools because school and tennis go hand in hand. If you want to be a good tennis player, you have to be a good student. You want to be a good student, you'd have some tennis in your background as well," Mr Crawford stated.

He has been a coach in clubs and a couple of colleges, managing a country club in Westchester County in New York for a decade now, as well as running a camp for girls in Pennsylvania annually for 23 years now, all in the US.

He then incorporated TFG in New York in 2017 and set up TFG in Ghana a year later where he is not only into tennis coaching but tennis organisation, event management as well as the business side of running a pro shop and restaurant.

But who is Roger Crawford, the brain behind Tennis Foundation Ghana and the good work they are doing?

"I got into tennis because I was a ball boy at Kaneshie Sports Complex about 30-35 years ago around the time of Frank Ofori and Emmanuel Paddi. I was the third guy after them. Of course, everybody knew them better than me because they were better players than me. I mostly played doubles. After years of playing, I travelled out and went to school in the US where I also played for a while then I started coaching," Roger Crawford disclosed. 

"I have children who also play. My daughter played at the University of Massachusetts for four years and now she works at the famous IMG Academy in Florida. My two sons, Hope and Courage Crawford, have been New York State High School boys' doubles champions for two consecutive years and my little one, Wisdom, is also playing on his High School team, as well. So tennis runs deep in my blood," he added.

Having already held tennis talent scouting tournaments in Bolgatanga, Ho, and Ankaful in the Central Region with imminent plans to storm Tamale and Oti Region in a drive to expand the sport across the length and breadth of Ghana, it certainly doesn't come easy handling the financial burden and logistics, but TFG is well managed to supplement the little support from the ITF, NSA and GTF by setting up a pro shop and restaurant across their head office inside the Accra Stadium, which are both helping the tennis revolution.

"Tennis is money and tennis needs money so you have to find ways to be able to fund your programmes, otherwise you will stay in chains going around year in and year out. Our approach is not sitting down and waiting for financial support all the time because that approach doesn't work so I believe in starting with the little that we have, and then growing it. If people like what we've done they will come and support," Roger Crawford again explained.

"We set up Second Serve, a shop inside the stadium initially as a place where children could come and get equipment, shoes, and clothing, whatever they need for tennis at a lower cost. As we got along, we realised other people were asking for new stuff as well so we started bringing in more, and now it's a full-service tennis pro shop that sells everything," he said about the well-equipped Second Serve Tennis Shop.

"Same thing with our restaurant, Égalité Sports Bar. We usually have visitors in the country for our tournaments. We used to go get food for them from outside and they were always complaining about the quality of the food and all that we had no control over. But now that we have it here, they will be able to walk into the restaurant and order what they want specifically made for them. And from there it helps us make some profits, which also helps the foundation run," he revealed.

"It's a very big industry which until recently, was non-existent in Ghana but we are trying to let people know that you don't necessarily have to make it as a player on the court. After that, there are a lot of different roles you can play in tennis. Tennis will open the world to you, you will have the world at your feet. There are people that I have met and places that I have been that had it not been for tennis, I wouldn't have been so I try to give back to Ghanaians or Ghanaian children as well for them to have an even better life than I have so that they can come back at some point to give back to Ghana as well," he said.

With all these very promising premises and a rising number of very good players through the TFG initiatives, Roger Crawford believes the future has never been brighter for tennis in this country.

"I will say on behalf of Tennis Foundation Ghana that the future is bright for Ghana's tennis. If you have a child, especially 10 or 12 years old, who is struggling to choose a sport to play, let them come and try tennis. We have free equipment to give them, from tennis clothing to shoes to rackets, for them to start and see," he appealed.

"Not every child is going to be a soccer star in Ghana and tennis, by its very nature, will also help them make smart and good decisions, be in good company, keep them off the streets, keep them out of trouble, and put them on the path to making something out of themselves. I am a witness," he emphasised.

"Investment is key, I believe we can get good children to get into tennis all around the country and they will play well. We just have to create opportunities for them, and even if they don't come in as the best in the country, the more they are, the larger the pool for those who come out on top to be really good, because they will have to contend with a lot of people before getting there. So it's a broad-based approach that I think tennis needs in Ghana,” he said.