Brit tennis icon Angela Mortimer honoured by ITF
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The International Tennis Federation has renamed its men’s and women’s 85 and over category of the annual ITF Seniors World Team Championships after two legends of the sport – Lorne Main and Angela Barrett (née Mortimer).
Member associations were recently invited to make nominations for the naming of the Men’s and Women’s 85 Team Cups and following a unanimous vote by the ITF Seniors Committee, and approval from the ITF Board, it has been confirmed they will be named the Angela Mortimer Cup and Lorne Main Cupfrom 2021.
Main, nominated by Tennis Canada, not only competed on the Seniors Circuit for over 30 years, winning titles at every age category he competed in, but also competed at Grand Slams and represented Canada in the Davis Cup as both a player and captain.
Lorne Main, who sadly passed away in October last year, was the first recipient of the ITF Outstanding Achievement Award in Seniors Tennis and remains one of only four recipients of the prestigious honour.
Angela Barrett (née Mortimer), nominated by Seniors GB, was Britain’s leading tennis player in the 1950s, with a distinguished international career in which she won three Grand Slam titles and reached World No. 1. She was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1967 and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993.
David Haggerty, ITF President said: “Tennis is a sport for life and through Seniors tennis we are on a mission to provide opportunities to compete, socialise and enjoy all the benefits of the sport to as many people around the world as we can.
"Both Angela and Lorne will continue to inspire generations of players and we are pleased to recognise that through the naming of the ITF World Team Cups.
"This has been a challenging year, but we are looking forward to bringing our playing community together again to compete for the Lorne Main and Angela Mortimer Cups in 2021.”
Angela Barrett, said: “I am very honoured. It is a great feeling and I am very proud. Seniors tennis is wonderful. I think these days more and more people are playing tennis through the different age groups and I have a lot of friends who are well into their eighties and are still playing the game they love – that is just great.
“There is always a really good competitive atmosphere at these events and they allow people to travel to different places around the world. That brings an important social element also, with friendships made and a sense of camaraderie.
“I am very proud to have my name associated with one of these wonderful competitions.”
Kevin Main, Lorne Main’s son, on behalf of the Main family, said: “We're so proud that that he was able to achieve this, and really honoured that the ITF and Tennis Canada has been involved in moving this forward and dedicating the trophy to Dad.
“This, for him, would have been a significant event in his life, because it speaks to tennis being a lifetime sport.
“His journey started at nine years old, and it ended when he was almost 90. His journey lasted for eight decades, playing tennis. It’s something that hopefully will encourage future players – hopefully some future Canadian players – to aspire to, to try and achieve that level.”
The ITF Seniors World Championships are the pinnacle of the ITF Seniors Tour and include both individual and team competitions across three age categories, Young Seniors (30-45+), Seniors (50-60+) and Super-Seniors (65-90+). In 2020, it was announced that 30 and over, and 90 and over, categories will be introduced in 2021 to provide age-appropriate competitive levels to our existing and future playing communities.
