Israel Tennis Centers ("ITC"; Hebrew: המרכז לטניס בישראל) is the largest tennis program for children in the world, reaching more than 350,000 families—5% of the Israeli population. With 14 centers around the country, primarily in underprivileged communities, the not-for-profit Centers use tennis to promote the social, physical, and psychological well being of their students (through other programs such as their Life Skills program). Another of its goals is the development of coaches (such as Oded Yaakov), and building and maintaining courts and facilities at the highest levels.
The ITC is the physical home of the Israel Children's Centers, Israel's largest social service agency for children. The Israel Children's Centers serve 10,000 children every week through a variety of programs that address development and social needs, including coexistence programs for Arab and Jewish children and customized programs for a variety of disabilities.
The ITC has to date produced the following top-30 players: Andy Ram (career-high doubles ranking of # 5); Yoni Erlich (doubles ranking of # 5); Shahar Pe'er (doubles ranking of # 14 and singles ranking of # 11); Anna Smashnova (singles ranking of # 15); Amos Mansdorf (singles ranking of # 18); Shlomo Glickstein (singles ranking of #22 in 1982; # 28 in doubles); Dudi Sela (singles ranking of #30 in 2009), and Harel Levy (singles ranking of # 30 in 2001).
Read more about Israel Tennis Centers: History
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