Foundation to help future tennis stars

Paris: A new international tennis foundation has lined up former Grand Slam champions, coaches, lawyers and marketing experts to help develop the next generation of top players.

The non-profit Global Tennis Legacy Foundation was launched on Saturday on the eve of the French Open with plans to operate by next year in at least 10 countries, including the United States, Japan and several European nations.

The goal is to provide advice to young players in areas such as training, contracts, finances and medical care.

Among those involved will be former Grand Slam champs Juan Carlos Ferrero, Albert Costa and Hana Mandlikova.

"It's a very good idea," Ferrero said. "We started when we were young, and we know what problems we had at the beginning when you're trying to find a good place to practice and good coaches. At the beginning it's very difficult. So this is important for kids."

The foundation was started by Chris Vermeeren, a Dutch marketing consultant who worked for Nike for 17 years.

"There's a big need for these players," Vermeeren said. "We want to develop them as a great athlete, but also as a person.

"There are so many questions young players have, and we'll try to answer them independently."

The foundation will work with youngsters aspiring to become pros, and also those hoping to land a college scholarship.

"We will use tennis to promote education," Vermeeren said.

He said the foundation has lined up a global network of experts and will soon begin operation in Britain, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Croatia, the Netherlands, among others.