The KTF (Kazakhstan Tennis Federation or "Federation") has held its annual conference in Astana to review the results of 2023 and outline plans for the upcoming year.
The conference, which brought together heads of regional branches and tennis centres, as well as officials from the KTF head office, also included the election of the Federation's president, resulting in Bulat Utemuratov's tenure being extended for another four years. This follows Mr. Utemuratov's re-election as member of Board of Directors and Vice President of the International Tennis Federation for the 2023-2027 term earlier this month.
2023 marked another successful year for Kazakhstan's tennis players, with notable achievements from the juniors. For the first time in history, both the boys' and girls' national teams qualified for the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup world team championships for players under 16.
Elena Rybakina had a stellar year, reaching the final of the 2023 Australian Open, winning two WTA 1000 series tournaments and finishing the year in fourth place in the world rankings. More broadly, the women's national team continued to perform strongly, reaching the final stage of the Billie Jean King Cup for the second consecutive year and ranking 9th in the world.
Anna Danilina, the country's leading female doubles player, won the US Open mixed doubles title, giving Kazakhstan its first mixed doubles victory at the Grand Slam tournament. In the men's game, Alexander Bublik had a successful season, winning the ATP 250 in Antwerp and the ATP 500 in Halle.
Doubles players Aleksandr Nedovyesov and Andrey Golubev also secured their first ATP 250 titles, while the men's national team retained its place in the Davis Cup World Group, ranking 14th. Kazakhstan held the ATP 250 Astana Open tournament for the third time, with Almaty set to host the event next year.
The Federation also has ambitious goals as it continues to build new tennis facilities, enhance coaching qualifications, support junior players and develop the domestic game.
