01 December 2025

“İş Bankası is on the Court!” İş Bankası Becomes the Main Sponsor of the Turkish Tennis Federation

Undertaking the main sponsorship of the Turkish Tennis Federation, İş Bankası will contribute to the popularization of tennis across the country, ensuring more children are introduced to tennis and reaching athletes with high success potential.

Türkiye İş Bankası, which carries out many projects aimed at the social development of Türkiye and attaches special importance to youth and children, has added a new one to its support in this direction. The Bank has undertaken the main sponsorship of the Turkish Tennis Federation (TTF) with the aim of popularizing tennis, introducing more children to tennis, and reaching talented children in the field of tennis, especially in our regions with limited means and greater need for support.

With the cooperation realized between the TTF and İş Bankası, it is planned to ensure athlete development in the field of tennis, increase coach quality, and provide tennis equipment support to schools through the “Let's Go to Tennis” (Haydi Tenise) project.

The main sponsorship was announced at a meeting attended by Turkish Tennis Federation President Ms. Şafak Müderrisgil, Türkiye İş Bankası General Manager Mr. Hakan Aran, Ministry of Youth and Sports Head of Athlete Training Department Mr. Ali Sosanoğlu, TTF Board and Side Board Members, İş Bankası executives, and national athletes.

“The key to reaching big dreams is joining forces”

In his speech at the meeting, Mr. Hakan Aran emphasized that when they announced their support for the "East and Southeast Anatolia Team Tennis Championship" in September, they expressed their desire to embark on a longer journey with the Turkish Tennis Federation. Stating that the work was completed before the end of the year and they have reached the point of proudly announcing the main sponsorship of the Turkish Tennis Federation today, Mr. Aran said:

“I would like to thank not only our Tennis Federation but also our Ministry of Youth and Sports and our Ministry of National Education in this regard. We are an institution that believes that if you are chasing big dreams, if you are setting out for big dreams, joining forces is the key to achieving success. We have had the opportunity to observe closely how important cooperation is in many projects we have realized so far, such as the Science Generation Workshops.”

“Success stories will create a snowball effect”

Pointing to successful titled athletes in tennis, Mr. Aran said, “With the cooperation we have started with the Federation, we aim to take our successful athletes on a journey that will make them open tennis champions. Because we know that if one champion emerges, this will create a snowball effect; success stories will multiply. That is why it is very important to be able to write the first success story.”

Stating that the Tennis Federation main sponsorship has three pillars, Mr. Aran continued: “First; we provide equipment support to our schools with the ‘Let's Go to Tennis’ project. We provide tennis rackets, tennis balls, and materials to play tennis to our children in primary education classes. This is important to spread the sport of tennis to the grassroots. Second; we are organizing a Coach Development Program for our physical education teachers who will find and discover our children in their schools and give them their first training. We know that reaching the goals we have set is only possible by increasing the number of coaches. Third; the Türkiye İş Bankası Türkiye Tennis League, where new talents will be discovered, their development will be supported, and which will be instrumental in their selection for the national team... I wish for this exciting cooperation, which we started with the vision of a champion Türkiye where a new generation that has met tennis and adopted tennis culture in every region at every age is raised, to be beneficial and auspicious for our country, and I offer my heartfelt thanks to our Tennis Federation and our Federation President Ms. Şafak Müderrisgil.”

Thanks to the Turkish Chess Federation for 20 years of cooperation…

Reminding that they have been the main sponsor of the Turkish Chess Federation for 20 years, Mr. Hakan Aran stated that our country has demonstrated great success in chess with the contributions of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of National Education, and mechanisms to make this sustainable have been created. Emphasizing that Türkiye has reached a respected point in the world in chess, Mr. Aran continued his speech as follows:

“We opened chess classes in over 40,000 primary schools. We now have children who are world champions in this field. We are happy to see that chess has attained a strong structure in our country and has become a more known, more visible branch of sports. We are completing our Turkish Chess Federation main sponsorship at the end of 2025. But our hearts will continue to beat with our young chess athletes and take pride in their achievements. On this occasion, I sincerely thank all the executives of our Turkish Chess Federation and wish them continued success.”

“We are starting a holistic transformation in Turkish tennis”

Turkish Tennis Federation President Ms. Şafak Müderrisgil stated that the cooperation realized with Türkiye İş Bankası is a historic step in terms of spreading Turkish tennis to the grassroots, strengthening athlete development, and restructuring the competitive environment, saying:

“The cooperation we announced today moves the transformation process, the foundations of which were laid by our federation, to a much stronger, sustainable structure that spreads across the country. With the visionary support of İş Bankası, we aim to strengthen tennis culture not only in certain regions but in every corner of Türkiye and to introduce our children to tennis at an early age.”

“Equal opportunity for all children with the Let's Go to Tennis Project”

Ms. Müderrisgil emphasized that İş Bankası's support will provide great momentum, especially within the scope of the "Let's Go to Tennis Project":

“In the pilot application we started in 11 provinces affected by the earthquake in 2025, we introduced thousands of our children to tennis. This project started a comprehensive tennis mobilization for the first time in Türkiye with tennis equipment support, teacher training, and social impact measurements. With the contribution of İş Bankası, we will spread this impact to a much wider geography and enable more children to meet sports and find their own path through tennis.”

“We are establishing a strong competition ecosystem with the Türkiye Tennis League and the newly implemented Development League”

Stating that the restructured league system is one of the most critical elements of the cooperation, the TTF President said:

“We are implementing the transformation that the Türkiye Tennis League has needed for years. With the ‘Development League’ (Gelişim Ligi), which fills the gap between the U18 Team Championship and the existing league structure, we will ensure that our 12–14-year-old athletes are included in team competition at an early age. This league will both standardize the development processes of our clubs and raise the performance level of Turkish tennis in the long run.”

“We are increasing quality with the education-centered Coach Development Program”

Ms. Müderrisgil stated that education plays a central role in strengthening the tennis ecosystem:

“With the Coach Development Program, we are creating a continuous and up-to-date education model covering all levels, from physical education teachers to performance coaches. Seminars to be attended by national and international experts and the official TTF certification process will raise the quality of coaching; it will positively affect the development of our athletes. This program is a long-term investment in the future of Turkish tennis.”

“This strong partnership we have established with İş Bankası is a signature for the future”

Ms. Müderrisgil concluded her speech by emphasizing the federation's vision:

“For the first time in Türkiye, we are creating an integrated tennis ecosystem that combines grassroots expansion, competition, and education elements within the same structure. İş Bankası’s support will play a key role in turning this vision into reality. I sincerely thank our Ministry of Youth and Sports, our Ministry of National Education, and Türkiye İş Bankası for this strong support they have shown for the future of Turkish tennis. This journey will build the sports culture not only of today but of the future.”

Future of Türkiye Tennis Program

The Program includes:

Türkiye İş Bankası “Türkiye Tennis League”

Türkiye İş Bankası “Coach Development Program”

Providing tennis equipment support to schools within the scope of the “Let's Go to Tennis Project”.

Türkiye İş Bankası Türkiye Tennis League

There were two basic league systems in the Türkiye Tennis League until today:

U18 Team Championship (13-18 age range)

Türkiye Tennis League with a lower age limit of 14 and no upper age limit.

A bridge was missing between these two structures where 12–14-year-old athletes could be systematically included in inter-club competition. Young athletes were moving to the over-14 category without gaining team experience on a national scale, and an important window of opportunity in technical-tactical development was being missed. The “Development League” was designed for the 12-14 age range specifically to fill this gap.

With the sprouting of the “Development League,” which will be articulated into the Türkiye Tennis League as of 2026, a league structure that is played at all levels, has high competition, has peak regional representation power, offers high viewing pleasure, and has increased visibility in national media will come into play in the coming years.

The Development League is a structural transformation step aiming for young athletes to meet the right competition at the right age, for the standardization of clubs' development processes, and for the long-term strengthening of Turkish tennis.

The Türkiye Tennis League is expected to spread throughout the year with the ‘Development League,’ which will also cover younger age groups as of 2026, and clubs are expected to prepare their athletes for team championships from an early age. This process will also strengthen competition among clubs and increase sporting quality at every stage of the Türkiye Tennis League.

In the league, where athletes in the 12-14 age group will also take part, the aim is to discover new talents and support their development. The support to be provided to clubs for athletes in this age group will be a driving force for both clubs and athlete families, and the organizational support to be provided by İş Bankası will ensure the sustainability of the league.

While the Development League is being structured, the long-standing U18 Team Championship and the 14+ Türkiye Tennis League will continue to be played.

Türkiye İş Bankası Coach Development Project

Designed as an integrated education and development model guaranteeing the quality and sustainability of the tennis ecosystem, the project includes needs-focused training special to every level, from physical education teachers within the scope of the ‘Let's Go to Tennis Project’ to coaches training performance athletes.

As a result of International Coach Development Seminars to be organized with the participation of academicians alongside national and international experts, the official TTF Certificate to be given to all participants is among the elements that will reinforce the value of the program.

Let's Go to Tennis Project (Haydi Tenise Projesi)

In the project initiated by the TTF in 11 earthquake provinces in 2025 with the vision of "A Türkiye where a new generation that has met tennis and adopted tennis culture in every region at every age is raised," the aim is to introduce secondary school students to tennis, increase interest in this sport, and popularize tennis culture. Within the framework of the project, with the support of İş Bankası, the goal is to send tennis equipment to schools to be determined in 11 more of our provinces in the first stage in 2026.

The "Let's Go to Tennis Project" is carried out with the official support of the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

In 2025, the TTF sent rackets and nets to students in 20 secondary schools in 11 provinces affected by the earthquake. In 2026, with the support of İş Bankası, the goal is to send tennis equipment to reach 1,100 students in 11 selected provinces.

01 December 2025