Does this tennis environment feel safe?

Ask who is responsible for safeguarding and how concerns are reported. Save the policy and contact route where you can find them quickly.

• Are coach qualifications and relevant checks explained?
• Are one-to-one sessions observable and appropriately supervised?
• Are transport, changing-space and direct-message boundaries clear?
• Is physical contact explained and appropriate to coaching?
• Can children raise concerns without retaliation?

Say: “Thank you for telling me. This is not your fault. I will get help.”

Listen without interrogating. Record the child’s words and relevant facts as accurately as possible. Do not promise secrecy, confront the person yourself or ask the child to repeat the account unnecessarily.

Use the academy process for internal protective action, but do not let it delay any external report required by local law. An academy or governing-body report is not a substitute for mandatory reporting. If the concern involves the safeguarding lead, use an independent route.

In India, section 19 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act requires a person who apprehends that an offence under the Act is likely, or knows that one has been committed, to report it to the Special Juvenile Police Unit or local police. Other locations have their own rules, so verify and use the applicable external route.

Do not send a safeguarding concern back to the person accused to sort out privately. Reporting routes vary by location, so verify the local process rather than copying a foreign federation’s contact details.