Four candidates vying for ITF Presidency with Annual General Meeting set to get underway in Santiago

ITF vice-president David Haggerty is one of four candidates to replace Francesco Ricci Bitti ©Getty Images

Four candidates are vying to replace Italy’s Francesco Ricci Bitti as International Tennis Federation (ITF) President with the result set to be announced on September 25 at the organisation's Annual General Meeting in Santiago, Chile.

More than 280 delegates, partners and staff from National and Regional Associations, as well as foundation members and recognised organisations of the ITF, are expected to attend the AGM.

The full programme of the meeting, which is being hosted by the Chilean Tennis Federation, is due to take place from September 23 to 25 with the Presidential election set to round off proceedings.

Ricci Bitti, 73, also the chairman of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, has made it clear that he believes his sporting future lies more in the world of the Olympics rather than his "first love" of tennis.

America’s David Haggerty, who is currently serving as an ITF vice-president, has pledged to review the formats of the Davis Cup and Fed Cup should he be successful in his bid for the role, but he faces competition from ITF executive vice-president Juan Margets of Spain.

Also seeking to replace Ricci Bitti, who is stepping down from the role after 16-years, is All India Tennis Association and Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) head Anil Khanna and Swiss Professional Tennis Association President Rene Stambach.

The victor will be revealed at the Santiago Marriott Hotel and they are due to serve a four-year term from 2015 to 2019, while there will also be elections for the new ITF Board of Directors with 26 candidates standing for 13 positions.

Francesco Ricci Bitti has been the ITF President for the last 16 years ©Getty Images

Among those is Serbia’s Goran Djokovic, the uncle of 10-time Grand Slam winner Novak, while Haggerty, Khanna and Stambach are also among those competing for the posts.

Chile’s Sergio Elias, Canada’s Jack Graham, Australia’s Stephen Healy and Tunisia’s Tarak Cherif are all current members of the board and will be hopeful of being re-elected.

Additionally the draw for the 2016 Davis Cup is to take place on September 23, with nations set to vote on whether to introduce fifth set tiebreaks into the tournament two days later.

Regional Association meetings are due to be on Wednesday, with key issue sessions expected to be held the following day while awards for services to the game will be presented throughout the week.