International Tennis Federation

Its official annual is The ITF Year, describing the activities of the ITF over last 12 months. This replaced World of Tennis, which was the ITF official annual from 1981 through 2001. In addition it publishes an official magazine ITFWorld three times a year.

As of 2017, there are 211 national associations affiliated with the ITF, of which 148 are voting members and 63 are associate members.[7] The criteria for allocating votes (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, or 12) to each voting member are: performance in ITF team competitions; professional (ATP/WTA), junior, and wheelchair rankings of individuals; track record in organizing international tournaments; and contribution to ITF infrastructure. For example, France garners 12 votes, Canada has 9, Egypt has 5, Pakistan has 3, and Botswana has 1 vote.[8]

Regional associations were created in July 1975 as six "supra-national associations" (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Australia) with the aim to decrease the gap between the ILTF and the national associations. These evolved into the current regional associations:[9]

  Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) – 44 members

  Central American & Caribbean Tennis Confederation (COTECC) – 33 members

  Confederation of African Tennis (CAT) – 52 members

  Oceania Tennis Federation (OTF) – 20 members

  South America Tennis Confederation (COSAT) – 10 members

  Tennis Europe (TE) – 50 members

  ITF members with no regional affiliation (Canada and United States)

The ITF President and Board of Directors are elected every four years by the national associations. Candidates are nominated by the national associations, and may serve up to twelve years.[10]

Board of Directors (2015–2019)
Role	Board Member	National Association
President	David Haggerty	United States
Vice President	Katrina Adams	United States
	Anil Khanna	India
	Rene Stammbach	Switzerland
Board Members	Martin Corrie	Great Britain
	Sergio Elias	Chile
	Ismail El Shafei	Egypt
	Bernard Giudicelli	France
	Jack Graham	Canada
	Thomas Koenigsfeldt	Denmark
	Celia Patrick	New Zealand
	Aleksei Selivanenko	Russia
	Stefan Tzvetkov	Bulgaria
	Bulat Utemuratov	Kazakhstan
Athlete Board Members	Mary Pierce	France
	Mark Woodforde	Australia

The ITF operates the two major annual international team competitions in the sport, the Davis Cup[18] for men, the Fed Cup[19] for women. It also sanctions the Hopman Cup,[20] an annual mixed-gender team tournament. The ITF also organizes tennis and wheelchair tennis events every four years at the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games on behalf of the International Olympic Committee.

Vincent Richards, Bill Tilden and Bill Johnston at the 1922 Davis Cup

The Davis Cup, named after its founder Dwight F. Davis, is an annual team event organized by the ITF (since 1979 when it replaced the Committee of Davis Cup Nations as event organiser) [21] in men's tennis contested between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. The first Davis Cup took place in 1900, prior to the formation of the ITF. Since 1981, the tournament has been divided into a 16-nation World Group, and zone groups (Americas; Europe/Africa; and Asia/Oceania) which compete in three or four tiers.[22] Each year, successful teams are may be promoted up one level, while unsuccessful teams are relegated down one level. Davis Cup rounds are contested four times per year, scheduled to minimize disruption with the ATP Tour to encourage participation. In each round, a combination of singles and doubles matches are contested to determine the winners. In 2016, 135 nations participated, making it the largest annual international team competition in sport.[23]

Petra Kvitová, a member of the winning Czech Republic Fed Cup Team in 2011

The Fed Cup is an annual team event organized by the ITF in women's tennis, similar in format to the Davis Cup. It was launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ITF. Since 2005, the tournament has been divided into an eight-nation World Group, an eight-nation World Group II, and zone groups (Americas; Europe/Africa; and Asia/Oceania) which compete in two or three tiers.[24] Like the Davis Cup, the rules of promotion and relegation are almost the same each year, except that it contests World Group II, which does not exist in the Davis Cup. Fed Cup rounds are contested three times per year, scheduled to minimize disruption with the WTA Tour to encourage participation. In each round, a combination of singles and doubles matches are contested to determine the winners. In 2016, 102 nations participated, making it the largest annual international team competition in women's sport.[25]

The Hopman Cup is an annual team event which is contested by mixed-gender national teams. The first tournament was held in 1989, and the event has been sanctioned by the ITF since 1997.[26] The tournament is held over one week at the start of the tennis season (late December or early January) in Australia. Each year, eight nations are selected to compete, with one female and one male invited to attend. Two pools of four teams each play matches in a round-robin format, with the top team from each pool qualifying for the final.[27]

Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Tennis (lawn tennis) was part of the Summer Olympic Games program from the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics, but was dropped after the 1924 Summer Olympics due to disputes between the ITF and the International Olympic Committee over allowing amateur players to compete.[28][29] After two appearances as a demonstration sport in 1968 and 1984,[30] it returned as a full medal sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics and has been played at every edition of the Games since then.[31]

Wheelchair tennis was first contested at the Summer Paralympic Games as a demonstration sport in 1988, with two events being held (Men's and Women's Singles). It became an official medal-awarding sport in 1992 and has been competed at every Summer Paralympics since then. Four events were held from 1992 to 2000, with quad events (mixed gender) in both singles and doubles added in 2004.

The ITF sanctions the Grand Slam tennis tournaments as well as circuits which span age ranges (junior, professional, and seniors) as well as disciplines (wheelchair tennis; beach tennis). In addition to these circuits, the ITF also maintains rankings for juniors, seniors, wheelchair, and beach tennis.

The ITF organizes and sanctions the 'Official Tennis Championships of the International Tennis Federation', commonly known as the Grand Slam events: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.[32] It is a member of the Grand Slam Committee.[33]

The ITF organizes introductory ("apprentice" level) professional circuits for both men and women as a bridge between junior tournaments and playing on the higher-profile tours organized by the ATP and WTA, respectively. Professional circuit tournaments are open to all tennis players aged 14 and over based on merit, and offer both prize money and world ranking points for main draw match victories. The tournaments are owned or sanctioned by the national associations and approved by the ITF.[34]

Although circuits were introduced to men's tennis in 1976, the ITF assumed responsibility for developing them in 1990. From then until 2006, four-week satellite tournaments were run, where participants were required to compete in the entire series. In 1998, single-week ITF Futures tournaments were introduced, although they are scheduled in two or three-week geographic clusters.[35] As of 2016, over 600 ITF Futures tournaments in 77 countries were held, with prize funds ranging from USD 10,000 to USD 25,000.[36] ITF Futures tournaments represent the third tier of men's tournaments, below the mid-level ATP Challenger Tour and the top-level ATP World Tour.

The ITF assumed responsibility for an apprentice-level women's circuit in 1984.[37] As of 2016, the ITF women's circuit includes over 500 tournaments in 65 countries, with prize funds ranging from USD 10,000 to USD 100,000.[36] The ITF women's circuit is the third tier in women's tennis, below the mid-level WTA 125K series and the top-level WTA Tour.

Filip Peliwo, ITF Junior World Champion 2012, during the 2012 Junior US Open

Starting in 1977, the ITF has organized a series of international tennis tournaments for junior players.[38] Tournaments have various grades: Grade A (the highest; junior Grand Slams and some others), Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, and Grade 5 (the lowest). Depending on the grade of tournament, players earn points toward the ITF Junior World Rankings. In 2004, the ITF introduced combined junior rankings rather than maintaining separate singles and doubles rankings for juniors in an effort to encourage doubles play.[39] As of 2015, the junior circuit includes 400 tournaments in 121 countries, open to players who are between their 13th and 19th birthdays.

In order to help high-ranking junior girls transition from the junior circuit to the professional circuit, the ITF began the Girls Junior Exempt Project in 1997. Under this program, girls ranked in the top 10 at the end of the year are given direct entry into the main draw of three events on the ITF professional circuit the following year. In 2006, this project was extended for boys under similar rules.[40]

As of 2016, the ITF Seniors Circuit consists of over 380 tournaments in more than 72 countries. Tournaments are classified into various grades, with Grade A being the highest and Grade 5 being the lowest. Rankings are maintained in a series of age groups where the starting ages advance five years at a time (e.g. 35 years and older; 40 years and older) up to the 85 years and older group.[41] World championships began in 1981. In 1993, the world championships were divided into two age ranges, and in 2015 it was further divided into three age ranges. As of 2015, the ranges are Young Seniors (35 to 49); Seniors (50 to 64); and Super-Seniors (65 to 85).[42][43]

Aniek van Koot at the 2015 US Open

The first circuit for wheelchair tennis, formed in 1980 by the National Foundation of Wheelchair Tennis, had ten tournaments. Beginning in 1992, the Wheelchair Tennis Tour began with eleven events, organized by the International Wheelchair Tennis Federation (IWTF) which merged with the ITF six years later.[44] As of 2016, the wheelchair tennis circuit includes over 160 events in over 40 countries. This includes tournaments ranging from Futures (the lowest level) up to the Grand Slams.[45]

Beach tennis match

In 2008, the ITF assumed responsibility for the development of beach tennis and launched the Beach Tennis Tour (BTT). This tour started with 14 tournaments, but has grown to nearly 300 tournaments by 2015.[46] The most prestigious of these are the ITF Beach Tennis World Team Championship, ITF Beach Tennis World Championships, European Beach Tennis Championships, and the ITF Pan American Championships.[47] Like the other ITF circuits, tournaments are sanctioned by the ITF and primarily organized by national associations. The ITF also maintains a system of rankings for beach tennis players.[48]

The ITF designates a World Champion in several disciplines each year based on performances throughout the year, emphasizing the Grand Slam tournaments, and also considering team events such as the Davis Cup and Fed Cup. Singles champions were first named in 1978, and are chosen by an ITF panel. In later years, World Champion awards were added for doubles, juniors (using a combined singles and doubles ranking), and wheelchair players.[49]

Although the panel selections generally agree with the year-end ATP and WTA rankings, this is not always the case. For example, Jennifer Capriati was designated as the World Champion in 2001, after winning the Australian Open and French Open and finishing the year ranked number two. Lindsay Davenport, on the other hand, finished the year ranked number one, but her best performances at majors were two semifinal appearances.[50]

The Philippe Chatrier Award is an annual ITF award to recognise individuals or organisations who have made outstanding contributions to tennis globally, both on and off the court. The award, introduced in 1996, is considered to be the ITF's highest accolade and is named after the former French tennis player Philippe Chatrier, who was President of the governing body between 1977-1991.[51]

The ITF maintains rankings of nations in both women's[52] and men's[53] tennis based solely on recent performances in the Fed Cup and Davis Cup, respectively. These rankings are used to seed teams at the start of each year in their respective groups.

The women's and men's rankings are calculated using a similar method.[54][55] In both cases, a nation's points are a weighted sum of points earned over the past four years. Points are earned by victorious nations depending on the group (e.g. World Group versus Zonal Groups), the round (e.g. final versus first round), and the ranking of the opponent being played. For the men's ranking only, additional bonus points are awarded for winning on an opponent's home ground. Points earned in the last 12 months are weighted at 100%, but points earned two years (75%), three years (50%), and four years (25%) ago are weighted less.

The International Tennis Number (ITN)[56] is an international tennis rating system that gives tennis players a number that represents their general level of play. Players are rated from ITN 1 (ATP or WTA standard or equivalent) to 10 (starter players).

Conversion charts have been developed linking the ITN to other existing rating systems in ITF tennis nations and in time it is hoped that every tennis player worldwide will have a rating.

Below ITN 10 there are 3 further categories linked to the slower balls:

• 10.1 for players using green balls on the full-size court
• 10.2 for players using orange balls on the 18 metre court
• 10.3 for players using red balls on the 11 metre court

Once players can ‘serve, rally and score’ they should have a rating to help them find players of a similar level to play with.

In late 2004 the ITF initiated a new IPIN (International Player Identification Number) programme that requires all players who play in ITF Pro Circuit tournaments to register online.[57] The use of IPIN has since been extended to include the ITF Junior, Seniors, and Wheelchair Circuits. A player's IPIN, which is 3 letters followed by 7 numbers, is assigned upon registration and will not change during the course of his or her career. Once registered, players can use the IPIN website to enter and withdraw from ITF tournaments, access tournament information and updates, and see details relating to any code of conduct offenses.[58][59] Annual IPIN registration fees vary depending on the ITF circuit chosen by the player.