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All India Tennis Association (AITA).

Tennis in its present form was conceived in England in the 1870s. In the 1880s the British Army and Civilian Officers brought the game to India. Soon after, regular tournaments like 'Punjab Lawn tennis Championship' at Lahore (Now in Pakistan) (1885); 'Bengal Lawn Tennis Championship' at Calcutta (1887) and the All India Tennis Championships at Allahabad in (1910) were organized. Initially the Britishers like TD Berrington and LC Ogbourne won these championships, however Slowly Indians started picking up the game.

Mohd Saleem of Lahore won the Punjab Championship in 1915 and thereafter consecutively from 1919 to 1926. In 1917 NS Iyer lifted the Bengal Championship. In 1919 Mr. Nagu picked up the prestigious singles crown at the All India Tennis Championship at City's Gymkhana Club at Allahabad. Henceforth the Indians started playing the game with greater distinction. In March 1920 All India Lawn Tennis Association (AILTA) was formed at Lahore. At this meeting the constitution and by laws were framed on the lines of the constitution of Lawn Tennis Association of Britain.

In November 1920, the first AGM of AILTA was held at the Town Hall at Delhi. Samuel Perry O'Donnell, a British member of the Indian Civil Service (ICS) was elected as the first president. In this meeting it was decided to hold the annual 'All India National Championships' at Allahabad and to participate in Davis Cup competition. In its debut, Indian team consisting of SM Jacob, Mohd Saleem, LS Deane and AA Fayzee upset a stronger French team to reach the semi finals. With AITA at the helm of affairs, different Provinces formed Provincial Associations (now known as State Associations and were affiliated to parent organisation.

An Inter Provincial Tournament was organised with effect from 1922. Punjab LTA led by Mohd. Saleem became the first champions. This yearly competition continued till the eve of Second World War (1939). In Davis Cup ties between 1921 to 1929 India beat among others France, Romania, Holland, Belgium. Spain and Greece. Top Indians M. Sleem, Fayzee brothers AH Fayzee and AA Fayzee, Cotah Ramaswamy and Krishna Prasad beat a large number of ranked European players and teams and brought glory to the country.

In Wimbledon Indian participation dates back to the years of first Wimbledon, BK Nehru in 1905, and Sardar Nihal Singh in 1908 were later joined by M. Saleem, Fayzee brothers and Jagat Mohan Lal who made it to last 16 stages. AA Fayzee and M Saleem represented India in the 1924 Paris Olympics; Saleem reached the semi-finals in singles. India's repeated success at Davis Cup and some fine individual performances in Wimbledon earned the respect of leading tennis playing nations and put her on the world map by 1930's. Teams from Italy, France, Czechoslovakia, England and Yugoslavia visited India.

The most notable amongst foreign visitors in 1930's was the great American Bill Tilden - considered by many as the greatest ever in modern tennis, and Henry Cochet an all time great and one of the famous "Four Musketeers" of France. Ghouse Mohd. India's undisputed No.1 reached the quarterfinal at Wimbledon in 1939. After the War AILTA decided to conduct two tournaments at all India level one on Grass termed as National Championships of India and the other All India Hard Court Championships. The National Championships were open to foreigners. The Inaugural Grass Court National Championship was held at Calcutta’s South Club 'the cradle of the game in the country' in 1946.

The Big serving Sumant Misra became the first champion beating Man Mohan Lal. Till 1955 only three Indians, S. Misra (1946, 1952), Dilip Bose (1948) and Ramanathan Krishnan 16 yrs old (1953 won the championship. The Foreigners dominated the scene till 1976. The most important to bear the mantle were Roy Emerson (Australia) a Wimbledon and US Open Champion, and Ile Nastase World No. one (1973). India's Ramanathan Krishnan won the title a record number of eight times (1953-1964). Of the other eminent Indians Premjit Lal and Vijay Amritraj were Champions three times each while Jaidip Mukerjea and Ramesh Krishnan took the title twice each.

India had the honour of staging the first Asian International Championship in Calcutta in 1949-1950. Dilip Bose emerged as the first Asian Champion. He also has the distinction to be seeded at Wimbledon (15) in 1950. In 1954 the Young Ramanathan Krishnan became the first Junior Wimbledon Champion, the first Asian. 25 years later Ramesh Krishnan emulated his father in 1979. Leander Paes was the third Indian to grab the junior Wimbledon title in 1990. In 1960's Ramanathan Krishnan, Jaidip Mukerjea and Premjit Lal dominated the game. In 1962 Ramanathan Krishnan earned his highest seeding in Wimbledon (4).

In Davis cup, India repeatedly became the Zonal Champions and played the Inter - Zonal finals. History was made when Ramesh Krishnan along with Premjit Lal, SP Misra and Jaidip and RK Khanna as the non-playing Captain steered India to the Cup finals in 1966. They lost the Cup but not before R Krishnan and J Mukerjea beating New Combe and Tony Roche the Wimbledon Champions (1965) in doubles. Premjit Lal and Jaidip Mukerjea together held the National doubles and Asian doubles Championships four times each. In 1970's Vijay Amritraj came on the scene.

With teammates Shashi Menon, Jasjit Singh and brother Anand Amritraj, Vijay took India to World Cup Finals for the second time in 1974. India did not play South Africa in the Finals due to political reasons. Vijay made to quarterfinals in US Open in 1973 and 1981; and Wimbledon in 1973 and 1974. After Amritraj brothers Ramesh Krishnan appeared on the scene. He won junior Wimbledon championship and junior French title in 1979 and was ranked number 1 junior in the world. He made to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon (1986) as US Open (twice). He was instrumental in lifting India to the Davis Cup finals for the third time in 1987 by defeating a much more experienced Wally Masur of Australia in straight sets. India though lost to Sweden in the finals.

He retired in 1993. Leander Paes picked up the gauntlet of Indian Tennis by winning the Junior Wimbledon and US Open titles in 1990 - 1991 respectively. He has turned out to be an outstanding Davis Cupper. The Indian Davis Cup Team reached the qualifying round of the World group for the fourth consecutive year in 2003. Leander and Mahesh Bhupathi created history of sorts by reaching the 'Doubles Finals' of all the four Grand Slams in the World and winning the Wimbledon and US Open Doubles titles in 1999. They were declared as no. 1 ranked doubles pair in the world.

Till now i.e. June 2003 they have won for India nine Grand Slam Doubles and Mixed Doubles Titles. In 2002, U/14 boys and Girls and U/16 Girls teams reached within the first eight positions of the World Group. The AITA conceptualized and conducted ATF Asia Cup from 1997 to 2000. In the Asian Games at Busan Indian tennis players brought one Gold, one Silver and two Bronze Medals for the country. The concept of tennis underwent a change in 1968 with Wimbledon and other tournaments going professional with prize money for the players. AITA organised a few Grand Prix tournaments in the 1970`s, but they did not meet with much success as the prize money was too little due to lack of funds.

Around early 80s the name of the Association was changed to 'All India Tennis Association' (AITA). From the beginning of 1990's tennis in India has started getting a new look. The financial position of the Association has improved considerably. The Association constructed a full-fledged modern National Stadium at Delhi with a seating capacity of 5000 spectators in 1996. The Organisation, that was functioning from temporary and roving headquarters at Calcutta, Delhi and Madras till now was finally shifted to its permanent location at the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium in 1996.

While, the far-sighted Mr. RK Khanna and his team made the Association financially viable, the dynamic Mr. Anil Khanna and his colleagues under the President-ship of H'ble External Affairs Minister Sh. Yashwant Sinha are doing the necessary spadework to revamp the entire developmental processes and managerial skills to bring proficiency into every sphere of development. Generally the tennis scene is on the upswing.

The All India Tennis Association Presidents and Secretaries

ALL INDIA TENNIS ASSOCIATION (1920- 2004)
From	To	Hon.President	Hon.Secretary General
1920	1921	SP O'Donell	AC Gupta / GP Boys
1922	1924	NA	AC Gupta
1925	1926	COL BO Roe	AC Gupta
1927	1933	NA	SJ Mathews
1934	1935	AC Gupta	l Brook Edwards
1936	1938	Juvraj of Pithapuram	l Brook Edwards
1939	1940	Kumwar Dalip Singh	l Brook Edwards
1941	1945	NA	l Brook Edwards
1947	1948	Krishna Prasad	CS Adhar
1949	1952	Gen. K.M.Cariappa	CS Adhar
1953	1954	Rafi Ahmed Kadwai	CS Adhar
1955	1956	Rajkumari Amrit Kaur	N Krishnaswamy
1957	1958	Rajkumari Amrit Kaur	US Gupta
1958	1959	Rajkumari Amrit Kaur	S.L.R. Sawhney
1959	1963	S. Surjit Singh Majithia	Shamser Singh
1963	1966	M.A. Chidambram	Sumant Misra
1966	1967	G.V. Raja	RK Khanna
1967	1974	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed	RK Khanna
1974	1975	M.N. Berry	RK Khanna
1975	1976	M.N. Berry	Dr. G.A.Ranade
1976	1980	C Subramanium	Dilip Bose
1981	1984	K.K. Birla	Dilip Bose
1984	1988	Ramesh Mastrlal	PL Reddy
1988	1992	Kanwar Natwar Singh	RK Khanna
1992	1995	R.K. Khanna	Ramesh Desai
1995	2000	R.K. Khanna	Ramesh Desai
2000	2004	Yashwant Sinha	A.K. Khanna

Asian Tennis Association.

The Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) is a non-profit organization affiliated with the International Tennis Federation that is open to all national tennis associations in Asia. The ATF's objectives are to increase participation in, facilitate development of and raise the standard of Asian tennis. There are currently 44 member associations dedicated to the promotion of tennis in their respective countries. The ATF works closely with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and supports its member associations through the implementation of a wide range of programs.

Working closely with the ITF and member associations, the ATF organizes a number of regional and international tennis events, coaching certification courses, tennis officiating seminars, administrative workshops, junior development programs, traveling teams, a School Tennis Initiative and a number of other programs that are vital to the development and growth of tennis in the region.

Board of Directors.

Mr. Anil Kumar Khanna President

Ms. Sun Jinfang vice President (East Asia)

Mr. Suwat Liptapanlop vice President (South East Asia)

Mr. Syed Dilawar Abbas vice President (South Asia)

Sheikh Ahmad Al – Jaber Al Sabah vice President (West Asia)

Mr. Miradil Djalalov vice President (Central Asia)

Ms. Martina Widjaja vice President Professional Tennis Sponsorship Development

Mr. Chaiyapak Siriwat vice President Professional Marketing

Mr. Suresh Subramaniam Secretary General

Mr. Gilbert NG Mui Soon Treasurer

Md. Sanaul Haque Member

Mr. Massaru Uchiyamac Member

Mr. Chau-Fan Su (Philip SU) Member

American Tennis Association (ATA).

The American Tennis Association (ATA) is based in Culver City, California, and is the oldest African-American sports organization in the United States. The core of the ATA's modern mission continues to be promoting tennis as a sport for black people and developing junior tennis players, but the ATA welcomes people of all backgrounds. The ATA was founded in Washington, D.C. on November 30, 1916 by a group of African-American businessmen, college professors and physicians as the black equivalent to the whites-only United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA), later renamed the United States Tennis Association (USTA).

The American Tennis Association continued to be the primary governing body for African-American tennis in the United States until the desegregation of the USLTA in the 1950s, after Althea Gibson became the first African-American player to compete in the U.S. National Championships at Forest Hills, NY. The first ATA National Championships, which consisted of men's and women's singles and men's doubles, were held at Baltimore's Druid Hill Park in August of 1917. Every year in August, several thousand players now compete in more than 50 different events in various locations.

Formed in 1916 by a group of African American businessmen, college professors and physicians, the American Tennis Association (ATA) has become the Mecca for blacks - from all walks of life - who yearn to enjoy the camaraderie and competition offered by a sport for youngsters from age 8 to 80. Since its inception, the ATA, which is the oldest African American sports organization in the United States, has honored the founding fathers primary objectives: To bring black tennis enthusiasts and players into close and friendly relations, To improve the standards of existing clubs, To hold an annual national championship tournament.

To regulate the dates of local and regional tournaments to avoid conflicts, To appoint referees and officials for each event, and to promote the standard of the game among black players. The organization held its first ATA National Championships, consisting of three events (men's and women's singles and men's doubles), at Baltimore's Druid Hill Park in August 1917. In August 2005, several thousands players are expected to compete in more than 50 different events at the 89th annual ATA National Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Indeed, the ATA is the core of growing, African American big-bucks demographic that has helped turn the tennis industry into a multibillion dollar business.

The ATA has produced several of the world's top players and coaches. Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe, the first African Americans to be ranked No. 1 and to win Grand Slam titles, were sponsored and groomed by ATA officials and coaches. ATA coaches Willis Thomas and John Wilkerson developed several top pros, including (No. 4) Zina Garrison, (No. 9) Lori McNeil, (No. 56) Rodney Harmon and (No. 67) Katrina Adams. MaliVai Washington, Leslie Allen, Camille Benjamin, Chip Hooper, Renee Blount, Marcell Freeman, Bruce Foxworth, Juan Farrow are among other former ATA players who received computer rankings on the men's and women's pro circuits.

Though severely hampered by the nation's acceptance of policies and practices that denied blacks access to most United States Lawn Tennis Association events (USLTA) during that time, several black leaders were determined to cultivate an appreciation for 'the gentlemen's game' among people of color. They overcame by forming their own tennis circuit. The ATA was born when representatives from more than a dozen black tennis clubs met in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 30, 1916, Thanksgiving Day. Dr. Harry S. McCard, Dr. William H. Wright, Dr. B.M. Rhetta, Ralph Cook, Henry Freeman and Tally Holmes were among the ATA's founding fathers.

Holmes, of Washington, D.C., won the first two ATA men's singles titles. Knowing that large groups of blacks would not be accommodated at most hotels, especially in the south, the early ATA National Championships were held at various black colleges, including Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), Morehouse College, Central State and Lincoln University. These black campuses provided tennis courts and sufficient housing space. The college administrators were delighted to have so many prosperous and potential donors, affiliated with their campuses.

The ATA national soon became one of the most anticipated social events of the year in the black community. Formal dances, fashion shows and other activities were planned during the week of play. Today, similar social activities are planned at most ATA events. The first interracial match occurred in 1940 when Don Budge, who won the Grand Slam (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Nationals in same calendar year) in 1938, met ATA champion Jimmie McDaniel in an exhibition at New York's Cosmopolitan Club before 2,000 fans. Budge defeated McDaniel 6-1, 6-2, and afterwards commended McDaniel on his skills despite his error-filled performance.

"Jimmy is a very good player, I'd say he'd rank with the first 10 of our white players,'' Budge said. But the most significant breakthrough occurred in 1950 when Althea Gibson, who won a record 10 consecutive ATA singles titles, stepped across the racial divide to become the first black to compete in the U.S. Nationals. Several years later, Gibson won the first of five Grand Slam titles, capturing the French Open in 1956. She also won Wimbledon (1957-58) and the U.S. Nationals (1957-58). In 1968, Arthur Ashe, a three-time ATA champion (1960-62) captured the inaugural U.S. Open title, becoming the first black male to win a Grand Slam title.

Ashe also won the Australian Open (1970) and Wimbledon (1975). Dr. Robert Walter Johnson, Dr. Hubert Eaton and Bertram Baker were among the ATA officials who played key behind the scene roles in the success of Gibson and Ashe. Johnson, an ATA vice-president, organized and developed the first ATA Junior Development program. Eaton was a long-time ATA president and Baker was a long time ATA executive secretary.

The Gibson-Ashe legacy continues through today's black pros, including Venus and Serena Williams, Chanda Rubin, James Blake, Angela Haynes, Jamea Jackson and Donald Young. The Williams sisters, who already have 12 Grand Slam singles titles, frequently have said that they were inspired by Gibson, Ashe, Garrison and other former players.

Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association.

The Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association (ALTA) is a non-profit organization devoted to the development of tennis for recreation and physical fitness and is pledged to maintain the rules of play and high standard of sportsmanship. The primary function of ALTA is scheduling league play for adult teams and junior teams in the five-county metro area. A facility annexation program was developed in 1988 to include qualifying facilities in counties adjacent to the metro counties. ALTA is affiliated with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) through membership in the Southern Tennis Association (STA) and abides by the USTA rules of tennis and code of play.

Volunteer officers comprise the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee who in turn direct over 200 league coordinators and a paid office staff of seven people. ALTA publishes a bi-monthly magazine. The Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association was first registered with The United States Lawn Tennis Association in 1934. The purpose of the organization at that time was to promote tennis tournaments and junior tennis development in the Atlanta area. ALTA started league play in 1971 with less than 1,000 members.

It grew to almost 10,000 in 1975, 35,000 in 1982, over 51,000 in 1988 and 71,000 in 1992. Today ALTA has approximately 80,000 members. It has evolved from a small group of volunteers to a large non-profit corporation licensed by the State of Georgia and recognized by tennis players around the world. The ALTA Foundation, Inc., has been in existence since 1986. It was created by ALTA to promote health, character, sportsmanship, and responsible citizenship by using the game of tennis to support, not only amateur athletes, but programs for the disadvantaged, the physically and mentally challenged, and to provide inner-city youth new opportunities for the future.

The ALTA Foundation is dependent upon dedicated volunteers, most of who live within the 5 county metropolitan Atlanta areas. Through its various programs, the Foundation touches thousands of adults, juniors, and handicapped players in the Atlanta area, as well as nationally.

Chinese Tennis Association (ATA).

The Chinese Tennis Association (CTA) is the national governing body of tennis in China. It is a non-profit, non-governmental organization. It is a cooperative member of the All-China Sports Federation. The CTA is an independent legal person and it is recognized by China Olympic Committee. The CTA is the only legal organization that represents China in world tennis organizations, including the International Tennis Federation and Asian Tennis Federation. The CTA was founded in 1953.Its highest organ of power is the CTA National Congress, and the secretariat is in charge of the administration work.

There are nine special committees under the CTA.

1. Coaches Commission

2. Referees/Judges Commission

3. Junior and Youth Development Commission

4. Scientific Research Commission

5. Press and Publicity Commission

6. Marketing, Management and Development Commission

7. Professionalization and Specialization Commission

8. Amateur Activities Commission

9. Disciplines and Arbitration Commission

Croatian Tennis Association.

The Croatian Tennis Association is the governing body of tennis in Croatia. It organizes Croatia's teams in the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup. It also organizes and helps coordinate local tournaments and produces a national ranking list of players. The CTA was formed in 1990. However, the first tennis association in Croatia dates back to 1912. It is a member of the International Tennis Federation. The association's president is Radimir Cacic.

Cyprus Tennis Association.

The first courts were built at the Houses of the English Commissioners in the towns of Nicosia, Limassol and Paphos and later in Famagusta. Courts were also built in various English Clubs all around the island. Field Club”, the first tennis club in Cyprus was founded in the area of the Ledra Palace Hotel in Nicosia by Helen Jane Luxmore Jeffery, wife of the Director of Antiquities Department, George Jeffery. Tennis Clubs were later founded in the towns of Larnaca, Famagusta and Limassol.

Tennis was included as an official sport in the Panhellenic (National) Games held in Limassol. The Cyprus Tennis Federation was founded on 17/1/1951. Its first President was Mr. R. De Glanville (until 28/2/51) followed by Costas Stephani (until 9/4/51) and later by Mrs. H.G.Richards (until September 1951). Field Club” moved to its present location and four tennis courts and a Club-House were constructed. The official inauguration took place on 3/10/54 by the Governor of Cyprus and Lady Armitage in the presence of all officials of Cyprus.

Famagusta Tennis Club occupied by Turkey, still under occupation but fully operational in Limassol. Following the Turkish invasion in 1974, the town of Famagusta was bombed and its population was forced to abandon the area and become refugees in their own country together with other 200.000 Cypriots. Famagusta Tennis Club lost its installations and became the first refugee tennis club. Following admirable efforts and determination by the people of Famagusta and its Club Council, the Club became active again as a member of the CTF with 10 tennis courts in Limassol. The hope of returning to Famagusta remains alive.

The CTF became a full member of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the European Tennis Association (ETA) and the Cyprus Olympic Committee (COC). The first Davis Cup tie (Cyprus vs. Ireland) was held in Nicosia. It was the first appearance of Cypriot tennis players in this prestigious event with Ireland defeating Cyprus 4-1. For the first time, various rules and regulations in respect to the organization of tournaments, the National Teams, the Ranking System, the Registration and transfer of players, the Interclub Tournaments and the computerized ranking system were introduced by the CTF.

Cyprus participates in the Davis Cup every year since 1985. The biggest victory came in 1997 in the Euro-Africa Zone IV round-robin ties during which, Cyprus was declared Champion of its Group and was promoted to Zone III. Cyprus also participates in the Fed Cup, the ITF/ETA Development Championships, the European Junior Tournaments (-14, -16, -18), the Copa Del Sol and in a number of other international tournaments all around Europe. In addition to that, several International tournaments are organized in Cyprus every year, the most of important of which are the ITF Junior (-18)World Ranking Tournament (Group 4)“Aprodite Cup”, the ITF Men’s Future $10.000 and the Cyprus Seniors International Tournament.

At the National level, CTF organizes the National Championships, the Junior National, the Troodos Open, the Interclub Championship and the Pancyprian and Open Tournaments organized by the Full and Associated members of the CTF. Introduction of the “Mini-Tennis” in public schools CTF’s President Philios Christodoulou vision of a National Tennis Centre became a reality in the city of Nicosia. Four tennis courts with a total capacity of 2.000 spectators, a multipurpose indoor hall and a gymnastic centre comprise a modern tennis facility aimed to further promote tennis in Cyprus.

Also, ITF’s school tennis initiative, the Mini-Tennis was introduced in all major public elementary schools in Cyprus and tennis was included in the “Sports for All” programe of the Cyprus Sports Organization. Impressive tennis results by the junior champion Marcos Baghdatis. With the assistance of the ITF and the TE, the CTF formulated a medium-term 5-year strategic plan, the first to be conceived by a Cypriot sporting federation. Also, a Development Fund was set up by the CTF to support and reward the exceptional efforts and results by the country’s top junior players.

Marcos Baghdatis at age 15, won the ITF Group 4 “Aphrodite Cup” for juniors under 18 becoming the first Cypriot tennis junior to reach such an achievement. Baghdatis ended the year with a world junior under 18 ranking of 27 and an ATP ranking of 1200 following his impressive performance which resulted in reaching the quarterfinals of the Cyprus ITF Futures $10.000 championships. European Tennis Association’s (ETA) AGM in Cyprus Inauguration of the National Tennis Center in Nicosia The Cyprus Tennis Federation celebrates its Golden Jubillee Year (1951- 2001) The Annual General Meeting of the European Tennis Association (ETA) is held in Cyprus.

CTF’s President Philios Christodoulou vision of a National Tennis Centre (NTC) becomes a reality with the facility’s construction and inauguration. The NTC is based in the city of Nicosia and comprises of a modern tennis facility aimed to further promote tennis in Cyprus. It includes four clay courts with a total capacity of 2000 spectators, a multipurpose indoor hall and a fully equipped gymnastic centre. The inauguration festivities were impressive and included among other things, the unveiling of the “Tennis Player” statue and the opening of a photographic exhibition “50 years of Tennis in Cyprus”.

Our junior player Marcos Baghdatis won many top-rated tournaments and he ended the year 2002 as No.2 and from the beginning of 2003 is the No.1 of the ITF world junior ranking. Furthermore other junior players had excellent results. Baghdatis in September 2003 had an ATP ranking of 190. Marcos Baghdatis continued his excellent performance in 2004 and 2005. One of the most important successes in his career was his participation in the 2005 Olympic Games in Athens. He won in the first round the French player Garage (No. 75) while he lost to the German Nicholas Kiefer (No.18) 2-1 sets.

Regardless his defeat Marcos left the best impressions. After the Athens Olympic Games he participated in the US OPEN where he won all his qualification matches and then in main draw he competed against the French player Mutis and won with 3-1 sets. In the second round Marcos played against the World Champion Roger Federer and succeeded to gain one set. Although Marcos was defeated by Federer, the American Broadcasting channels were very impressed by his performance and assured that he is having a great future in tennis. In 2005 Marcos participated in the Australian Open.

After winning 3 matches in the qualies he competed successfully against the Italian Luzzi, the Croatian Ljubicic (No.22) and the Spanish Robredo (No. 13). His accession stopped only when he faced again the World Champion Roger Federer where he lost 3-0 sets. Marcos was also the winner of Future Tournaments in Bolton and Tatra Banka Open in Bratislava where he beat Dominik Hrbaty in the final. His best performance was in October 2005 when he took the 2nd place at the Basel Davidoff Swiss Indoors ($829,000) who lost to Fernando Gonzalez (ATP No. 11) in a dramatic match (3-1) sets.

Following three victories in qualification matches, Marcos beat Alan Mackin(GBR) 2-0 sets, Tommy Haas(GER) 2-0 sets, Jose Acasuso(ARG) 2-0 sets and David Nalbandian (AGR) ATP No.11 2-0 sets. The above victories brought Marcos in the 55th place of ATP Ranking. Another Cypriot player Phodos Kallias had in 2005 excellent results. He won the Elite Cup (F3) and the Stirol Cup (F1) both in Ukraine whilst he reached the semi finals in Poland Future Tournament.

The Profile Of The Cyprus Tennis Fedration.

1/3-8/4/51 K. Stefani

9/4-30/9/51 G. Richards

June 1953-July 1954 R. Scott

July 1954-February 1956 R. Scott

February 1956-March 1957 Lc. Col. Ricketts

March 1957-April 1959 M. Greham

April 1959-March 1961 A. McLaughlan

March 1961-July 1968 A. Lantsias

September 1968-March 1970 K. Ergatoudes

April 1970 – June 1972 Dr. G. Michaelides

July 1972 – March 1974 K. Ergatoudes

April 1974 – September 1976 T. Hadjioannou

October 1976-March 1980 Ch. Christofides

April 1980 – March 1982 A. Tryfon

April 1982 – today Ph. Christodoulou

European Tennis Association (ETA).

Tennis Europe, comprised of 49 European member nations, is the largest regional association of the sport's governing body, the International Tennis Federation. Based in Basel, Switzerland, the organisation takes an active role in all aspects of the European game, executing tasks delegated by the ITF, and also by organizing a number of competitions and events independently from the ITF, such as European Tennis Championships. In the early seventies, the game of tennis faced a period of transition and crisis.

Nowhere was this more pronounced than in Europe, where the tradition for the various national tennis federations to work independently had created an atmosphere in which, despite being the home of the major power houses in world tennis, the continent had very little voice and no united body to speak for it. The governing body of world tennis, the International Lawn Tennis Federation at this time had a rotating presidency, which alternated between officials of the home states of the four Grand Slams, Australia, France, Britain and the United States.

Around this time, Joseph Dunkel, the Secretary of the Luxembourg Tennis Federation, proposed the idea of regular meetings between the secretaries of the European nations, and a first meeting was arranged in Amsterdam (NED) in 1973, with the secretary of the ILTF, Basil Ray, in attendance. Many of the European nations were keen to progress the notion of uniting European tennis under one body. A concern for European tennis officials in the early seventies was the formation of the World Team tennis league in the USA.

The competition was proposed to take place between May and September each year, with a format of teams of three men and three women representing a city and playing home and away ties. Players were offered rewarding contracts and the new format was a popular idea. The fear in Europe was that the new competition would be successful to the detriment of the established ILTF/WCT circuit in Europe, and also to Davis Cup competition. With a keen eye on trans-Atlantic developments, the Swedish Tennis Association organized a meeting on December 14, 1973, in Hannover/Germany.

The aim was to discuss the situation with the major national associations in Europe and European Tournament organizers. The meeting, attended by 22 delegates from 11 European countries acknowledged the need to strengthen the co-operation and exchange of opinion and information between the European Associations and agreed to set up a European Working Group, composed of Paolo Angeli (ITA), Philippe Chatrier (FRA) (who was later replaced by Jack Chargelègue) (FRA), Mats Hasselquist (SWE) and Franz Feldbausch (GER), (later replaced by Horst Klosterkemper) (GER).

Thomas Hallberg (SWE) was appointed to act as Secretary. The European Working Group set itself the tasks of discussing all challenges relating to the development and organization of tennis in Europe, covering every aspect of the game, from juniors, ladies, veterans, calendars, training activities, and so on. One major initial project was to produce an inventory of all competitions in Europe and to include them in international calendars. As the logistical demands of the tasks facing them grew, the nations involved began to consider more seriously the establishment of a European Tennis Association.

By the end of 1974, the working group had produced some draft by-laws for such an organization. From this point progress was swift; the working group produced a detailed proposal, including location of offices, appointment of a General Secretary, budget, and so on, which was presented to a meeting with all European Nations, on May 31, 1975 in Rome.

European Tennis Association (ETA).

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the world governing body of tennis, one of the few truly global sports. The objective of the ITF is to further grow and develop the sport worldwide, to develop the game at all levels at all ages for both able-bodied and disabled men and women, to make, amend and uphold the rules of the game, to promote the International Team Championships and competitions of the ITF, to preserve the integrity and independence of tennis as a sport, and to perform all without discrimination on grounds of color, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, age, sex or religion.

The ITF has 205 member National Associations - more than most other international sporting federations. Member nations come from every continent, and each association is involved in organising tennis and promoting the interests of the game. More on the National Associations, including contact details, can be found in the National Associations section of the About the ITF web let. The ITF also has six Regional Associations based geographically, which work within their regions and continents to assist the development and co-ordination of tennis.

The need to establish an international tennis federation became obvious in 1911. By that time lawn tennis was beginning to develop rapidly worldwide and it seemed natural that National Tennis Associations already established should come together to form a liaison whereby the universal game would be uniformly structured. Credit for this concept is given to Mr Duane Williams (who sadly died on board Titanic before seeing his idea come to fruition).

Mr Charles Barde (Honorary Secretary of the Swiss Tennis Association) and Mr Henri Wallet (French Tennis Federation).Twelve National Associations attended a General Conference in Paris on 1 March 1913 at which the International Lawn Tennis Federation was founded.

The inaugural members were:

Australasia (Australia and New Zealand)

Austria

Belgium

Denmark

France

Germany

Great Britain

Netherlands

Russia

South Africa

Sweden

Switzerland

Spain (could not attend but sent their approval)

Seventeen months later the First World War broke out and upon resuming activities in 1919 only 10 countries were still members. However the ILTF recovered from the interruption of war, and events proceeded as follows: 1922 The International Rules Board was appointed by the Advisory Committee (Committee of Management) to overcome the problem of recognizing the ILTF had the exclusive right to alter and control the rules of the game. 16 March 1923 At the Annual General Meeting in Paris the official ILTF ‘Rules of Tennis’ were adopted with public effect from 1 January 1924.

The United States of America became an affiliated member of the Federation. The title World Championship was also dropped at this meeting but a new category of Official Championship was created for events in Great Britain, France, USA and Australia – today’s Grand Slam Events. 1924 The ILTF became the officially recognized organization with authority to control lawn tennis throughout the world. 1933 The Committee of Management took over from the Advisory Committee as the elected governing head of the ILTF.

1934 A specially convened committee was set up to discuss the differences between professionals and amateurs, and the ability for amateurs to claim expenses over eight weeks of the year. The regulations governing amateurism had been defined at the Annual General Meeting of the ILTF in 1920; they may be found by clicking on the PDF Link at the bottom of the page. 1939 The total number of affiliated countries had risen to 59. During the Second World War, because of the devaluation of the French Franc and the imminent invasion of Switzerland, the funds of the ILTF were transferred to Great Britain. From that time onwards the ILTF has been run from London.

5th July 1946 the first post-war meeting was held in London at the Savoy hotel. Twenty-three nations were represented with various nations being expelled from the ILTF in the aftermath of the war. Over the years the nations were reinstated but others came and went as global political issues rose and fell, such as East and West Germany, China and Taiwan, South Africa. 1948 saw the first report from the International Ball Committee set up to enquire into the standardization of Lawn Tennis Balls throughout the world. It was the Committee’s recommendation that “the ILTF should endeavor to procure an apparatus designed and constructed which will enable balls to be readily and accurately tested at speeds at which the game is played”.

1951 saw the relaxation of the eight-week rule (permitting an amateur to claim expenses for up to eight-weeks of the year) to 210 days to allow amateurs to claim expenses for competing in tournaments. By 1958 the ILTF was concerned that this relaxation of the rules was “encouraging players to concentrate on the game of tennis to the exclusion of all gainful occupation”. In 1963 on the 50th Anniversary of the ILTF, the Federation Cup competition was established as an international team championship for women to match the Davis Cup, the men's team competition that had been in existence since 1900, but not under the auspices of the ILTF.

30 March 1968 after ten years of division and struggle within the ILTF, at an emergency meeting in Paris, 47 countries agreed in principle to the issue of open tennis. A breakaway tennis circuit was organized called World Championship Tennis (WCT) running in opposition to the official ILTF circuit. The ILTF received sponsorship to organize Grand Prix tournaments allowing players to compete openly and legally for money. 1969 It was agreed that court measurements should be published with their metric equivalent.

1971 The ILTF decreed at the Annual General Meeting in Italy that no player contracted to play WCT could play in any event authorized by a National Tennis Association. This meant that John Newcombe could not defend his Wimbledon title that year. Eventually in March 1972 the WCT and ILTF joined forces to promote a unified circuit for the benefit of all players. In 1970 the first change in scoring came when an experiment was authorized to test the tie-break. It had been used in a United States Professional Championship in Philadelphia a few months before the experiment was given the go-ahead.

Later, In 1974 the tie-break was sanctioned as a permitted alternative to the scoring system, then in 1988 at the Annual General Meeting the ITF adopted the tie-break system for Davis Cup matches from 1989 onwards. In 1971 the Virginia Slims Tour was organized, providing a women-only circuit. This also caused confrontation between the Tour and the National Associations and the ILTF. However in 1973, after much discussion, peace was declared and the Virginia Slims Tour was ratified. 1972 As television coverage of tennis events grew, the use of yellow balls was allowed after a two year experimental period; white balls were the requirement up until this time.

1973 saw more disputes, this time between the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the ILTF because of the nine-month suspension imposed on Nikki Pilic the Yugoslavian over his non-appearance for his country in their Davis Cup match against New Zealand. The penalty was reduced to one-month following an emergency meeting but the ATP announced that their members would boycott Wimbledon to show their strength. Eighty players withdrew from the 1973 Wimbledon Championships.

The Grand Prix Committee was also formed in this year which became the Men’s International Professional Tennis Council (MIPTC) in 1975, providing a democratic governing body for men’s professional tennis. This organization consisted of nine members with three elected to the Council from each of the main sections of the game, the ILTF, the players and the tournaments. 1975 The Women’s International Professional Tennis Council (WIPTC) was formed and operated under a joint secretariat shared between the ILTF and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and has representatives from the tournaments and the sponsors.

The purpose of the Council was to promote, control and govern the organization and development of the women’s professional circuit throughout the world. 1975 also saw the birth of the Code of Conduct, as a method for controlling bad behavior in the men’s game. 1977 A sad moment in some people’s minds: 100 years after the start of the Wimbledon Championships the ILTF had a change of title, dropping the word “lawn” and becoming the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The ITF also started to monitor new concepts in stringing after complaints about a double-strung racket began to emerge.

1978 The first ITF World Champions were announced, Chris Evert and Bjorn Borg. They were chosen by two separate panels of former players. 1979 Davis Cup Nations asked the ITF to assume responsibility for the Davis Cup Competition, to organize and run the event. The Davis Cup competition had been in existence since 1900 but was not controlled by the ILTF, but rather by a Committee of Davis Cup Nations. Meanwhile Brad Parks and David Saltz founded the National Foundation of Wheelchair Tennis and in 1980 a circuit of ten tournaments was set up in the US which included the first US Open Championships.

1981 NEC became the title sponsor of the Davis Cup, enabling prize money to be given. The 16-strong World Group was also established. NEC also became the sponsor of the Federation Cup, until 1994. The Wheelchair Tennis Players Association (WTPA) was formed to represent the players. In 1987 The ITF moved from Wimbledon to Barons Court, West London just near the Queens Tennis Club. 1988 Tennis returned to the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea as a full medal sport after an absence of 64 years, in the year of the ITF's 75th anniversary and after diligent work by ITF President Philippe Chatrier and General Secretary David Gray.

The ITF adopted the two-bounce rule in the official Rules of Tennis for wheelchair players, thereby sanctioning the sport. 1994 Federation Cup rebranded as the Fed Cup. 1995 Home and away format introduced for Fed Cup. 1998 The ITF moved to its current premises at the Bank of England Sports Ground in Roehampton. 1999 Celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Davis Cup competition. 2001 A record 142 nations entered the Davis Cup. Wheelchair Tennis celebrated its 25th year of competitive tennis. 2002 BNP Paribas took over as title sponsor of the Davis Cup. 2003 The Fed Cup celebrates its 40th birthday.

Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors, a 12-strong committee chaired by the President, is elected every two years by the ITF's member National Associations at the Annual General Meeting. The President serves for a four-year term. The Board is composed of candidates nominated by National Associations from different parts of the world. In between General Meetings, the Board of Directors has the administrative power to implement the day-to-day management of the ITF, including managing and overseeing the ITF’s international competitions, as well as Rules, Regulations and Codes of Conduct.

In addition the Board administers the finances of the ITF, and appoints committees for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Finance, Junior Competitions, and ITF Rules, ITF Women’s Circuit, Olympics, Rules of Tennis, Wheelchair Tennis and seniors. The Board of Directors for the years 2007-09, elected at the 2007 AGM in Tunis, are:

Francesco Ricci Bitti - President (4-year term to last until 2010)

Juan Margets - Executive Vice President

Jan Carlzon

Miguel Carrizosa

Pierre Darmon

Ismail El Shafei

Anil Kumar Khanna

Franklin Johnson - Vice President

Geoff Pollard - Vice President

Alan G. Schwartz

Charles Trippe- Vice President

Christine Ungricht

Georg von Waldenfels

David Jude - Honorary Treasurer

International Tennis Hall of Fame.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame is a non-profit tennis hall of fame and museum at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. The International Tennis Hall of Fame is a non-profit institution dedicated to preserving the history of tennis, inspiring and encouraging junior tennis development, enshrining tennis heroes and heroines and providing a landmark for tennis enthusiasts worldwide.

History.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame is hosted by the Newport Casino. The complex was commissioned in 1880 by James Gordon Bennett, Jr. Legend states that Bennett placed a bet with his guest British Cavalry Officer, Captain Henry Augustus "Sugar" Candy that Candy would not ride his horse up onto the front porch of Newport's most exclusive men's club - The Reading Room. Candy won the bet, but the Governors of the Reading Room were not amused. Bennett and his infamous short temper did not take this kindly, and soon set about creating his own retreat, what would eventually become The Newport Casino.

The first half of the 20th century was unkind to the Newport Casino. The Gilded age drew to a close with the onset of the Depression, and the Newport fell by the wayside as a summer resort for the wealthy and powerful. The Casino struggled financially as a social club right from the start, and by the 1950s the Casino was in sad shape. Like many of the mansions, there was the very real possibility that it would be demolished to make way for more modern retail space. Tennis, however, would be its saving grace.

Having always had a sporting flair, the United State Lawn Tennis Association held their first championships at the Casino in 1881, an event that would continue through 1914. By this time, tennis was firmly entrenched as the key attraction at the Casino. Fortunately, Jimmy and Candy Van Alen stepped in, and by 1954 had established the Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum in the Newport Casino. The combination of prominent headliners at the tennis matches and the museum allowed the building to be saved. It stands today as one of the finest examples of Victorian Shingle Style architecture in the world.

The buildings are generally well preserved, except for the Casino Theatre which is in poor condition. The International Tennis Hall of Fame is founded in 1954 by James Van Alen as "a shrine to the ideals of the game", the International Tennis Hall of Fame is one of the largest and finest tennis museums in the world. The International Tennis Hall of Fame was officially sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association in 1954 and recognized by the International Tennis Federation in 1986. The first Hall of Fame members were inducted in 1955; as of 2007, there are 200 inductees from 18 countries.

The museum houses a vast collection of artifacts and memorabilia (including videos, photographs, audio recordings, tennis equipment and apparel, trophies, and art) highlighting the history of tennis from its origins up through the modern era.

Name	Nationality	Year inducted
Adams, Russ	United States	2007
Adee, George	United States	1964
Baker, Lawrence	United States	1975
Chatrier, Philippe	France	1992
Clerici, Gianni	Italy	2006
Collins, Bud	United States	1994
Cullman III, Joseph	United States	1990
Danzig, Allison	United States	1968
David, Herman	Great Britain	1998
Gray, David	Great Britain	1985
Griffin, Clarence	United States	1970
Gustav V of Sweden	Sweden	1980
Heldman, Gladys	United States	1979
Hester, William	United States	1981
Hunt, Lamar	United States	1993
Jones, Perry	United States	1970
Kelleher, Robert	United States	2000
Laney, Al	United States	1979
McCormack, Mark	United States	2008
Myrick, Julian	United States	1963
Nielsen, Arthur	United States	1971
Outerbridge, Mary	United States	1979
Scott, Eugene	United States	2008
Tinling, Ted	Great Britain	1986
Tobin, Brian	Australia	2003
Van Alen, James	United States	1965
Wingfield, Walter Clopton	Great Britain	1997

Lithuanian Tennis Association.

The Lithuanian Tennis Association (LTS) is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in Lithuania. LTS was created to standardize rules and regulations and to promote and develop the growth of tennis in Lithuania. The LTS includes 173 players including world number 476 Ricardas Berankis and has 47 coaches. The current president is Liutauras Radzevicius.

Australian Tennis Association.

Tennis Australia is the governing body for the sport of tennis in Australia. The organization exists to promote tennis and conduct domestic and international tournaments on behalf of Australia, including the Australian Open and the Davis Cup for the Australian Davis Cup Team. Tennis was established in Australia from around 1877, but it was not until 1904, in preparation for the Davis Cup, that the sport began to organize, with the founding of Tennis Australia's predecessor, the Australasian Lawn Tennis Association.

The organization is based in Melbourne, Victoria, at Melbourne Park. The origins of Tennis Australia date to 1904 when local players Norman Brookes and Alf Dunlop considered entering the newly formed Davis Cup. Before Australia could make a challenge it had to be represented by a national association. The Australasian Lawn Tennis Association was formed, embracing New Zealand interests, with three main functions: To organize the Davis Cup challenge To control interstate matches To run the first annual championships in Melbourne November, 1905.

To have the game of tennis clearly establish itself as the most popular sport and recreational activity in Australia and to ensure Australia has a pre-eminent position in world tennis. The mission is to grow, manage, promote and showcase the sport of tennis throughout Australia, recognizing the health, social, economic and entertainment benefits of sport, and tennis in particular, for people of both sexes, all ages and abilities.

Canada Tennis Association.

Tennis Canada is committed to development by stimulating participation and excellence in tennis. One of the largest and longest-operating national sport associations in the country, Tennis Canada was formed in 1890 and is a full member of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Tennis Canada operates under the auspices of Sport Canada, and is a member of the Canadian Olympic Association. The organizational membership is made up of 10 provincial associations, Participation Development partners in ‘Play Tennis,’ a community-based national initiative designed to promote participation at all levels of the sport.

Tennis Canada’s event management team is directly responsible for all national and international competitions in Canada, including junior, senior and wheelchair championships. The team also organizes the Rogers Cup tournaments, an ATP Masters Series event and a Sony Ericsson WTA Tier I competition. The success of the national and international competitions provides the necessary funds to develop tennis in Canada. Tennis Canada presents teams for international play in Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Junior Davis Cup, Junior Fed Cup, World Team Cup, the Olympics and Paralympics.

The national body also co-ordinates a myriad of programming and promotional initiatives aimed at stimulating participation and excellence in the sport. Tennis Canada is also responsible for the Tennis Canada Excellence Awards, the Distinguished Service Awards and the Hall of Fame of Canadian Tennis. In fulfilling its mandate, Tennis Canada aspires to be a leader in sport development and an exemplar of the highest social and personal values of sport.

Tennis Federation of Kosovo.

Tennis Federation of Kosovo is established in October 1996 in the city of Peja. Those times there were only five tennis clubs: T.C.”Prishtina”, T.C.”Peja”, T.C.”Mitrovica”, T.C.”Wimbledon” in Prizren and T.C.”Kodra e Diellit” in Prishtina. The number of players was symbolic and the interest for this game was very low. The history of tennis in Kosovo goes back just after the First World War. The first tennis court is build by the British near the led mine Trepca in northern Kosovo. It has served only for the managers, most of them British.

This court is now abandoned and covered by grass and mud, but reminds us of the first steps of tennis in this region. The first tennis players emerged in Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo. One of them, the young boy Arben Islami aged 13, in June 1985 was donated by his father with a wooden Dunlop tennis racquet. In that time, Kosovo didn’t have any tennis courts. Arben with some friends found one asphalt road near the National Library in Prishtina and drew the lines of one improvised small court.

He and his friends Milot and Burim began playing tennis without any previous experience. Their coaches were Lendl, McEnroe and Mats Willander, whom Arben and friends used to watch on TV. Since then, tennis has advanced, the number of clubs has risen to nine, the number of players has increased, but all this is achieved thanks to enthusiasts from all clubs of Kosovo, whereas the contribution of government was minimal. At the moment the Federation consists of nine clubs. The total number of courts is 15. Twelve asphalt, two clay and one of artificial grass. There are no indoor courts.

The total number of players is: Juniors: around 200 Seniors: around 100 Girls: around 80 Veterans: around 100 There are 20 teachers, six of them certified with Professional Tennis Registry diploma and around 15 referees. Tennis Federation of Kosovo is not the member of ITF because the Kosovo Olympic Committee is not recognized by IOC. Despite all these banes, Kosovor tennis players are taking part in various tournaments abroad, mostly in the neighboring countries of the region. Our wish is to become the member of ITF as soon as possible.

Tennis Federation of Montenegro.

Tennis of Montenegro (TSCG) is the governing body of tennis in Montenegro. It is based in Podgorica and its current president is Petar Ivanovic. It also organizes the Montenegrin Davis Cup team and the Montenegrin Fed Cup team. The federation was formed on 18 November 1976/1978 in Cetinje. It became a member of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) on 24 August 2006.

Women Tennis Association.

The Women's Tennis Association, formed in 1973, is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. It organizes the WTA Tour, the worldwide professional tennis tour for women, which has for sponsorship reasons been known since 2005 as The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the ATP. The Women's Tennis Association can trace its origins back to Houston, Texas when the inaugural Virginia Slims event was won on 23 September, 1970. Billie Jean King was a major figure in the early days of the WTA.

History.

The predecessor of the WTA Tour, the Virginia Slims Circuit, was formed in September 1970, after nine tennis players, led by Billie Jean King, signed $1 contracts with Gladys Heldman of World Tennis publications. The other eight players who pledged to compete were Rosie Casals, Nancy Richey, Kerry Melville, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kristy Pigeon, Judy Dalton, Valerie Ziegenfuss, and Julie Heldman.

Gladys Heldman, and a team that included associates of hers such as Joe Cullman and Philip Morris, helped provide the foundation for what was the first women's professional tennis circuit. Morris's cigarette brand, Virginia Slims, provided financial backing, and on September 23, 1970, the inaugral Virginia Slims of Houston was held, paving the way for many others of its kind. The circuit was comprised of 19 tournaments, all based in the United States (one in Puerto Rico), and there was a total prize money of $309,100 on offer.

The formation of the Virginia Slims Circuit can be ascribed in part to the changes that tennis was undergoing at the time, and the way in which prize monies were distributed. In the two years since the beginning of the open era, a large number of male players began playing professionally, and the tournaments that they competed in, often combined events, attracted increased investment. As a result of this, the International Lawn Tennis Association began dropping several women's competitions from the tournaments it presided over:

In 1970, it sanctioned 15 tournaments that had previously been combined events, as being for men only. The WTA attributes a large part of its development to a meeting held the week before the 1973 Wimbledon Championships. The meeting, held at Gloucester Hotel in London, united all of women's professional tennis in one tour. King was the founder of this new institution. After this King, a mutiple Grand Slam champion, began to pursue other ventures such as Women's Sports Foundation, a charitable organization that she founded in 1974 with her husband Larry King, and Jim Jorgensen.[4] In 1975, the WTA increased its financial stature by signing a television broadcast contract with CBS, the first in the Association's history.

Further financial developments ensued: in 1976, Colgate assumed sponsorship of the Tour from April to November, and in 1979, Avon replaced Virginia Slims as the sponsor of the winter circuit, and in its first year offered the largest prize fund for a single tournament, $100,000 for the WTA Tour Championships, in the Tour's history. The Colgate Series, renamed the Toyota Series in 1981, included tournaments from the across the world, whereas the Avon sponsored events took place solely in the US.

The two circuits were merged in the 1983 season, when Virginia Slims returned to take full sponsorship rights of the Tour; every tournament under the administration of the WTA now became part of the Virginia Slims World Championships Series. The Tour continued to expand during these years. By 1980, over 250 women were playing professionally, and the Tour consisted of 47 global events, offering a total of $7.2 m in prize money. These increased financial opportunities allowed for groundbreaking developments not only in tennis.

But across women's sports: in 1971, King became the first female athlete to surpass $100,000 in earnings for a single season; Chris Evert became the first female athlete to win over $1,000,000 in career earnings in 1976; and Martina Navratilova became the first to win over $1,000,000 in a single season in 1982. Navratilova's single season earnings exceeded $2 m in 1984; in 1997, Martina Hingis became the first to earn over $3 m over the course of season; in 2003, Kim Clijsters surpassed $4 m for a season; and in the 2007 season, Justine Henin earned over $5 m, becoming the first woman in sports to do this. Henin retired in 2008, becoming the first incumbent World No. 1 in the WTA rankings to do so.

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