Who runs tennis: the ITF, the tours and the majors.

The world body: the ITF, now World Tennis

The International Tennis Federation sets the Rules of Tennis. Sportcal (16 October 2025) reports that it was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation, has been called the International Tennis Federation since 1977, and is based in London.

The founding itself is told two ways. The ITF's own history page, as summarised in search results (the page returned no text when opened), gives 1 March 1913 in Paris with 15 founding members. Wikipedia says 12 associations attended the first conference and three more asked to join.

The World Tennis name

Member nations voted at the ITF's annual general meeting in October 2025 to rebrand as World Tennis. Sportcal reported that the trading name would change from 1 January 2026, with the brand launched in phases in mid-2026, and the International Paralympic Committee reported on 26 June 2026 that the ITF had rebranded as World Tennis. Sportcal described a change of trading name only. The ITF Rules of Tennis 2026 still use the names International Tennis Federation and ITF Limited, and whether the legal entity's name changed was not confirmed. This site says both: the ITF, trading as World Tennis.

What it runs, and how big it says it is

• The national team events: the Davis Cup, the Billie Jean King Cup and the World Team Cup (IPC report, 26 June 2026).
• Wheelchair tennis classification, which the LTA's classification page says World Tennis runs and which is required for the World Tennis Wheelchair Tennis Tour.
• Members, as dated claims: 213 member national associations in October 2025 (Sportcal); 214 national associations in the IPC's June 2026 report; Olympedia also gives 214 as of January 2026.

Wikipedia and Olympedia name David Haggerty as president; that was not confirmed on an ITF page.

National bodies

United States: the USTA

The USTA's history page says it was founded in 1881 at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in Manhattan as the U.S. National Lawn Tennis Association, became the USLTA in 1920 and the USTA in 1975. It has 17 sections and owns and operates the US Open. Press sources, among them Tennis Majors (as summarised in search results), give the founding meeting as 21 May 1881; the USTA's own page gives only the year.

Great Britain: the LTA

The LTA says, in pages summarised in search results, that it has governed tennis in Great Britain since 1888, and that its Board sets strategy in consultation with a Council chaired by the President. Those LTA pages were not opened for this site. Wikipedia says the LTA covers Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, and that William Renshaw was its first president. The LTA is also padel's governing body in Britain; see padel bodies and tours.

The professional tours

Men: the ATP

The ATP describes itself as founded in 1972 as the men's players' association, and dates its first computer ranking to 23 August 1973. Until 1989 the men's circuit was run by the Men's International Professional Tennis Council, made up of ITF and player representatives. The ATP Tour, with players and tournaments sharing control, began in 1990 after a breakaway announced at the 1988 US Open. That account comes from Wikipedia and from ATP heritage articles as summarised in search results; the ATP heritage page was not opened.

Women: the WTA

The WTA's own 2023 article dates its founding to a meeting on 21 June 1973 at the Gloucester Hotel in London, in the week before Wimbledon, where Billie Jean King was elected its first president. How many players were there is told differently:

• The WTA says more than 50, and that the association had 64 members from 18 countries within weeks.
• An Associated Press account, as summarised in search results, says nearly 60.
• Another account, also seen only in search summaries, gives about 70.

The WTA's about page says the WTA Players Association merged with the Women's Tennis Council in 1995 to form the WTA Tour, and that the WTA today has about 1,600 athletes and events on six continents (an undated claim). The story of the Original 9 and the founding years is on the women in tennis page.

The four majors

The Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open act together as the Grand Slam Board for some rules; the 2022 final-set tie-break, described on the tennis page, was a Grand Slam Board decision approved as a trial through the ITF Rules of Tennis Committee. The USTA owns and runs the US Open. Each event's ownership beyond that is not covered here.

Integrity and anti-doping

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) manages and enforces the 2026 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme on behalf of the ATP, the WTA, the ITF and the Grand Slams, according to the ITIA. Details are on the anti-doping page.

Seasons and results

This page names who runs the game, not who is winning it. How each tour ranks its players is on the rankings explained page.