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Wheelchair Tennis Masters

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The Association of Tennis Professionals ( ATP ) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour , the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Champions Tour . It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell , Jack Kramer , and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of professional tennis players , and Drysdale became the first president. Since 1990 the association has organized the ATP Tour, the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the organization's name. It is the governing body of men's professional tennis. In 1990 the organization was called the ATP Tour, which was renamed in 2001 as just ATP and the tour being called ATP Tour. In 2009 the name of the tour was changed again and was known as the ATP World Tour, but changed again to the ATP Tour by 2019. It is an evolution of the tour competitions previously known as Grand Prix tennis tournaments and World Championship Tennis (WCT). The ATP's global headquarters are in London . ATP Americas is based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida ; ATP Europe is headquartered in Monaco ; and ATP International, which covers Africa, Asia and Australasia, is based in Sydney , Australia .

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77-583: The Wheelchair Tennis Masters refers to a pair of end of year tennis events for wheelchair athletes held on an annual basis under the jurisdiction of the International Tennis Federation . The Wheelchair Tennis Masters for singles is an end-of-year wheelchair tennis tournament, broadly analogous to the ATP Tour and WTA Championship finals. Initiated in 1994 for men and women's singles, and 2004 for quad players (quad tennis being

154-652: A round-robin format, with the top team from each pool qualifying for the final. 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. After two appearances as a demonstration sport in 1968 and 1984, it returned as

231-611: A drug-testing program. In May 1973 Nikola Pilić , Yugoslavia's number one tennis player, was suspended by his national lawn tennis association, who claimed he had refused to play in a Davis Cup tie for his country earlier that month. The initial suspension of nine months, supported by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) , was later reduced by the ILTF to one month which meant that Pilic would not be allowed to play at Wimbledon. In response,

308-652: A full medal sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics and has been played at every edition of the Games since then. 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

385-870: A level below the ATP Tour, and the ATP Champions Tour for seniors. Grand Slam tournaments, a small portion of the Olympic tennis tournament , the Davis Cup , the Hopman Cup and the introductory level Futures tournaments do not fall under the auspices of the ATP, but are overseen by the ITF instead and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the Olympics. In these events, however, ATP ranking points are still awarded, with

462-616: A mixed gender sport) both genders compete at the same event. The top eight players (men and women), and the top six quad players, are invited to the Masters. The ranking is based on their ranking after the US Open is played. The round robin format is comparable to that which operates at the ATP World Tour Finals and WTA Championships . The Masters is described as the official ITF year-end singles championship. Separately,

539-517: 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: Once players can ‘serve, rally and score’ they should have

616-411: A range of team and individual singles, doubles and mixed doubles events for each five-year age increment from 30+ to 90+. The ITF World Tennis Masters Tour Circuit has over 380 tournaments in more than 72 countries. There are six (6) tournament grades. The entry level tournament grade is MT100, followed by MT200, MT400, MT700, MT1000 and World Championships. MT700, MT1000 and World Championships are amongst

693-537: 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. 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,

770-528: A similar manner as those of the Davis Cup, with pool play followed by knockout semifinals and finals. The winner and runner-up of the Finals automatically qualify for the next season's Finals. Teams ranked 3–10 advance to the next season's Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers, where they play against the winners of the previous season's Billie Jean King Cup Play-offs. The play-offs in turn involve the losing teams from

847-526: A system of rankings for beach tennis players. 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. In later years, World Champion awards were added for doubles, juniors (using a combined singles and doubles ranking), and wheelchair players. Although

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924-436: A total of 11 titles. http://www.itftennis.com/wheelchair/ International Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation ( ITF ) is the governing body of world tennis , wheelchair tennis , and beach tennis . It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations . As of 2016, there are 211 national and six regional associations that make up

1001-472: A total of up to 500 points. Players accumulate points over the four rounds and the playoffs and these are counted as one of a player's four best results from the 500 level events. An additional 125 points are given to a player who wins all 8 live rubbers and wins the Davis Cup. The ATP Tour comprises ATP Masters 1000 , ATP 500 , and ATP 250 . The ATP also oversees the ATP Challenger Tour ,

1078-650: Is a joint initiative of the primary governing bodies in tennis: the ITF, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and the Grand Slam Board. Formed in 2008 in response to betting-related corruption challenges, the TIU's mandate is to protect tennis from "all forms of betting-related corrupt practices". As with the anti-doping efforts, national associations are charged with

1155-479: 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 and 1991. The ITF maintains rankings of nations in both women's and men's tennis based solely on recent performances in

1232-581: 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. Annual IPIN registration fees vary depending on the ITF circuit chosen by the player. The ITF administers the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP) on behalf of

1309-651: Is generally recognized as the initiator and driving force behind the foundation of the International Tennis Federation. He died in the sinking of the RMS ; Titanic . Originally called the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) it held its inaugural conference at the headquarters of the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA), in Paris, France on 1 March 1913 which

1386-533: Is still in use. From 1974 to 1989, the men's circuit was administered by a sub-committee called the Men's International Professional Tennis Council (MIPTC) . It was made up of representatives of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the ATP, and tournament directors from around the world. The ATP successfully requested that the MIPTC introduce a drug testing rule, making tennis the first professional sport to institute

1463-457: The ATP Tour to encourage participation. In each round, a combination of singles and doubles matches are contested to determine the winners. In 2020, 142 nations participated, making it the largest annual international team competition in sport. The Billie Jean King 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 as

1540-759: The Davis Cup , the Billie Jean King Cup , and the ATP Cup , and suspended the Russian Tennis Federation . However, the ATP and the WTA refused to yield to international pressure to ban individual players from competition. Russian players will carry on, but not play under the Russian national flag. Its official annual is The ITF Year , describing the activities of the ITF over the last 12 months. This replaced World of Tennis , which

1617-842: The Grand Slam events: the Australian Open , the French Open , Wimbledon , and the US Open . It is a member of the Grand Slam Committee. 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

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1694-877: The Indoor Sport Centre in Eindhoven , Netherlands. From 2000 until 2005 the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters took place in Amersfoort , Netherlands. From 2006 through 2010, the singles tournament took place in the Frans Otten Stadium in Amsterdam . The tournament was renamed the NEC Singles Masters in 2010, and moved to Mechelen , Belgium from 2011 to 2012. In 2013, the NEC Singles Masters took place at

1771-462: The International Olympic Committee . 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) 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 2019,

1848-575: The Paris Masters will qualify for the ATP Finals . At the beginning of the 2009 season, all accumulated ranking points were doubled to bring them in line with the new tournament ranking system. [ vedit   · edit source ] [ vedit   · edit source ] As of January 1, 2020, Andrea Gaudenzi is the Chairman of ATP and Massimo Calvelli is

1925-556: The Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games on behalf of the International Olympic Committee . The ITF sanctions circuits that span age ranges ( junior , professional men and women , 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. Duane Williams , an American who lived in Switzerland,

2002-532: The Tennis Masters Series tournaments became the new Masters 1000 level and ATP International Series Gold and ATP International Series events became ATP 500 level and 250 level events respectively. The Masters 1000 tournaments are Indian Wells , Miami , Monte Carlo , Madrid , Rome , Toronto/Montreal , Cincinnati , Shanghai and Paris . The end-of-year event, the ATP Finals , moved from Shanghai to London. Hamburg has been displaced by

2079-482: The Wheelchair Tennis Masters for doubles performs a similar function for men's, women's and quad doubles players. Initiated in 2000 (2003 for quad players), each year the top eight men’s pairings, top six women's pairings and top four quad pairings are accepted into the draw in which all three events follow a round-robin format. From 1994 until 1999 the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters took place in

2156-623: The World Hard Court Championships until 1916 and additionally a World Covered Court Championships was founded. The USLTA joined in 1923 on the basis of two compromises: the title 'World Championships' would be abolished, and wording would be 'for ever in the English language'. The World Championships were replaced by a new category of Official Championships for the main tournaments in Australia, France, England, and

2233-516: The 85 years and older group. 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). The first circuit for wheelchair tennis , formed in 1980 by the National Foundation of Wheelchair Tennis , had ten tournaments. Beginning in 1992,

2310-537: The ATP published the calendar for the inaugural 1990 season. By 1991, the men had their first television package to broadcast 19 tournaments. Coming online with their first website in 1995, this was followed by a multi-year agreement with Mercedes-Benz. Lawsuits in 2008, around virtually the same issues, resulted in a restructured tour. In 2009, ATP introduced a new tour structure called ATP World Tour consisting of ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP World Tour 500, and ATP World Tour 250 tier tournaments. Broadly speaking,

2387-421: The ATP threatened a boycott, stating that if Pilić was not allowed to compete, none should. After last-ditch attempts at a compromise failed, the ATP voted in favor of a boycott and as a result, 81 of the top players, including reigning champion Stan Smith and 13 of the 16 men's seeds, did not compete at the 1973 Wimbledon Championships . Three ATP players, Ilie Năstase , Roger Taylor and Ray Keldie , defied

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2464-480: The ATP's decision would send the "completely wrong message to both Putin and the people of Ukraine". CEO Hamilton Jordan is credited with the "Parking Lot Press Conference" on 26 August 1988 during which the ATP announced their withdrawal from the MIPTC (then called the MTC) and the creation of their own tour from 1990 onwards. This re-organisation also ended a lawsuit with Volvo and Donald Dell . On 19 January 1989

2541-709: The ATP, and as a concession it was decided that Monte Carlo would remain a Masters 1000 level event, with more prize money and 1000 ranking points, but it would no longer be a compulsory tournament for top-ranked players. Monte Carlo later dropped its suit. Hamburg was "reserved" to become a 500 level event in the summer. Hamburg did not accept this concession, but later lost its suit. The 500 level tournaments are Rotterdam , Dubai , Rio , Acapulco , Barcelona , Aegon Championships (Queens Club, London), Halle (Gerry Weber Open), Hamburg , Washington , Beijing , Tokyo , Basel and Vienna . The ATP & ITF have declared that Davis Cup World Group and World Group Playoffs award

2618-515: The Bank of England Sports Ground, Roehampton , its current base of operations. In 1977 the word 'Lawn' was dropped from the name of the organization, in recognition of the fact that most tennis events were no longer played on grass . In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the ITF cancelled all events in Russia. The ITF also excluded Russia from international team events, which include

2695-705: The Beach Tennis Tour (BTT). This tour started with 14 tournaments, but has grown to nearly 300 tournaments by 2015. 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. Like the other ITF circuits, tournaments are sanctioned by the ITF and primarily organized by national associations. The ITF also maintains

2772-489: The Billie Jean King 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. 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),

2849-769: The Board of Directors, which has the power to accept or reject the council's suggestions. As of 2024, the Council consists of a President ( Matthew Ebden ), a Vice President ( Andrey Rublev ), three players who are ranked within the top 50 in singles ( Grigor Dimitrov , Alexander Zverev and Mackenzie McDonald ), two players who are ranked between 51 and 100 in singles ( Pedro Martínez and Dušan Lajović ), two top 100 players in doubles ( Wesley Koolhof and Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela ), one at-large member ( Pedro Cachin ), one alumni member ( Nicolás Pereira ), and one coach (Federico Ricci). The ATP Tournament Advisory Council consists of

2926-434: The Davis Cup introduced a new format for its top level. The World Group was expanded to two levels, World Group I and World Group II, each consisting of 24 teams (reducing to 16 from 2022), with lower levels remaining intact. 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

3003-582: The Federation Cup to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ITF, renamed the Fed Cup in 1995, and renamed again to honor tennis great Billie Jean King in 2020. The current format, adopted in 2020, is similar to that now used for the Davis Cup, with nations being divided into zone groups (Americas; Europe/Africa; and Asia/Oceania) which compete in two or three tiers, with the top tier being the 12-team Billie Jean King Cup Finals. The Finals are conducted in

3080-416: 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

3157-571: 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. The ITF World Tennis Masters Tour was renamed in August 2022 (previously ITF Seniors Tour). The ITF World Tennis Masters Tour provides

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3234-404: The ITF introduced combined junior rankings rather than maintaining separate singles and doubles rankings for juniors in an effort to encourage doubles play. 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,

3311-589: The ITF's membership. The ITF's governance responsibilities include maintaining and enforcing the rules of tennis, regulating international team competitions, promoting the game, and preserving the sport's integrity via anti-doping and anti-corruption programs. The ITF partners with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) to govern professional tennis. The ITF organizes annual team competitions for men ( Davis Cup ), women ( Billie Jean King Cup ), and mixed teams ( Hopman Cup ), as well as tennis and wheelchair tennis events at

3388-693: The Israeli national tennis team and the Belgian national tennis team was scheduled in Antwerp for 14 September 2013. Because the match was scheduled for Yom Kippur , the Israeli team requested to postpone the match by one day. The Belgian national tennis team declined to postpone the game. The International Tennis Federation intervened and postponed the match by one day. It also fined the Israel Tennis Association more than $ 13,000 for

3465-783: The Marguerite Tennis Pavilion in Mission Viejo , California . From 2014 to 2016 the NEC Singles Masters were held in London, UK, while in 2017 the tournament moved to Loughborough, UK. From 2018 the Masters is held in Orlando, Florida. Esther Vergeer holds the record, having won 14 titles between 1998 and 2011, followed by David Wagner with 11. From 2000 until 2001 the Wheelchair Tennis Doubles Masters took place alongside

3542-559: The Qualifiers and winning teams from the top-level zone groups. Like the Davis Cup, the rules of promotion and relegation are almost the same each year. Billie Jean King 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 2020, 116 nations participated, making it

3619-611: The TADP will also be transferred over to the ITIA. Tunisian player Malek Jaziri and Israeli player Amir Weintraub were scheduled to play each other at the 2013 Tashkent Challenger in October 2013, however Jaziri withdrew from the competition. According to Jaziri's brother, Jaziri had been ordered to withdraw from the competition. The Association of Tennis Professionals investigated and found that Jaziri had done nothing wrong and that

3696-605: The Tunisian Tennis Federation's interference with the game had constituted a breach of the ITF Constitution. Consequently, Tunisia was suspended from the 2014 Davis Cup competition. ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti said, "There is no room for prejudice of any kind in sport or in society. The ITF Board decided to send a strong message to the Tunisian Tennis Federation that this kind of action will not be tolerated." A Davis Cup game between

3773-590: The United States; now known as the four Majors or Grand Slam events. In 1924, the ILTF became the officially recognised organisation with authority to control lawn tennis throughout the world, with official ILTF Rules of Tennis . In 1939 the ILTF had 59 member nations. Its funds were moved to London, England during World War II and from that time onward the ITF has been run from there. It was based at Wimbledon until 1987, when it moved to Barons Court , next door to Queen's Club . It then moved again in 1998 to

3850-669: The Wheelchair Tennis Tour began with eleven events, organized by the International Wheelchair Tennis Federation (IWTF) which merged with the ITF six years later. 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. In 2008, the ITF assumed responsibility for the development of beach tennis and launched

3927-425: The aim to decrease the gap between the ILTF and the national associations. These evolved into the current regional associations: 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. The following people have served as president of the ITF: The ITF is the world governing body for

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4004-485: The board of directors. The Rules of Tennis encompass the manner of play and scoring, in-game coaching, and the technical specifications of equipment (e.g. ball, racket, net, court) and other technology (e.g. player analysis technology). The Rules cover tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. Through the Tennis Anti-Doping Program , the ITF implements the World Anti-Doping Code (from the World Anti-Doping Agency , or WADA) for tennis. National associations must implement

4081-460: The boycott and were fined by the ATP's disciplinary committee. But the tour was still run by the tournament directors and the ITF. The limited player representation and influence within the Men's International Professional Tennis Council (MIPTC) as well as dissatisfaction with the way the sport was managed and marketed culminated in a player mutiny in 1988 led by active tennis pros, including then world number one ranked Mats Wilander which changed

4158-487: The chief executive officer. Mark Young is the Vice Chairman, David Massey is the Executive Vice President for the European region and Alison Lee for the International group. The ATP Board of Directors includes the chairman, along with three tournament representatives and three player representatives. The player representatives are elected by the ATP Player Council. The current board members are: The twelve-member ATP Player Advisory Council delivers advisory decisions to

4235-569: The code within its national jurisdiction, report violations up to the ITF and WADA, and report annually about all testing conducted. The Tennis Anti-Doping Program began in 1993, and applies to all players who play in ITF-sanctioned competitions, as well as tournaments on the ATP Tour and WTA Tour . In 2015, 2514 samples were collected from men and 1919 samples were collected from women; 2256 samples were collected during tennis tournaments ("in-competition") and 2177 were collected at other times ("out-of-competition"). The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU)

4312-425: The elite tournaments on the World Tour attracting some of the very best tennis players globally including but not limited to former ATP players. Previously, tournaments were classified into various grades, with Grade A being the highest and Grade 5 being the lowest. Rankings were 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

4389-450: The entire structure of the tour. In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) moved the 2022 St. Petersburg Open from Saint Petersburg to Kazakhstan . In May 2022, the ATP stripped the Wimbledon tournament of its world ranking points over the tournament's decision to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players . The UK Culture Secretary , Nadine Dorries , commented that

4466-481: The exception of the Olympics and Hopman Cup. The four-week ITF Satellite tournaments were discontinued in 2007. Players and doubles teams with the most ranking points (collected during the calendar year) play in the season-ending ATP Finals , which, from 2000 to 2008, was run jointly with the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The details of the professional tennis tour are: ATP publishes weekly rankings of professional players: ATP rankings (commonly known as

4543-421: The exception of those for the ATP Finals , whose points are dropped following the last ATP event of the year. The player with the most points by the season's end is the world No. 1 of the year. The ATP rankings Race to Turin is a calendar-year indicator of what the PIF ATP Rankings will be on the Monday after the end of the regular season. Players finishing in the top eight of the Emirates ATP Rankings following

4620-399: The inconvenience of rescheduling. Sources Association of Tennis Professionals Launched in 1972 by Jack Kramer , Donald Dell , and Cliff Drysdale , it was first managed by Jack Kramer , as executive director, and Cliff Drysdale , as president. Jim McManus was a founding member. Kramer created the professional players' rankings system , which started the following year and

4697-520: The largest annual international team competition in women's sport. 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. 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

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4774-432: The mid-level WTA 125 tournaments and the top-level WTA Tour . Starting in 1977, the ITF has organized a series of international tennis tournaments for junior players. 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,

4851-598: The national associations and approved by the ITF. 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. As of 2016, over 600 ITF Futures tournaments in 77 countries were held, with prize funds ranging from US$ 10,000 to US$ 25,000. ITF Futures tournaments represent

4928-461: The new clay court event at Madrid, which is a new combined men's and women's tournament. In 2011, Rome and Cincinnati also became combined tournaments. Severe sanctions are placed on top players skipping the Masters 1000 series events, unless medical proof is presented. Plans to eliminate Monte Carlo and Hamburg as Masters Series events led to controversy and protests from players as well as organisers. Hamburg and Monte Carlo filed lawsuits against

5005-436: The perceived importance of the individual countries, with Great Britain's Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) receiving the maximum six votes. The LTA was given the perpetual right to organize the World Grass Championships , which led to a refusal by the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) to join the ILTF as they were of the opinion that this title should be given to the Davis Cup . France received permission to stage

5082-443: The responsibility of enforcing a code of conduct and reporting any violations. The ITF operates the two major annual international team competitions in the sport, the Davis Cup for men and the Billie Jean King Cup for women. It also sanctions the Hopman Cup , 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

5159-460: 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) is an international tennis rating system that gives tennis players

5236-469: The selection of World Champions 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. The Philippe Chatrier Award

5313-417: The singles event in Amersfoort . From 2002 until 2003 the Wheelchair Tennis Doubles Masters took place at the Invacare World Team Cup by Camozzi in Tremosine , Italy. From 2003 until 2004 the Camozzi company became sponsor of this tournament and it took place in Brescia , Italy. Since 2005 the event took place in the Centro Sportivo Mario Mongodi close to Bergamo , Italy. In 2011 the title sponsorship

5390-406: The sport and as a WADA signatory. It also administered the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) until 2020 via its operationally independent integrity division called the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU). In 2021, the TIU was transferred out of the ITF into the new International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) following a comprehensive review of corruption in the sport. From 2022, it is intended that

5467-436: The sport of tennis. Its governance includes the following responsibilities: make, amend, and enforce the Rules of Tennis; regulate international team competitions; promote the game of tennis; and preserve the integrity of tennis. By its own constitution, the ITF guarantees that the official Rules of Tennis "shall be for ever in the English language". A committee within the ITF periodically makes rule amendment recommendations to

5544-460: 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. As of 2016, the ITF Women's Circuit includes over 500 tournaments in 65 countries, with prize funds ranging from US$ 10,000 to US$ 100,000. The ITF Women's Circuit is the third tier in women's tennis, below

5621-558: The tournament has ended with the Davis Cup Finals, an 18-team event (being reduced to 16 effective in 2022) held at a single site in which teams are divided into groups for round-robin pool play. Eight teams advance to the quarterfinals, with all subsequent ties held in a standard knockout format. From 1981 to 2018, the tournament was divided into a 16-nation World Group, and zone groups (Americas; Europe/Africa; and Asia/Oceania) which compete in three or four tiers. Starting in 2019,

5698-457: The ‘world rankings’), a 52-week rolling ranking, and the ATP Race to Turin , a year to date ranking. All ATP players also have a Universal Tennis Rating , based on head-to-head results. The ATP rankings is used for determining qualification for entry and seeding in all tournaments for both singles and doubles. Within the ATP rankings period which is the past year, points are accumulated with

5775-450: Was attended by 12 national associations. Three other countries could not attend but had requested to become a member. The 15 founding countries were: Australasia (Australia and New Zealand), Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Canada, Norway, and the United States were also invited but declined to join. Voting rights were divided based on

5852-610: Was taken up by Invacare in a two-year deal and the 2011 tournament was held in the Frans Otten stadium in Amsterdam . From 2013 to 2016, the ITF Wheelchair Doubles Masters took place at the Marguerite Tennis Pavilion in Mission Viejo , California In 2017 and 2018, the event took place in Bemmel, Netherlands. As of 2018, Taylor and Wagner are the most successful partnership across all categories, with

5929-874: Was the ITF official annual from 1981 through 2001. In addition, it publishes an official magazine 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. 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. Regional associations were created in July 1975 as six "supra-national associations" (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Australia) with

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