Lawn Tennis Association history

1891 ▪ FRENCH CHAMPIONSHIPS & history of tennis ▪ The very first French Championships are played, these Championships were open for French residents only.

1896 ▪ OLYMPIC GAMES ▪ Tennis became one of the core sports in the first modern Olympic Games.

1897 ▪ WOMEN ON FRENCH CHAMPIONSHIPS ▪ The French Championships are open to women for the first time in the french tennis history.

1899 ▪ ALL ENGLAND TENNIS & CROQUET CLUB ▪ The England Croquet Club changed it's name to the All England Tennis & Croquet Club.

1900 – The inaugural men’s International Lawn Tennis Challenge (Davis Cup) match is won by the United States, playing a British Isles team at Longwood Cricket Club outside Boston.

1917 – A committee on Equalization of Voting Power is established after hints of secession from midwestern and western sections, which sought a greater role in governance.

1920 – The USNLTA drops the "N" from its name and becomes the USLTA.

1950 – Althea Gibson’s application to play in the United States National Championships is “accepted on her ability.” The 23-year-old became the first black American player, woman or man, to play in a Grand Slam event.

1958 – Individual membership is established, changing the association’s focus on clubs as the only voting members.

1963 – The inaugural International Tennis Federation’s international women’s team championship (later called the Fed Cup) is won by the United States against Australia.

1966 – The USTA headquarters move from 120 Broadway in Manhattan, N.Y., to 51 East 42nd St

1973 – USTA incorporates as a not-for-profit sports association, with the National Educational Foundation permitted to receive tax deductible contributions.

1978 – The US Open moves to its new location, under President Slew Hester’s leadership, at Flushing Meadows in Queens, N.Y.

1983 – Puerto Rico together with the United States Virgin Islands become the last of the USTA’s 17 sections.

1993 – USTA strictly forbids discrimination in sanctioned tournaments, soon expanded to include discrimination throughout the association.

1996 – The association adopts its first strategic plan.

1999 – The first woman, Judy Levering, is elected USTA president.

2015 – The first African-American woman and first former touring pro, Katrina Adams, is elected USTA president.