ATP — Association of Tennis Professionals

What is the ATP?

The ATP — the Association of Tennis Professionals — describes itself as “a governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits - the ATP Tour, the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Champions Tour.”^[1] It is not an international federation of national associations: it began as an association of male professional players and, since 1990, has run the men’s tour as a joint venture of players and tournaments, an arrangement the ATP’s own heritage series calls “a partnership unique in professional sports, with an equal voice in how the circuit is run.”^[5]

Its legal vehicle is ATP Tour, Inc., which holds the copyright in the 2026 ATP Official Rulebook.^[2] The sport it covers is men’s professional tennis, singles and doubles. Tennis as a whole is governed by World Tennis: Olympedia records that “The governing body of tennis was founded as the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) on 1 March 1913, in Paris, France”, renamed the International Tennis Federation in 1977 and “to World Tennis (WT) in mid-2026”.^[13] The federation’s own site now names itself “World Tennis (formerly known as the ITF)”; see World Tennis (ITF).^[12] The women’s professional tour is run by a separate body, the WTA.

What does the ATP govern or do?

The 2026 ATP Official Rulebook, dated 27 April 2026, states that “In official men's professional tennis, there are five (5) categories of events. ATP Tour tournaments and ATP Challenger Tour tournaments are governed by ATP.”^[2] The ATP Tour is organised in three tournament categories — ATP Masters 1000, ATP 500 and ATP 250 — with the ATP Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour beneath it forming the ladder the ATP sanctions.^[2]

The ATP publishes the men’s singles and doubles rankings, sponsored in 2026 as the PIF ATP Rankings. The rankings FAQ states that a player’s ranking is “his total points from his best 18 results from all eligible tournaments”, counting the Grand Slams, ATP Masters 1000, ATP 500, ATP 250, Challenger and ITF events and the Nitto ATP Finals.^[3] The rankings are published on atptour.com.

What the ATP does not govern matters as much. The four Grand Slam tournaments — the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open — are staged by their own organisers, and the Davis Cup, Olympic tennis and the ITF World Tennis Tour are run by World Tennis.^[12] Anti-doping at ATP events is carried out under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme; the rulebook states that the International Tennis Integrity Agency “may conduct anti-doping testing at ATP sanctioned events”.^[2]

When was the ATP founded and where is it based?

The ATP states that it was “created in 1972” and “formed in 1972 under the leadership of Jack Kramer”.^[4][5] Britannica independently records Kramer as the ATP’s “first executive director in 1972”.^[6] From 1974 to 1989 the men’s circuit was run by the Men’s International Professional Tennis Council, on which the ATP sat beside “six ITF and tournament reps”, in the ATP’s account.^[4]

In August 1988, outside the main gates of the US Open, the ATP announced that it would create its own circuit — “a tour that respected the 12 weeks of major championship and Davis Cup play”.^[4] The ATP’s two-part heritage article gives two dates for it: Part I says “Tuesday, 30 August” 1988^[4] and Part II “26 August 1988”.^[5] The 1990 calendar was distributed on 19 January 1989, and the ATP Tour began play in 1990.^[5]

No statute giving a registered seat could be retrieved. The UK Companies House register lists ATP Tour, Inc. as an overseas company with an address in Atlantic Beach, Florida, United States (FC027122), and a UK establishment at 22–24 Worple Road, Wimbledon, London (BR013036).^[9] Andrea Gaudenzi has chaired the ATP since January 2020 and was re-elected in February 2026 to serve a third term through 2028, the ATP announced on 5 February 2026.^[7]

How is the ATP recognised?

The ATP is a professional tour, not an Olympic federation, and the questions that apply to an international federation apply to it differently. It is not a member of ASOIF: the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations lists 30 full members, among them World Tennis.^[16] Nor does the ATP appear on WADA’s list of World Anti-Doping Code signatories, where tennis is still listed under the ASOIF heading as the “International Tennis Federation (ITF)”, the name World Tennis used until mid-2026.^[11]

Its standing rests instead on its place in the professional game’s shared institutions. The ITIA describes itself as “an independent body established in 2021 by the ATP, World Tennis, WTA and Grand Slams”, administering the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program and, since January 2022, the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme for those members’ events.^[10] World Tennis lists the ATP, the WTA and the four Grand Slams as affiliates.^[12] The PIF ATP Rankings count results from the Grand Slams and from ITF events as well as from ATP events.^[3]

A separate players’ organisation, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), is not part of the ATP’s structure. In a statement dated 21 August 2026 the PTPA refers to “the antitrust case in the Southern District of New York”, a case it describes as brought by players and the PTPA against the tours and Grand Slams; no court decision on its merits could be retrieved.^[15]

What does the ATP organise?

The ATP’s season is built from the three ATP Tour categories, the ATP Challenger Tour and the season-ending events. The 2026 rulebook provides for the Nitto ATP Finals in singles and doubles, the Next Gen ATP Finals and the United Cup alongside the tour itself.^[2]

The Nitto ATP Finals close the season for the singles players and doubles teams who qualify through the year. The 2026 edition is scheduled for the “Inalpi Arena, Torino. 15-22 November 2026”, and the event’s site states “Turin confirmed as host of Nitto ATP Finals through 2027”.^[14]

When the ATP Tour began in 1990 its first calendar ran to 78 stops, and the ATP introduced a “Best of 14” ranking system under which only a player’s top 14 results counted; the count stands at 18 results in 2026.^[3][5] The ATP does not organise the Grand Slams, the Davis Cup or Olympic tennis, though ranking points are awarded at the Grand Slams. See also the world rankings topic.

Who are its members?

The ATP’s members are players and tournaments rather than national federations. Players are represented through the ATP Player Advisory Council, which “is elected by its peers”: members are chosen by the players in their own ranking category — singles players ranked 1–50 and 51–100, and doubles players — alongside at-large members, a coach representative and an alumni representative.^[8] The Council meets several times a year and advises ATP management and the Board through the elected Player Board representatives; the first meeting of 2026 was held in Melbourne before the Australian Open.^[8]

The tournaments that hold ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour sanctions are the other constituency. The ATP’s 1988–1990 reform gave the tournament directors and the players a shared voice in running the circuit, which the ATP describes as “an equal voice in how the circuit is run”.^[5]

Beyond its own members, the ATP works with the other professional-tennis bodies: World Tennis (the ITF), the WTA and the four Grand Slams, which together established the ITIA.^[10] On player representation more generally, see athlete representation.