briefsports.net
International Federation · Tennis

World Tennis — International Tennis Federation (ITF)

ITF Limited trades as the International Tennis Federation, the ITF or, since 2026, World Tennis. Founded in Paris in 1913 as the ILTF, it writes the Rules of Tennis, runs the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup and states it has 214 member nations.
✓ Last reviewed: October 2026
Legal entityITF Limited, a company limited by shares incorporated in the Bahamas; it trades as “the International Tennis Federation”, the “ITF” or “World Tennis”[3]
Founded1 March 1913, Paris, as the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF); renamed the ITF in 1977[6]
Name“World Tennis” a trading name from 1 January 2026, beside “the International Tennis Federation” and “ITF”; global brand launch 25 June 2026[3][4][5]
OfficesRegistered office in Nassau, the Bahamas; ASOIF lists the address as Bank Lane, Roehampton, London[3][10]
Members214 national associations in the 2026 share register: 162 Class B (voting) and 52 Class C (non-voting)[8]
RecognitionASOIF full member; listed by WADA as a Code signatory under the name “International Tennis Federation (ITF)”[9][11]
PresidentDavid Haggerty, elected 25 September 2015; re-elected 2019 and 2023[7]

What is World Tennis?

World Tennis is the name under which the International Tennis Federation now presents itself: its site calls the body “World Tennis (formerly known as the ITF)”.[1] The name is a trading name, not a new legal person. The 2026 Constitution states in Article 1.1 that “ITF Limited is a company limited by shares, incorporated under the International Business Companies Act 2000 of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. It trades as 'the International Tennis Federation', or the 'ITF', or 'World Tennis'”.[3] The constitution is still titled the constitution “of the ITF”, and the federation’s own web pages continue to carry the ITF name in their titles.[3][16]

The memorandum gives the company’s first object as to “act as the governing body for the sport of tennis worldwide”; the body describes itself as “the global guardian of tennis”.[3][2] The sport it covers is tennis in all its forms — the able-bodied game, wheelchair tennis, beach tennis and veterans’ competition — and it states that it works “with our 214 member nations to grow tennis in all corners of the globe”.[2] Independent bodies now use the new name: ASOIF lists the federation as “World Tennis”, and Olympedia records the renaming “to World Tennis (WT) in mid-2026”.[9][6] The body’s own pages do not use the abbreviation WT; where they abbreviate, they still write ITF. See tennis for the sport and international federation for the general model.

What does World Tennis govern or do?

World Tennis writes the Rules of Tennis. The current edition is the 2026 Rules of Tennis, published in English, French and Spanish with a separate document of 2026 amendments to the Rules of Tennis and of Beach Tennis.[13] Under Article 8.2.4.2 of the constitution the rules “may only be altered by a resolution of Council”, and “The official and decisive text of the Rules of Tennis will be for ever in the English language”.[3] It also publishes a Code of Conduct and Duties and Procedures for Officials, the Rules of Beach Tennis and the World Tennis Gender Eligibility Policy.[13]

It does not itself investigate doping or corruption. The International Tennis Integrity Agency describes itself as established “in 2021 by the ATP, World Tennis, WTA and Grand Slams”, and that it took responsibility for the sport’s worldwide anti-doping programme in January 2022.[12] The constitution keeps the federation’s own obligations in Article 19, “Compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code” and “The Tennis Anti-Doping Programme”.[3] See anti-doping.

World Tennis publishes rankings for its own circuits: the Men’s and Women’s World Tennis Tour Rankings, the World Tennis Tour Junior Rankings, the Masters Tour, wheelchair tennis and Beach Tennis Tour rankings, Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup nation rankings, and the World Tennis Number rating.[16] It does not run the men’s and women’s professional tours or their rankings, which belong to the ATP and the WTA, and it does not stage the four Grand Slams; World Tennis lists the ATP, the WTA and the four Grand Slam tournaments as affiliates.[7]

When was World Tennis founded and where is it based?

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 (ITF) in 1977, and to World Tennis (WT) in mid-2026”.[6] ASOIF independently gives 1913 as the founding year.[10]

The renaming was a staged process. On 16 October 2025 the federation announced that it “will become 'World Tennis' in 2026, following an overwhelming majority vote from its member national tennis associations in favour of the proposal at the ITF Annual General Meeting today”, and that “The ITF's trading name will be updated on 1st January 2026”, with the brand launched in summer 2026.[4] The 2026 constitution lists “World Tennis” among the names under which ITF Limited trades, beside “the International Tennis Federation” and the “ITF”.[3] The Board’s Paris meeting of 2–3 June 2026 recorded “the global launch date of 25 June 2026”.[5]

Its legal seat is in the Bahamas: the memorandum places the registered office at “Sassoon House, Shirley Street and Victoria Avenue in the City of Nassau”.[3] Its working address is in London: ASOIF lists it as Bank Lane, Roehampton, London SW15 5XZ, United Kingdom.[10] David Haggerty “was elected President of World Tennis (then known as ITF) on 25 September 2015, and re-elected for two further four-year terms on 27 September 2019 and 24 September 2023”; the Board for 2023–27 is “composed of the President, 14 candidates elected by National Associations and two Athlete Representatives”.[7]

How is World Tennis recognised?

World Tennis is the international federation for an Olympic sport. ASOIF, the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, lists it among its 30 full members under the name “World Tennis”, and its member page for the federation gives “Member Since” 1984.[9][10] The constitution commits the federation to respect “the Olympic Charter and the principles of Olympism” (Article 2.2.2) and to cooperate with “the IOC, the IPC and WADA” (Article 3.1.7).[3] No dated IOC decision recognising the federation could be retrieved from a primary source.

WADA’s list of World Anti-Doping Code signatories carries the federation under the ASOIF heading, still as the “International Tennis Federation (ITF)”.[11] The International Tennis Integrity Agency, which runs the sport’s worldwide anti-doping programme, is not itself listed as a signatory.[11][12]

Within tennis, its standing rests on a shared structure rather than sole control. The federation lists the ATP, the WTA, the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the US Open, the International Tennis Integrity Agency, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the Association of Centenary Clubs and the International Club as affiliates.[7] The Paris Board meeting of June 2026 described its brand messaging as “the affirmation of World Tennis' role as tennis' global governing body” — the body’s own description.[5] For Olympic and Paralympic purposes, Article 3.1.6 gives it the task to “organise and supervise the tennis programme at the Olympic Games and the wheelchair tennis programme at the Paralympic Games”.[3]

What does World Tennis organise?

The body states: “We run six Tours, with 3,000 events a year providing competitive opportunities for players of all ages and abilities”, and “We are responsible for Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge and we help run the tennis events at the Olympic and Paralympic Games”.[2] The six are the Men’s and Women’s World Tennis Tours (the professional entry level beneath the ATP Challenger Tour and WTA 125), the World Tennis Tour Juniors, the World Tennis Masters Tour, the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour and the Beach Tennis World Tour.[2] See World Tennis Tour.

The Davis Cup “began in 1900 as a competition between USA and Great Britain”, and the competition’s site states that 157 nations entered in 2025.[14] The 2026 Davis Cup Final 8 is scheduled for Bologna, 24–29 November 2026.[15] The Billie Jean King Cup, the women’s national-team competition, held its 2026 Finals in Shenzhen from 22 to 27 September 2026, where Czechia beat Ukraine to win the title for the 12th time.[17] Both are entered by national associations; the constitution reserves entry to Class B members.[3]

At the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games the federation organises and supervises the tennis and wheelchair tennis programmes under Article 3.1.6 of its constitution.[3]

Who are its members?

The members are national tennis associations, holding shares in ITF Limited. The 2026 Membership and Share Register lists “Class B Members with voting rights (162)” and “Class C Members without voting rights (52)” — 214 in all, the figure the federation gives on its own pages.[8][2] Class B members hold between 1 and 12 shares each; each Class C member holds one share, without voting rights.[8] Under the constitution, the Class A members are the trustees of the ITF Trust, and only Class B members may enter the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup.[3] The federation’s October 2025 announcement still gave 213 member national associations.[4]

The register marks five members “(suspended)”: Russia and Belarus among the Class B members, and Afghanistan, Cape Verde and Korea DPR among the Class C members. The register gives no date or reason for the suspensions.[8]

Regional associations sit beside the national members. Article 5.1 states that “The Regional Associations affiliated to the ITF as of 1 January 2026 are listed at APPENDIX D”, and Council may grant further applications for affiliation.[3] The text of Appendix D could not be retrieved in full, and no other primary list naming the regional associations could be retrieved.

References

  1. World Tennis (formerly ITF) — About us. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  2. World Tennis — What we do. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  3. The 2026 Constitution of the ITF (ITF Limited), dated 1 January 2026. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  4. ITF — International Tennis Federation to become World Tennis in 2026 (16 October 2025). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  5. ITF Board of Directors meeting summary, Paris, 2–3 June 2026. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  6. Olympedia — International Tennis Federation (organisation page). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  7. World Tennis — Company structure (president, Board, affiliates). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  8. World Tennis — 2026 ITF Membership and Share Register. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  9. ASOIF — Members. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  10. ASOIF — Member page: World Tennis. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  11. WADA — Code signatories. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  12. International Tennis Integrity Agency — About the ITIA. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  13. World Tennis — Rules and regulations (2026 Rules of Tennis). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  14. Davis Cup (World Tennis) — History. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  15. Davis Cup (World Tennis) — official site, 2026 Final 8. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  16. World Tennis — Rankings. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  17. Billie Jean King Cup (World Tennis) — official site, 2026 Finals. Accessed 2026-10-01.