This article contains affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
A ten-year-old’s first orange-ball team event at the local park. A high school senior checking her UTR the night before a college visit. A 4.0 league team piling into two cars for the sectional championship. A Davis Cup tie with the whole country watching. Tennis has a lot of organizations, ratings and tours, and from the outside it can look like alphabet soup: ITF, ATP, WTA, USTA, NTRP, UTR, WTN, ITA. This guide to tennis leagues and associations sorts it out: who governs the game, how the pro tours and Grand Slams fit together, how adults find the right league, and where the college and high school routes lead. Facts are as of the 2026 season.
For how the game is played, see our tennis rules page; for the big picture, the tennis hub.
The ITF: tennis’s world governing body
The International Tennis Federation (ITF), founded in 1913, writes the Rules of Tennis that every level follows, from the red-ball court to Wimbledon. It also approves balls and courts, runs the ITF World Tennis Tour (the entry level of pro tennis, plus a junior tour), wheelchair tennis and the senior circuit, and organizes the two big national-team events. It also created the ITF World Tennis Number, a free rating for every player (more below).
The Grand Slams
Four tournaments sit at the top of the sport, each run by its own national federation or club: the Australian Open (January, hard court), Roland Garros or the French Open (late May and June, clay), Wimbledon (late June and July, grass) and the US Open (late August and September, hard court), run by the USTA in New York. They share one rulebook: men’s singles main-draw matches are best of five sets, other events best of three, and since 2022 every Slam decides a final set at 6-6 with a 10-point tiebreak. Juniors and wheelchair players have their own events at the Slams.
The pro tours: ATP and WTA
- ATP Tour (men): the Association of Tennis Professionals was formed in 1972. Its 2026 calendar has 59 tournaments in 29 countries besides the Grand Slams: nine Masters 1000 events, 16 ATP 500s and 29 ATP 250s, plus the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals. Below the tour sit the ATP Challenger Tour and the ITF World Tennis Tour.
- WTA Tour (women): the Women’s Tennis Association was founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King at a meeting of players in London the week before Wimbledon. Its tour runs WTA 1000, 500, 250 and 125 events on six continents and ends with the WTA Finals.
Pros earn ranking points by how far they go in each event; the higher the level, the more points. Most players spend years on the ITF and Challenger levels before reaching the main tours.
Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup and the Olympics
- Davis Cup: the men’s national-team competition, founded in 1900 and run by the ITF. In 2026, nations play qualifying ties in February and September (two singles on day one, then doubles and two reverse singles, all best of three sets), and eight teams meet at the Final 8 in Bologna, Italy, November 24–29, where ties are two singles and one doubles.
- Billie Jean King Cup: the women’s team event, launched in 1963 as the Federation Cup to mark the ITF’s 50th anniversary, renamed the Fed Cup in 1995 and the Billie Jean King Cup in 2020. Since 2025 its Finals have eight teams.
- Olympics and Paralympics: at Los Angeles 2028, Olympic tennis runs July 19–28 at the Carson Courts in Carson, California, with five events: men’s and women’s singles and doubles plus mixed doubles, starting with mixed. Wheelchair tennis is on the Paralympic program at the same venue.
The USTA: tennis in the United States
The United States Tennis Association (USTA), founded in 1881, is the national governing body. It has 17 geographic sections, more than 700,000 individual members and over 7,000 organizational members such as clubs and parks. It runs the US Open, junior tournaments and rankings, the Net Generation youth programs (see our youth tennis guide), and adult leagues.
USTA League and NTRP ratings
USTA League is the country’s largest adult competitive tennis league, with more than 300,000 players a year. Teams play local matches, and winners move on to district or sectional championships and then nationals. Players are grouped by age and by NTRP (National Tennis Rating Program) level. New players self-rate online when they join; after that, a computer rating follows your results.
| Division | Levels | Team match |
|---|---|---|
| 18 & Over | 2.5 (women), 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0 | 2 singles + 3 doubles (levels 3.0–4.5) |
| 40 & Over | 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 | 1 singles + 4 doubles |
| 55 & Over | Combined 6.0 to 9.0 (two partners’ levels added) | 3 doubles |
| Mixed 18 & Over and 40 & Over | Combined 6.0 to 10.0 | 3 doubles |
Roughly, a 2.5 is learning to judge where the ball is going and can keep a slow rally going; a 3.0 is fairly consistent on medium-paced shots but lacks control of direction and depth; a 3.5 has more dependable strokes with some direction and is getting to the net; a 4.0 has dependable strokes with depth on both sides; and a 5.0 anticipates well and can build a game around a strong shot. Be honest when you self-rate: playing above or below your level isn’t fun for anyone.
Ratings: NTRP vs UTR vs WTN
| Rating | Scale | How it works | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|---|
| NTRP (USTA) | Half-point levels; USTA League runs 2.5 to 5.0 | Self-rate, then a computer rating released once a year | USTA League |
| UTR (Universal Tennis Rating) | 1.00 to 16.50; higher is better | Weighted average of up to 30 recent matches from the last 12 months, same scale for all ages and genders | Junior tournaments, college recruiting, UTR events |
| ITF World Tennis Number | 40 (beginner) to 1 (elite pro); lower is better | Free, updated weekly, separate singles and doubles numbers | USTA and ITF events; named the official rating of college tennis by the ITA in 2023 |
There’s no exact conversion between them, because each system weighs results differently. For a junior thinking about college, UTR and WTN matter most; for a weekend league player, NTRP decides your team.
College tennis: ITA, NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA
- ITA: the Intercollegiate Tennis Association writes the playing rules for college tennis and publishes team and individual rankings for all divisions.
- NCAA: men’s and women’s tennis in Divisions I, II and III. The Division I team championships take 64 teams for each gender in the spring; the singles and doubles championships moved to the fall starting in 2024-25. Divisions I and II can offer athletic scholarships; Division III can’t. Dual matches are three doubles for one point, then six singles, first to four points.
- NAIA: smaller four-year schools, same ITA dual-match format. The 2026 national championships were played May 12–16 in Mobile, Alabama.
- NJCAA: two-year colleges, with a 9-point format (8-game doubles) and regular scoring. In 2026 the Division I men’s championship was in Plano, Texas, and the women’s in Sumter, South Carolina.
Recruiting rules, prize money and how to get noticed are on our youth tennis page.
High school tennis
High school tennis is run by each state’s high school association, part of the NFHS. In 2024-25 there were 10,373 boys’ and 12,175 girls’ programs with 363,388 players in all. There’s no NFHS tennis rulebook: matches use USTA rules, and each state sets its own season, team format and playoffs. In Georgia, for example, team matches are three singles and two doubles.
Juniors
USTA junior tournaments run in four age divisions (12, 14, 16 and 18 and under) and seven levels, from Level 7 local events to Level 1 national championships. Ranking points come from each player’s best six singles and best six doubles results over 12 months. Internationally, juniors play the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors. Before kids enter ranking tournaments, the USTA’s Net Generation programs (team events and non-elimination events with red, orange and green balls) don’t count for rankings.
Gear for league and tournament play
Most USTA League matches use a new can of balls; Penn Championship Extra Duty is the official ball of USTA League and made for hard courts (about $19 for six cans on Amazon in October 2026). If you’re joining your first 2.5 or 3.0 team, a forgiving racquet like the HEAD Ti.S6 (115-square-inch head, pre-strung, about $55 to $100 depending on the listing) is a common start. After a weekend of league matches, many players use a small massage gun such as the Hypervolt Go 3 (about $149, 1.6 pounds) on calves and forearms. More on our tennis gear page and in our best massage guns guide.
Penn Championship Extra Duty Balls (6 cans)
- Official ball of USTA League
- Extra-duty felt for hard courts
- 18 balls
HEAD Ti.S6 Tennis Racquet
- 115 sq in head
- Pre-strung, synthetic gut
- Several grip sizes
Back to the tennis hub, or see tennis rules, youth tennis and tennis training. Play a team sport too? See soccer leagues and associations.
Tennis leagues and associations questions
What is the difference between the ITF, ATP and WTA?
The ITF governs tennis worldwide: it writes the rules and runs the Davis Cup, the Billie Jean King Cup and the entry-level pro and junior tours. The ATP runs the main men’s pro tour and the WTA the main women’s tour. The four Grand Slams are run by their own national bodies.
How do I join a USTA League team?
Create a USTA account, become a member, self-rate your NTRP level, then find a local league or captain through your USTA section. Teams are grouped by age division and NTRP level.
What is a good UTR?
It depends on your goal. The scale runs from 1.00 for beginners to about 16.50 for the best pros, with all ages and genders on the same scale. Because it’s based on recent match results, it changes as you play.
How many teams make the NCAA tennis tournament?
In Division I, 64 men’s teams and 64 women’s teams. Conference champions get automatic bids and the rest are chosen at large.
Where is tennis at the 2028 Olympics?
At the Carson Courts in Carson, California, about 13 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, from July 19 to 28, 2028. There are five events: men’s and women’s singles and doubles, and mixed doubles.