After years of successful cooperation, the United States Tennis Association Incorporated (Usta) and the American Tennis Association (ATA) announce a new initiative, which reflects their joint mission to increase the participation, binding and opportunities among various communities in tennis. The pillars of this new initiative include increasing black representation in tennis, a mentoring program, the pipelines of various specialists in coaching and tennis careers and inspired future generations to take part in sport.
The oldest African-American sports organization in the United States was founded in 1916 by a group of Afro-American business people, college professors and doctors in response to the exclusion of black actors from the competition at the US Lawn tennis association (forerunners of the Usta). Today, the ATA continues to develop and promote opportunities through tennis in different communities.
Through this cooperation, the Usta and ATA will create a new series of events called “The Prelude to Ata National”, which aims to improve the loyalty to players and to expand the competitive opportunities for juniors in the course of the year. The series, which is open to everyone, started in Dallas (Video Video Dowlade Photos) last weekend and is to be continued in Washington, DC (23 to 25 May), Atlanta (June 6-8) and Houston (June 28th to 29th). Each event will give a social, community game day for adults, tournament games and the national championships of the ATA championships.
The ATA National Championships is a historical tennis tournament that brings hundreds of players of all ages, backgrounds and ethnic groups to take part in a national stage. The tournament also offers networking events, educational meetings and ACE Awards that recognize individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to ensure that tennis is accessible to everyone. The National Championships 2025 take place from July 28th to August 3 at the Usta National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
This year the Usta will organize a “career in the Open House” of the ATA during the ATA National Championship Week. The event is open to students of the High School and College and offers young people the opportunity to learn something about the tennis industry, to check their résumés and take part in sham interviews.
This new initiative will also enable the Usta and the ATA to work together through the creation of curated educational content in the course of the year, including newsletters and webinars, which focus on tennis initiatives, voluntary opportunities, health and wellness, career development and other relevant topics.
“We are proud to formalize our relationship with the ATA, which has a rich and famous story, in which barriers broken down and tennis into a sport that is more diverse and integrative,” said Marisa Grimes, the top diversity, equity and inclusion officer of the Usta. “Last year tennis recorded a remarkable growth with an increase in participation in the black community across the country. This offers us the opportunity to continue this dynamic and combine our resources so that we not only open doors-we are building ways for the next generation of different players, coaches and managers in sports.”
“2025 is the 75th anniversary of Althea Gibson, which breaks the color barrier by participating in the US National Championship from 1950. This is also the 50th anniversary of Arthur Ashe, who is the first and only African -American man who won the Wimbledon -Männer -Singles Championship.“ This cooperation with the Usta helps us to raise awareness of the Ata, our brand To increase and increase the tennis community footprint.
