Every year, the USTA publishes a yearbook summarizing the organization’s activities. This practice dates back at least to the 1890s, as I have seen digitized versions of the yearbooks published before the turn of that century. Our household received a printed copy of the yearbook in the 1980s, and its arrival was eagerly anticipated as that was the mechanism for finding out official national rankings and other news about USTA initiatives. When I returned to the tennis ecosystem as an adult, I played for several years before realizing the yearbook was still being published. In the digital age, it is no longer distributed as a print copy but is freely available online.
The USTA Yearbook is a comprehensive record of the organization’s activities, events, and achievements from the previous year. It contains a wealth of information for anyone interested in detailed insights into tennis governance and promotion in the United States. The yearbook includes annual highlights, events summaries, championships, and player achievements. It also features official rankings for various age groups and categories, including juniors, adults, and seniors. The yearbook lists individuals and organizations who have received awards and honors, including Hall of Fame inductions and sportsmanship awards. Additionally, it provides detailed performance statistics, historical records, and information about the USTA’s organizational structure, Sectional associations, and committees.
In a recent post, I wondered if the USTA’s strategic framework, which had been implemented under the previous CEO, was still in effect. I was frustrated that I could not find a reference or summary identifying and defining the USTA’s strategic priorities on a public-facing web page. The 2024 yearbook contains official confirmation that the plan to cover the years 2019-2016 is still in effect. The contents of that framework are conveniently reprinted there as well.
Similarly, if I wanted to trace the history and evolution of the USTA’s published mission—and I very much want to do exactly that—I could easily reconstruct it from the data published in the old yearbooks. This is particularly relevant since the USTA updated its overarching mission statement this year from “To develop and support the growth of tennis” to “Growing tennis to inspire healthier people and communities everywhere.” The organization evolves… slowly.
Also of particular interest to me is the annual summaries each Section provides. Each of these is a snapshot of what their leadership determines to be most important and noteworthy. The tremendous variation in what each Section regards as significant illustrates the cultural differences that exist in how tennis is organized, prioritized, and delivered by the USTA below the National level.
In years past, I have expressed frustration at the structure of information that the USTA publishes on their public web pages and the absence of key information about the organization. An example of this is the fact that the committee structure is only visible to people who volunteer for committee service as they fill out the forms indicating their willingness and capacity to serve. When applications are closed, that information seemingly disappears from the public view. However, it is readily available and cleanly presented within the yearbook.
2024 USTA Yearbook (<- Free!)
The annual yearbook is a treasure trove of information for a person who really wants to understand how the USTA operates. It astonishes me that the vast majority of tennis players seem to be unaware that this annual publication exists. It is something that tennis players should at least page through occasionally.
