When I started writing this blog, my perception was that the majority of USTA members are at best only vaguely aware of the existence of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). In the interim, nothing in my experience has changed that perception. As I am “patiently” waiting for the ITF to publish the 2023 Official Rules of Tennis, now seems like a good time for another primer on the rules relationships and hierarchy.
Any discussion of the rules of tennis has to start from a foundation of understanding of the roles of the ITF and the USTA. The ITF Rules of Tennis is at the top of the hierarchy. While national federations such as the USTA can publish their own interpretation and implementation of the rules, the ITF remains the authoritative source of tennis law.
The USTA publishes a comprehensive book titled Friend at Court which is the authoritative source of the rules of tennis played in the United States. The ITF Rules of Tennis is actually reprinted as the first section of the USTA’s Friend at Court. The ITF rules are augmented with USTA comments that contain interpretations that apply only to USTA-sanctioned play.
As a national federation, the USTA is a voting member of the ITF. The USTA does not have unilateral authority to change the foundational rules of tennis. Instead, the USTA may propose changes to the ITF, but those changes may or may not be ultimately approved by that organization.
I have been monitoring the ITF website for the release of the 2023 Official Rules of Tennis. I am not anticipating any major changes. It would probably already be big news if anything significant was forthcoming. Naturally, if there are any surprises or interesting new inclusions there will surely be future blog posts on this site.
More relevant is the fact that the USTA will not release the 2023 Friend at Court until the 2023 ITF Rules of Tennis have first been published. So the release of that document gates access to updates which are significantly more likely to be impactful. Based on previous years, the ITF Rules of Tennis are usually out by now. I am not sure what the hold-up is.
In the interim, while “patiently” waiting for the ITF to release this year’s edition, I discovered that the organization has an official rules app available for both iOS and Android. That app has a very user-friendly presentation of the rules. Based on my first look, it is a better way to access the official rules on a mobile device than searching through the pdf of the document.
The ITF Rules of Tennis App was updated to pick up the updates released in 2022. Presumably, it will be again once the ITF releases the 2023 edition. Any minute now… right?
