The American Tennis Association (ATA)

Formed in 1916 by a group of African American businessmen, college professors and physicians, the American Tennis Association (ATA) has become the Mecca for blacks – from all walks of life – who yearn to enjoy the camaraderie and competition offered by a sport for youngsters from age 8 to 80.
Since its inception, the ATA, which is the oldest African American sports organization in the United States, has honored the founding fathers primary objectives:

To bring black tennis enthusiasts and players into close and friendly relations,
To improve the standards of existing clubs,
To hold an annual national championship tournament,
To regulate the dates of local and regional tournaments to avoid conflicts,
To appoint referees and officials for each event, and
To promote the standard of the game among black players.

The organization held its first ATA National Championships, consisting of three events (men’s and women’s singles and men’s doubles), at Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park in August 1917. In August 2005, several thousand players are expected to compete in more than 50 different events at the 89th annual ATA National Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Indeed, the ATA is the core of a growing, African American big-bucks demographic that has helped turn the tennis industry into a multibillion dollar business. Dr. Franklyn Scott, oral surgeon from Philadelphia, PA, was elected president of the American Tennis Association in 2010.  You can listen to him, as he explains, in this two-part interview, his vision and hopes for the future of the organization.  Dr. Scott’s videos are followed by the ATA’s “Looking forward to the ATA’s Centennial Anniversary.”

 

Dr. Franklyn Scott Part 1 from Bob Davis on Vimeo.

Looking toward the ATA’s centennial anniversary.

 



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