The History of the Japan Tennis Association
The Japan Tennis Association was originally founded in 1922 as a voluntary organization called the Nihon Teikyu
Kyouka. In 1980 it became an incorporated foundation (zaidan houjin) and changed its name to (Zaidan Hojin Nihon
Tenisu Kyokai) the Japan Tennis Association (JTA). Thereafter became a public interest incorporated foundation
(koueki zaidan houjin) in 2012 with the aim to promote tennis as a lifetime sport, a competitive sport, and a
spectator sport.
1. Founding of Nihon Teikyu Kyoukai
After the introduction of Western-style tennis here, the desire of the Japanese people to interact internationally
and to venture onto the global stage grew steadily stronger. In order for Japan to compete internationally, it
needed to adopt the type of tennis played in the West which was hard ball tennis different from the soft ball tennis
that was popular in Japan.
Keio University adopted “hard ball tennis” in 1913, helping to spread the sport throughout Japan.
In 1920, Zenzo Shimizu, who was working at the Calcutta Branch Office of Mitsui & Co. Ltd., went to Wimbledon alone
and reached the All Comers’ finals (the semi-finals in the current system). Later that year, at the Antwerp Olympics
in August, Ichiya Kumagai, then working at the New York Branch Office of Mitsubishi Goshi Kaisha (Mitsubishi
Company), won the silver medal in both singles and doubles matches, partnering with Seiichiro Kashio. These were the
first medals won by Japanese athletes in Olympic history.
That autumn, while traveling overseas with his wife, Tsunekichi Asabuki, a businessman who was then known as the
leading benefactor of tennis in Japan, met with Julian Myrick, President of the United States Tennis Association
(USTA), and other officials. As the USTA, the founding association of the Davis Cup, recognized the presence of
Japanese players in the sport, President Myrick strongly recommended that Japan participate in the Davis Cup, a
national team competition. However, at that time Japan did not have a tennis association, an organization required
to participate in the Davis Cup tournament. “As long as you have a board of directors and the documents, we will
look after the rest” was the supportive advice from the USTA. When Mr. Asabuki returned to Japan, he negotiated with
key individuals at universities and tennis clubs, secured a number of directors, and established the Nihon Teikyu
Kyoukai. After being appointed president, he submitted an application to the International Lawn Tennis Federation
(ILTF) in February 1921. With an endorsement from the United States, Japan succeeded in becoming an official member
in March 1923.
Nihon Teikyu Kyoukai sent the first Japanese team consisting of three players, Kumagai, Shimizu,
and Kashio, along with their manager, to the Davis Cup in 1921. The team defeated India and Australia, advancing
to the Challenge Round (the finals in the current World Group) to play against the US team. After this
breathtaking finale, Mr. Asabuki and others reorganized the association and launched an official inauguration on
March 11, 1922 at the YMCA in Kanda, Tokyo. With the sales from the Davis Cup admission fees and the USTA
donations of US $20,000, the Association was able to begin operating.
The first All Japan Tennis Championships, played at the Tokyo Imperial University (the current University of Tokyo)
tennis courts, kicked off in September 1922. The men’s singles champion was awarded the New York Cup, a trophy
donated by the Japan Club in New York for winning the Challenge Round. In 1923 the ranking system was introduced.
There were 20 men’s singles players and 10 doubles players in the All Japan ranking on January 4, 1924. The women’s
games were introduced from the third All Japan Tennis Championships. The first competition rule book was issued in
1925 and particular tennis balls, after undergoing ball testing, were made official in 1927. However, during WWII,
the association as well as the Japan Sports Association were dissolved in 1942 and unified into the government
controlled Japan Sports Tennis Association. Tennis activities were effectively suspended until the end of the war.
2. Re-establishing Nihon Teikyu Kyoukai
Nihon Teikyu Kyoukai was re-established in November 1945 at their annual general meeting. The advent of the golden
age of professional tennis began when open tennis tournaments were introduced around the world in 1968. However, as
the Nihon Teikyu Kyoukai (JTA) was associated with the Japan Amateur Sports Association, the headquarters of amateur
sports, the amateur regulations could not allow the registration of professional tennis players. Finally, the Japan
Open, an international open tennis tournament, commenced in 1972, coinciding with a period of rapid economic growth
in Japan. Tennis became a popular sport among the Japanese due to the large number of overseas tennis athletes
visiting Japan. The popularity of the sport led to the increase of the number of tennis clubs and courts. In
response to these changes the Nihon Teikyu Kyoukai needed to broaden its activities. One of the efforts was to have
it recognized as a legal entity which would allow the association to better support the expanding community by
organizing events and overlooking the players, clubs and other related activities.
3. Rebirth as the Japan Tennis Association
Nihon Teikyu Kyoukai, which began as a voluntary organization, was reorganized to become the Zaidan Hojin Nihon
Tenisu Kyokai, or the Japan Tennis Association (JTA), in 1980. In 1983 the Ariake Tennis Forest Park, owned by the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government, was completed and used for major tennis tournaments. In 1991 a national training
center (NTC) for JTA opened at the Asahi Seimei Kugayama Sports Center, which served as a major foothold in
spreading and strengthening the sport. However, as the economic downturn impacted JTA’s financial situation, in
2001, JTA returned the NTC courts to Asahi Seimei. During the sluggish economic period in 2001, when JTA was in the
midst of a shortage of financial resources, Masaaki Morita was appointed president of JTA and under the slogans "a
new JTA" and "Japan Service Association." To the best of his ability, he reorganized the association, secured
financial resources, and introduced efforts to become more international. He reconfigured the Japan Open as a tennis
festival in Asia and devoted himself to the tournament. There was a significant rise in the number of audience from
25,706 spectators in 1999 to 72,386 spectators in 2006. A tennis-specific NTC with indoor tennis courts located in
the Ajinomoto National Training Center opened on January 21, 2008. In April of that same year, JTA also introduced a
One Coin Entry Fee to strengthen the NTC and nurture tennis in Japan, helping increase the number of participants in
tennis tournaments.
This initiative was aimed at raising funds and improving the overall infrastructure for tennis training.
4. Appointing a New President and Becoming a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation
In June of 2011, Masaaki Morita, who led the Japan Tennis Association for 11 years as president stepped down and was
replaced by Nobuo Kuroyanagi. The Japan Tennis Association became a public interest incorporated foundation in April
of 2012 marking a significant shift in its structure and mission.
Tennis is a sport that everyone can enjoy throughout his or her life. It is a traditional public sport and plays an
important role as an international sport of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Japan Tennis Association as a
public interest incorporated foundation, designated the promotion of tennis as a lifelong sport as well as a
competitive and spectator sport as its goal. Furthermore, with the preferential tax treatment granted to public
interest incorporated foundations in mind, the newly appointed president instructed the expansion of the donation
system as a means to strengthen the financial foundation of the association.
UUnder the newly appointed president, the Japan Tennis Association set forth “Fairness, Teamwork and Globalism” as
its core operating principles. Furthermore, the new president expressed a sense of urgency about the decreasing
tennis population especially among the young and instructed an analysis of tennis population in order to verify the
related activities.
From a policy perspective, he prioritized creating an introductory tool for the promotion of tennis, established the
“Tennis Play & Stay” program, visited 9 regions annually, shared his sense of urgency and called for an expansion of
promotional activities. He worked to spread regional Tennis Play & Stay by distributing special subsidies to the 9
regional tennis associations in 2013 and to 47 local tennis associations in 2014. When Kei Nishikori reached the
finals at the US Open in September of 2014, Japan saw an increase in public interest in tennis, boosting the
popularity of tennis.
After becoming a public interest incorporated foundation, the Japan Tennis Association worked on strengthening its
governance. The compliance office was established, a portal for reports and consultations to serve the internal
reporting system was established, and efforts were made to improve the management and operation of the JTA to the
level regularly seen in private companies.
In 2016, a new initiative under the 3rd operating principle of the association - “Globalism” -was established. In
March, the JTA funded and implemented a special junior development program, to provide training while competing
overseas, in addition to the existing junior development program at the National Training Center focused on the
Olympics, Davis Cup and Fed Cup. In September 2016, the JTA and the French Tennis Federation (FFT) signed a
memorandum that agreed on mutual cooperation between the two countries.
The memorandum signed by the JTA and the FFT stipulates improvement in international competition, promotion, hosting
of tournaments, instructors’ training, research and exchange of information as areas of cooperation for the future.
This memorandum was the first of its kind the JTA signed with another overseas governing entity of tennis. The
memorandum signed by the JTA and the FFT stipulates improvement in international competition, promotion, hosting of
tournaments, instructors’ training, research and exchange of information as areas of cooperation for the future.
This memorandum was the first of its kind the JTA signed with another overseas governing entity of tennis.
The 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo provided the JTA with a great opportunity. Public funds were put into
tennis as an official sport and the player development policies evolved. The renovation of the Ariake Tennis Forest
Park, which was the site of the Olympic and Paralympic tennis competition, meant the expansion of the tennis
facilities that serve as a legacy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and play an important role for tennis as a
spectator sport.
On the other hand, social issues stemming from scandals involving athletes and instructors remind us all of the
importance of education during the junior years of athletes. The JTA began promoting fair play at tournament
matches, as well as the 5-point Principle of Self-Judgement based on recognition of the importance of following
rules, strengthening existing governance, and securing compliance. The JTA started the “Shake hands, Greetings and
Fair Play” movement in 2017, which calls for greetings and hand shakes before the start of matches. This supports
one of the goals of promoting tennis - to develop boys and girls as sound, fair and gobally minded individuals.
2017 was an important year for establishing a foundation and environment for the promotion and development of tennis.
The system of junior JPIN was completed thanks to the understanding and cooperation of the regional and local tennis
associations, and the test run of the junior ranking system that started in April of 2018.
In accordance with the permeation of promotional activities, the goals of the JTA’s activities have been amended from
“tennis development, player development” to “tennis development, junior player development and player development.”
In March of 2018, the JTA completed “the mid- to- long term strategic plan” for Japan’s tennis.
Financially, the JTA showed substantial growth.The total business scale was 2,269,780,000 JPY in 2017. Since the
total business scale of the first year after becoming a public interest incorporated foundation was
1,364,530,000JPY, the growth of 66.3% took place over the period of 6 years. According to the research report on
tennis issued in March of 2017, the tennis population increased from 3,990,000 people in 2014 to 4,390,000 people in
2016.Through these efforts, the JTA significantly contributed to the revitalization of tennis in Japan, addressing both
the ever changing challenges and opportunities internationally.
(updated on Feb 26th, 2025)