One of the most historic and rich in tradition events to be held at the USTA National Campus to date, the 101st American Tennis Association (ATA) National Championships will take to the courts beginning Saturday, July 28. Featuring numerous junior and adult divisions, the tournament is set to run through Saturday, August 4.

As part of the USTA’s partnership with the ATA, the National Campus will welcome the prestigious National Championships to its ground at least once every three to four years.

The ATA was born on November 30, 1916, when representatives from over a dozen black tennis clubs met in Washington, D.C., with the goal of promoting black tennis in America. The organization held the first ATA National Championships at Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park in August of the following year; the tournament featured three total draws – men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles.

Over 100 years later, the annual week-long event now features around 60 total draws, ranging from boys’ and girls’ 10s to women’s 70s and men’s 80s for the 101st edition.

A total of four divisional finals are set to be broadcast live by the USTA National Campus’ in-house production team. On Monday, July 30, the women’s open singles final (9:00 a.m.) and men’s open singles final (11:00 a.m.) can be viewed from first point to last. Additionally, on Friday, August 3, the boys’ and girls’ 18s singles finals will be played simultaneously at 11:30 a.m. with coverage of both matches. All broadcasts can be found on the USTA’s YouTube page.

The ATA, which is the oldest African-American sports organization in the United States, has produced a number of the world’s top players and coaches. Most notably among these are Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe, the first African-Americans to be ranked No. 1 and to win grand slam titles. Others to grow up training at ATA-affiliated clubs and participating in ATA events include current USTA Chairman of the Board and President Katrina Adams, Zina Garrison, Leslie Allen, Lori McNeil, Chanda Rubin and MaliVai Washington.

For more information on the 2018 ATA National Championships, click here. To learn more about the history of the ATA, click here.