The Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) was formed in the year of 1926 in the name of the Madras Provincial Lawn Tennis Association (MPLTA). The Hon. Justice E.E. Mack was the first ever President of the association. The clubs like the Madras Cricket Club, Madras United Club, and the South Indian Athletic Association were the first amongst the clubs to get affiliated to the Association. Apart from them, the other prominent clubs like Madras Gymkhana Club, Mylapore Club, Cosmopolitan Club, have also played a key role in the development of tennis. All these Clubs conducted some periodical tournaments with a view to upbringing the game of Tennis in Tamil Nadu, along with the TNTA. The TNTA and the clubs have also been providing tennis facilities to their members and also to the commoners.
The TNTA started to impart regular coaching for the young players during that time. The TNTA has played a very important role in the development of tennis nationally in India by staging important Davis Cup matches. The organisation has also organised some fruitful national level tournaments like the National Hard Court Championships and National Junior Championships, and ITF Satellite and Challenger events. The TNTA is also the organiser of the only ATP Tennis tournament held in South Asia.
The Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) has done a great job so far in the upbringing of the game of Tennis in Madras and also in India. The TNTA has now grown into a professionally managed organization with it`s headquarter in Chennai. The TNTA has a number of 28 clubs as its affiliated members at the moment. The TNTA also conducts some regular activities for the well being of Tennis and the activities include, 1) Running tennis coaching schools, 2) Conducting and administering tournaments at regional, national and international levels, 3) Coordinating with All India Tennis Association (AITA), Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) and other bodies, 4) Coordinating with International Marketing Group (IMG) to conduct the ATP Event, 5) Conducting coaching camps for State level players, 6) Presenting annual awards to potentially talented players in various age groups at its Annual Day function and 7) Conducting clinics and examinations for umpires and officials.
There are nine district associations in Tamil Nadu at the moment under the supervision of TNTA and they actively promote tennis by conducting tournaments and harnessing talent through coaching schemes in their respective areas. Being satisfied with the job done by the TNTA so far, the state government of Tamil Nadu has also constructed a world-class tennis stadium for conducting the South Asian Federation (SAF) games in 1995. The stadium is named as the SDAT Tennis Stadium and it is playing an important role for providing the young and budding tennis players with all kinds of international facilities.
