USTA Press Release, February 22, 2019
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) today announced that the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) has received full accreditation under the USTA’s new accreditation program for organizations and institutions that certify U.S. tennis teaching professionals. The goal of the new program is to improve the tennis delivery system in the U.S., by setting mandatory pre-certification standards for the development of those who seek to become a certified teaching pro and providing improved and increased coaching education for all current certified professionals who are members of the USPTA.
In 2017, the USTA announced the creation of a tennis coaching accreditation program for organizations and institutions that certify U.S. tennis professionals. The USPTA applied for provisional accreditation in January 2018 and was awarded provisional accreditation in March 2018. Now, the USTA’s Accreditation Review Committee (ARC) has voted to grant the USPTA full accreditation for a period of three years. This makes USPTA the first USTA-accredited tennis-teaching organization.
“The quality of tennis delivery in our country is the single most important ingredient to growing tennis participation,” said Gordon Smith, USTA CEO and Executive Director. “In order to attract and retain new and diverse generations of tennis players, we must do everything possible to ensure their on-court experience is of the highest caliber. Raising the standards for teaching professionals in the United States will positively impact players of all ages and abilities.”
“We are proud to have achieved full accreditation status from the USTA,” said USPTA president, Gary Trost. “Being fully accredited from the governing body of tennis in the U.S. is a true indication that we are the leaders in tennis-teaching certification.”
Moving forward, the USTA and USPTA will collaborate on a wide array of education initiatives. New certification standards will require new USPTA applicants to complete significant experiential learning. This will include on-the-job training along with pre-certification education, online course work and face-to-face workshops.
With the shared goal of ensuring that tennis is a safe sport for kids, the USPTA will require all new members to complete the USTA’s SafePlay program, which includes a criminal background screening and education on prevention of misconduct in sport.
Now that the USPTA is a fully-accredited teaching organization, USPTA pros will receive a host of benefits, including priority listing on the Net Generation website, as well as a wide array of online and face-to-face education and USTA marketing and promotional opportunities.
