page_title: International Tennis Federation
section_title: Olympics and Paralympics
hierarchical_section_title: International Tennis Federation / Competitions / Team competitions / Olympics and Paralympics
caption_attribution_description: English: Left to right: Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
context_page_description: The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national associations, and as of 2016, is affiliated with 211 national tennis associations and six regional associations.
  The ITF's governance responsibilities include maintaining and enforcing the rules of tennis, regulating international team competitions, promoting the game, and preserving the sport's integrity via anti-doping and anti-corruption programs. The ITF partners with the Women's Tennis Association and the Association of Tennis Professionals to govern professional tennis.
  The ITF organizes the Grand Slam events, annual team competitions for men, women, and mixed teams, as well as tennis and wheelchair tennis events at the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games on behalf of the International Olympic Committee. The ITF sanctions the Grand Slam tennis tournaments as well as circuits which span age ranges as well as disciplines. In addition to these circuits, the ITF also maintains rankings for juniors, seniors, wheelchair and beach tennis.
context_section_description: Tennis (lawn tennis) was part of the Summer Olympic Games program from the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics, but was dropped after the 1924 Summer Olympics due to disputes between the ITF and the International Olympic Committee over allowing amateur players to compete. After two appearances as a demonstration sport in 1968 and 1984, it returned as a full medal sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics and has been played at every edition of the Games since then.
  Wheelchair tennis was first contested at the Summer Paralympic Games as a demonstration sport in 1988, with two events being held (Men's and Women's Singles). It became an official medal-awarding sport in 1992 and has been competed at every Summer Paralympics since then. Four events were held from 1992 to 2000, with quad events (mixed gender) in both singles and doubles added in 2004.
caption: Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
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