The Tennis Industry Association is accepting nominations for the Tennis Industry Hall of Fame for 2014, which honors individuals who have made a significant impact on the sport of tennis. Nominations, which are due by June 21, can be in any of four categories: Inventors, Founders, Innovators or Contributors.

Virgil Christian, the director of market development for the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA), has been named “Person of the Year” for 2013 by Tennis Industry magazine in the publication’s January 2014 issue. Christian led off the magazine’s 13th annual “Champions of Tennis Awards,” which honors people, businesses and organizations dedicated to improving the sport and business of tennis.

The American Sports Builders Association (ASBA), the national organization for builders and suppliers of materials for athletic facilities, has announced the winners of its annual awards. Awards are presented each year to facilities built by ASBA members, which best exemplify construction excellence.

In March, the USTA and the tennis industry will host USTA Tennis Play Events in celebration of World Tennis Day on March 3. Tennis Play Events are designed to introduce kids to tennis and provide a platform to register children for spring programs. Sports industry studies have shown that an early, positive experience in sports creates a lifelong commitment to an active lifestyle.

In an effort to provide enhanced resources to tournament directors and referees, the USTA has made available “Tournament Data Manager on the Web,” a software application designed to make tournament management easier. Beginning in 2014, all sanctioned tournaments must use the new online version.

The International Tennis Federation and StarGames announced today that the second annual World Tennis Day will take place on Monday, March 3. World Tennis Day will center around a series of high-profile special events, produced by StarGames, featuring current and former professional players. In 2014, the number of cities hosting the special events will include New York, London, Bangkok and Hong Kong.

Throughout the past 12 months, the TIA has continued to take steps to move this industry’s key focus areas forward, laying the groundwork along with the USTA and our partners for various efforts and initiatives that will help provide a sustainable infrastructure to carry our industry well into the future. We realize we still have many challenges, but thanks to the efforts of thousands in this industry, we will continue to take steps toward long-term growth for all stakeholders, and to further unite all of us under one brand—TENNIS.

Tennis will introduce new rules to deal with ‘smart’ equipment that allows information about players’ performances to be recorded and viewed in real time. This is known as ‘Player Analysis Technology’ (or ‘PAT’ for short) and is defined as any equipment that collects, stores, transmits, analyses or communicates information on player performance, and includes items that a player wears (such as heart-rate monitors) or carries onto court (the racket), as well as devices located around the court (player tracking systems).

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The Tennis Industry Association (TIA) will hold two industry meetings in early 2014—the “Future of Tennis Summit” March 11-12 in Indian Wells, California, and the “TIA Facility Owners and Managers Conference” April 3-4 in Charleston, South Carolina. Registration for both events is now open at FutureofTennis.com and TheTOMConference.com.