Chinese tennis great Li Na, France’s Mary Pierce, and Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, each a two-time Grand Slam singles champion among their many career accolades, have been elected to receive tennis’ ultimate honor in 2019 – induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. 

Nominations are open now for the annual Tennis Industry Hall of Fame. Inductees for 2019 will be announced at the 12th Annual TIA Tennis Forum, to be held in New York City on Monday, Aug. 26. Visit TennisIndustry.org/HoF for more information or to nominate. (All nominations will be confidential.) Nominations for 2019 will close on July 1.

The United States Tennis Association today announced that Gordon Smith, the longest-tenured CEO and Executive Director in the Association’s history, has announced his retirement effective December 31, 2019. Smith first assumed his position in November 2007.

The USTA Foundation, the national charitable arm of the United States Tennis Association (USTA), announced that it has appointed 18-time Grand Slam singles champion and former world No. 1 Chris Evert as Chair of the USTA Foundation’s Board of Directors. In her new role, Evert will serve as the USTA Foundation’s spokesperson and ambassador to promote its mission, raise funds and increase the impact of its national outreach efforts to under-resourced youth. She succeeds former pro James Blake, who served as USTA Foundation Chair from 2015 to 2018.

All different types of folks become president of the USTA – oilmen, car manufacturers, insurance execs and lawyers. More recently a great doubles player – Katrina Adams, who reached the Wimbledon doubles semis – headed the group for four years. Now another doubles whiz, Patrick Galbraith, will be USTA president on January 1. In fact, the Washington state resident is the finest player to lead the federation since seven-time US National champ Richard Sears headed the group over 130 years ago. Read Inside Tennis's Bill Simons' Q&A with the new USTA president here at this link.

Cliff Drysdale Tennis, the largest tennis management company in the U.S., announced its year-end ‘Cliffy Award’ winners Friday, with standout employees and clubs being recognized for their efforts in 2018.

Larry Ellison, the co-founder, executive chairman and chief technology officer of software giant Oracle, has been named “Person of the Year” for 2018 by Tennis Industry magazine in the publication’s January 2019 issue. Ellison led off the magazine’s 18th annual “Champions of Tennis Awards,” which honors people, businesses and organizations dedicated to improving the sport and business of tennis.

The ATP and Tennis Australia today officially unveiled the ATP Cup - a new team competition to kickstart the men’s tennis season from 2020. The tournament, which was announced during the Nitto ATP Finals in London, will be played across three Australian cities over ten days in the lead up to the Australian Open and will feature teams from 24 countries.

Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) announced that Brian Parkkonen has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer.  As COO, Parkkonen will oversee organizational development and staff collaboration.  His main priorities will be to ensure the highest quality standards are in place and upheld creating a unified and efficient approach to the overall member experience.