LAKE NONA, Fla.– The United States Tennis Association (USTA) 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, making the USPTA the first and only accredited association.

“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.”

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.

“On behalf of the USPTA board of directors and the Executive Committee, we are proud to have achieved full accreditation status,” said Gary Trost, USPTA President. “We received our provisional accreditation in March 2018 and being able to achieve the comprehensive provisional and full accreditation process within a year reflects the vision of our board, Executive Committee members and staff – both past and present. 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.”

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.