Tennis is one of the university sports with the oldest history in the FISU sports programme. It has featured at every International Summer Sports Week starting from 1949 in Merano (ITA) and celebrated its debut as a compulsory sport at the first Summer Universiade in Turin in 1959. From the very beginning, it has attracted many famous players.

History of Tennis in FISU

Tennis is one of the university sports with the oldest history in the FISU sports programme. It has featured at every International Summer Sports Week starting from 1949 in Merano (ITA) and celebrated its debut as a compulsory sport at the first Summer Universiade in Turin in 1959. From the very beginning, university tennis has attracted many famous players and future coaches. The first gold medals in Universiade tennis were taken by the French, Fançois Jauffret, and the Russian, Irina Riazanova, who won the singles tournaments in Turin.

With the development of university tennis and its increasing popularity, further renowned players such as Niki Pilic or Jan Kukal participated in the Universiade, moving forward to become future captains of Davis Cup teams. In the nineties, the tennis events experienced an increasing dominance from Asia. At the Universiade in Sicily in 1997, it was Chinese Taipei and Korea that divided up the titles.

Over the course of time, many international top-level tennis stadiums and courts were built for the Summer Universiade, providing tennis the opportunity to develop within the framework of university sports. Further to this, there has always been a close relationship between the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the FISU Technical Chairs. As such, FISU seeks the highest quality of organisation, guaranteeing the success of future Universiade tennis events.

Minimum Requirements for Tennis

The Organising Committee must provide, for exclusive use, a tennis centre with courts to the same specification and in sufficient number to support the tennis competition for men and women as approved by the Tennis CT. The ITF regulations must be followed.

Competition and Training Facilities

• All courts must have lighting according to international standards, complying with ITF Regulations regarding the dimensions and surrounds.
• The two show courts must have spectator seating.
• The four indoor courts are to be used as additional training facilities and as contingency in the event of adverse weather conditions.
• The competition courts (other than the show courts) must be accessible for public viewing by providing circulation and standing room between courts.

Previous Results

• 2009 - 25th Summer Universiade – Belgrade (SRB)
• 2007 - 24th Summer Universiade – Bangkok (THA)
• 2005 - 23rd Summer Universiade – Izmir (TUR)
• 2003 - 22nd Summer Universiade – Daegu (KOR)
• 2001 - 21st Summer Universiade – Beijing (CHN)
• 1999 - 20th Summer Universiade - Palma de Mallorca (ESP)
• 1997 - 19th Summer Universiade – Sicily (ITA)
• 1995 - 18th Summer Universiade – Fukuoka (JPN)
• 1993 - 17th Summer Universiade – Buffalo (USA)
• 1991 - 16th Summer Universiade – Sheffield (GBR)
• 1987 - 14th Summer Universiade – Zagreb (YUG)
• 1985 - 13th Summer Universiade – Kobe (JPN)
• 1983 - 12th Summer Universiade – Edmonton (CAN)
• 1981 - 11th Summer Universiade – Bucharest (ROU)
• 1979 - 10th Summer Universiade - Mexico City (MEX)
• 1977 - 9th Summer Universiade – Sofia (BUL)
• 1973 - 7th Summer Universiade – Moscow (URS)
• 1970 - 6th Summer Universiade – Torino (ITA)
• 1967 - 5th Summer Universiade – Tokyo (JPN)
• 1965 - 4th Summer Universiade – Budapest (HUN)
• 1963 - 3rd Summer Universiade - Porto Alegre (BRA)
• 1961 - 2nd Summer Universiade – Sofia (BUL)
• 1959 - 1st Summer Universiade – Torino (ITA)