Professional tennis is one of the most global sports in the world – but unlike many others, it is not governed by a single organization.
Instead, tennis is built around several key bodies that together form a structured and interconnected system. To understand where tournaments like the Nordea Open fit in, we need to start here: who actually does what?
Unlike league-based sports, tennis operates as an international ecosystem rather than a single competition structure.
The key stakeholders are:
Each plays a distinct role – and together they form the global structure of the sport.
The ITF (International Tennis Federation) is the governing body responsible for the overall framework of tennis worldwide.
Its responsibilities include:
In short, the ITF provides the foundation on which the entire sport is built.
The ATP and WTA govern the professional tours – the level where the world’s best players compete week in and week out.
ATP oversees men’s tennis, while WTA governs women’s tennis, with similar structural principles.
They are responsible for:
This is where the majority of professional tennis takes place throughout the year.
The Grand Slam tournaments – Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open – are the most prestigious events in tennis.
They operate somewhat independently from the tours. They are not owned by ATP or WTA, but they collaborate closely and award ranking points.
This gives them a unique status within the sport.
Beyond the tours, tennis also includes major events played under a different structure.
These are governed by the ITF and are based on national representation rather than individual ranking.
This includes:
These competitions add another dimension to the sport, where players represent their countries instead of competing solely as individuals.
The Nordea Open is part of both the ATP and WTA Tours. This means the tournament operates within the professional global system, where rankings, entry lists and regulations are governed by the tours.
At the same time, it is part of the broader tennis ecosystem built on the ITF’s global framework, connecting rules, international competitions and the sport as a whole.
For fans in Båstad, this means every match is part of something bigger. Players are not only competing for a title – but for their position in the global tennis landscape.
In the next part, we take a closer look at how the professional tennis tour actually works – as a global system of tournaments rather than a traditional league.
