The ITHF Player Voting Group, comprised of approximately 140 tennis journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers, will submit their vote.
The top 3 vote getters in the Fan Vote will receive bonus percentage points on their result from the Voting Group.
To be elected, a candidate must receive an affirmative vote in 75% or higher of ballots submitted from the Voting Group or a combined total of 75% or higher from their Voting Group result and Fan Vote bonus percentage points.
So, if a candidate gets 80% in the ITHF Voting Group and wins the Fan Vote, their total vote will be 83%. Because this is higher than 75%, they will be elected to the Hall of Fame. If a person received 74% affirmative votes in the ITHF Voting Group and comes in second place in the Fan Vote, they’ll get a 2% bonus, bringing their total vote to 76% and they will be elected to the Hall of Fame.
In addition to the annual induction of the sports’ greatest players, every four years the International Tennis Hall of Fame presents tennis’ ultimate honor to the most impactful leaders in the sport by induction in the Contributor Category.
The year ahead will be a Contributor Category induction year and there are two candidates on the ballot:
The Original 9, the nine brave women who joined together 50 years ago this year to fight for professional playing opportunities and equal prize money for women, are nominated for their work which eventually led to today’s WTA.
Dennis Van der Meer, known as the “teacher of teachers,” is nominated for his work in developing top teaching pros and founding the Professional Tennis Registry to certify standard methods of teaching.
2021 ITHF Contributor Category Nominees: Dennis Van der Meer and The Original 9 (Photo courtesy Houston Public Library)
The Contributor Category will not be part of Fan Voting, but will be decided upon by the Official Voting Group, which is comprised of tennis media, historians, and Hall of Famers.
Being voted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame is the ultimate honor for a tennis player. It represents the sum of their career achievements as being among the greatest in tennis history.