The
Association of Tennis Professionals (
ATP) was formed in September 1972 by
Donald Dell,
Bob Briner,
Jack Kramer, and
Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional
tennis players. Drysdale became the first President. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the organization's name. In 1990 the organization was called the
ATP Tour, which was renamed in 2001 as just
ATP and the tour being called ATP Tour. In 2009 the name was changed again and is now known as the
ATP World Tour. It is an evolution of the tour competitions previously known as
Grand Prix tennis tournaments and
World Championship Tennis (WCT).