External review on USTA safety policies

In October 2023, as part of our ongoing efforts to continually improve our standards for player safety, the USTA retained the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP to conduct an independent review of our policies and procedures for preventing, reporting, and responding to reports of abuse, including sexual misconduct, and to make recommendations to the USTA. The full finding of that review, without modifications or omissions, can be found here.

The Debevoise review was focused on the effectiveness and transparency of both the ways in which the USTA works to keep athletes safe from abuse—such as trainings, background screenings and member communications—and our policies for responding when we receive a report of misconduct. 

The review found that our current policies are in full compliance with those required by the Center for Safe Sport and also provides important recommendations to help us continually elevate our standards. The USTA is working to implement these recommendations as thoroughly and swiftly as possible. 

As always, the USTA continues to encourage any athlete, member, volunteer, or employee who experiences any type of inappropriate or abusive conduct to report that conduct. There are several ways to make such reports, and they can be found here: https://www.usta.com/en/home/safe-play/report-suspicious-activity.html.

Safety is our highest priority at the USTA, and this report is an important step in bringing additional rigor to our processes and to further ensuring a safe environment for all those involved in the sport of tennis.