The Waverley and District Tennis Association Incorporated, trading as Waverley Tennis, was founded in July 1979 when a number of tennis clubs in the south eastern suburbs, then competing in the Eastern Metropolitan Region Lawn Tennis Association (EMRLTA), met at the old Waverley Council building in Springvale Road, Glen Waverley, to form the Waverley and District Tennis Association Incorporated. On that occasion, a dedicated Steering Committee presented to some 28 tennis clubs a proposal to form a new Tennis Association, with the mutual blessing of the Eastern Metropolitan Region Tennis Lawn Association (EMRLTA), and from that time, Waverley Tennis was launched under the leadership of Russ Nicholls as President and Mark Collins as Association Secretary. A strong and dedicated Committee of Management (and Sub-Committees) has maintained the status of Waverley Tennis since those very early days.
In 2019 Waverley Tennis celebrated its 40th Anniversary. In the time since its foundation it has grown to over 110 Affiliates, with many other tennis clubs now merged or closed down being affiliated with Waverley Tennis at some point in the past.
Waverley Tennis offers activities in all facets of the game of tennis, i.e. Weekend Junior and Senior inter-club matchplay (Saturdays and Sundays), Mid-Week Ladies' tennis (via the Mid-Week Ladies' Division), Mid-Week Men's tennis, Night Tennis inter-club matchplay, Waverley Tennis Hot Shots Match Play inter-club competition formatted for beginner players and their parents, Waverley Tennis Junior Development Squad Program (to complement individual player coaching), and convenes a number of Tennis Australia sanctioned Tennis Australia Australian Money Tournaments (AMT's) and Junior Tournaments (JT's) annually.
Waverley Tennis also convenes and hosts a number of prestigious junior Tennis Carnivals throughout each calendar year namely, the Daphne Fancutt Junior Shield and the Pat Pearce Memorial Carnival (the latter in turn with 3 other Melbourne Metropolitan Tennis Associations).
A strong emphasis of Waverley Tennis has been (and remains) junior player development and many talented junior players have progressed through the ranks to higher levels in their tennis careers. Waverley Tennis' most prestigious annual Awards are its Waverley Tennis Junior Player of the Year Awards (Male and Female) and past winners of these Awards have gone onto represent themselves most admirably in senior ranks, nationally and internationally.