The World Covered Court Championships were part of a series of three major world championships sanctioned from 1913 to 1923 by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF). The tournament was played indoors on wood floors, and its venue changed from year to year among several countries. While the World Grass Court Championships (Wimbledon) and World Hard Court Championships (WHCC) could justify their "world championship" titles, the WCCC had trouble attracting top players from outside Europe. At an Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 16 March 1923 in Paris, France the ILTF issued the ‘Rules of Tennis’ that were adopted with public effect on 1 January 1924. USA became an affiliated member of the ILTF. The World Championship title was also dropped at this meeting and a new category of Official Championship was created for events in Great Britain, France, USA and Australia – today’s Grand Slam events. The WCCC tournament was then disbanded by the ILTF.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there are 211 national and six regional associations that make up the ITF's membership.