At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, members of the higher social classes, following the example of England and other European countries, began to build tennis courts on their estates (in Samobor, Županja, Zagreb, Nova Gradiška, etc.). At the same time, tennis was also played among military officers (in Pula, Osijek, Gospić, Karlovac, Šibenik, etc.) who also founded their own tennis clubs (in Pula, Rijeka, Zadar, etc.), which, as a rule, were closed to civilians. Tennis courts attached to hotels and tourist offer also appeared (in Opatija, Dubrovnik, Mali Lošinj, etc.). Franjo Bučar taught tennis to members of the Croatian Sokol in Zagreb at the end of the 19th century, and Lawn Tennis Club, which operated for several years, was founded in Split in 1905. However, the systematic development of tennis as a sport is connected with the founding of tennis sections at the First Croatian Skating Association in Zagreb in 1904 and the tennis section of HAŠK in 1905. On their initiative, several public tennis courts were built and tennis tournaments were organized, as were the first Croatian and Slavonian Tennis Championships in 1911. After the First World War, tennis spread and clubs were founded in numerous cities. During the 1930s and 1940s, Croatian tennis players began to achieve notable international results. After the Second World War, new social circumstances affected the development of tennis, but already in the 1960s and 1970s, Croatian tennis players began to achieve notable results again. The greatest results of Croatian tennis were achieved in the period after Croatia gained its independence.
The tennis section of the Croatian Sports Federation, which began operating in 1912, is considered the first national umbrella tennis organization. The Yugoslav Tennis Federation started operating after its foundation in Zagreb in 1922. The Tennis Federation of Croatia, founded in 1948, changed its name to the Croatian Tennis Federation. It has been a member of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) since 1992.
The national team of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, composed of Franjo Punčec, Josip Palada, Dragutin Mitić and Franjo Kukuljević, achieved notable success in Davis Cup competitions in the 1930s. The following generation of tennis players, led by Nikola Pilić, Boro Jovanović and Željko Franulović, stood out after the Second World War. Croatia’s national tennis team won the Davis Cup in 2005 (Mario Ančić, Goran Ivanišević, Ivo Karlović, Ivan Ljubičić and coach Nikola Pilić) and in 2018 (Marin Čilić, Borna Ćorić, Franko Škugor, Mate Pavić, Ivan Dodig and coach Željko Krajan). Renata Šašak and Sabrina Goleš were the most significant female tennis players until the appearance of Iva Majoli, who won the Roland Garros tournament in 1997 and became the first Croatian tennis player ever to win a Grand Slam singles tournament. Before her, Dragutin Mitić (1938 Roland Garros mixed doubles) and Nikola Pilić (1970 US Open men’s doubles) had won Grand Slam doubles titles. Goran Ivanišević (Wimbledon 2001) and Marin Čilić (US Open 2014) won Grand Slam singles titles, while Ivan Dodig (7 times), Mate Pavić (5 times) and Nikola Mektić (once) won Grand Slam men’s doubles and mixed doubles titles. Croatian tennis players have won 6 Olympic medals (until the Olympic Games in Paris 2024), including 1 gold medal (Nikola Pavić and Nikola Mektić, doubles, Tokyo 2021.).