Hopefully this pastes correctly - This is the "proposal". Will have to post in multiple postings. This is page 1 & 2
USTA Junior Competition Committee
PROPOSED REVISIONS TO THE STRUCTURE OF
USTA NATIONAL JUNIOR COMPETITION
The proposed revisions to the structure of USTA national junior competition are built upon the foundation of our existing
tournament structure and the valuable input of the Sectional Associations, maximizing the finest of our current events, but also
making modifications that will quickly improve the competition landscape in a number of important ways. The proposals are
based upon a belief that true player development happens locally, and that only the very best players should compete at the
highest national levels. Players should not be “entitled” to play nationally, but must have earned their way by being able to beat
players at their local, District, and Sectional levels before moving on to Regional and National competition. The resulting benefits
of the proposal are many:
• In answer to the Committee’s charge, the proposal lowers costs by reducing the number of national tournaments and providing
access to national tournaments primarily through Sectional play while reducing days missed on a traditional school calendar.
• By creating pathways that require Sectional play to advance to most of the Regional and National tournaments and by
scheduling tournaments with different national ranking levels in the same date blocks, the proposal provides players a clearly
defined logical progression from Section to Region to National play.
• With the expectation that the QuickStart initiative will be successful and create a significantly larger pool of junior players, the
proposal creates a structure that gives players the opportunity for competitive matches at all levels without incentivizing or
allowing play beyond a level where the player hasn’t first achieved success.
The Major Changes Include:
Emphasis on Sectional Play. The proposal provides a renewed increased importance on Sectional play in two significant ways:
• Access to the USTA National Championships (Clay Courts and Hard Courts) has been revised to eliminate access through
qualifiers and the National Championship Selection List, resulting in an increased quota for these tournaments. Additionally,
the selection for the summer hard court USTA National Championship has been revised to give the June singles Sectional
Champion an automatic berth into the tournament.
• The proposal increases the number of Sectional Level 3s from one (1) to two (2) and increases the number of Level 4s from
three (3) to four (4), while eliminating the Level 5 ranking tournaments. In comparison, the number of national Level 3s has
been reduced and access to the national Level 3s and 4s is achieved only through sectional play by way of a sectional quota.
The new emphasis places increased importance on Sections to develop methods for players to age up because access is now
primarily through Sectional play and only one category of National tournament - the USTA National Selection Tournaments - will
select players from the next younger age division.
Periodization of National Schedule. The new periodization schedule enables players to develop their games as efficiently and
effectively as possible throughout the calendar year and leaves time for players to schedule training and Sections to schedule
their events. The new schedule reduces the number of date blocks on which National and Regional tournaments are
sanctioned from 15 to 11. Shifts in the schedule that accomplish this goal include:
• Moving the USTA National Clay Court Championships to the Memorial Day weekend and making it a 64 draw;
• Sanctioning tournaments of different national ranking levels during the same date blocks;
• Reducing the number of national tournaments sanctioned in the 12s division, as well as reducing the USTA National
Championship draw sizes in this division.
Introduction of New Tournaments. Several new events have been included on the schedule that are conceived to meet the
evolving needs of America’s junior tennis players in a changing world – including events which support the new USTA national
player development philosophy (and the new culture being created by the USTA’s Regional Training Center program) as well as
those utilizing college tennis as the inspiration and model for our junior players. These include:
• USTA National Grand Masters that introduces a progressive event where the very top finishers in the younger divisions
advance to compete with the best older players;
• USTA National Masters for our top 16 players in the 16s and 14s divisions;
• USTA National Winter Team Championships - Level 1, a Gold Ball tournament where the 16 top players in the country in the
18s, 16s and 14s divisions are waterfalled so that each team is comprised of players in all three divisions, and the concurrent
Level 2 version of this event where the next best 32 players compete in a similar format on 16 teams; and
• USTA National Doubles Championship, Level 1 Gold Ball tournament for the top 16s and 14s division players in the country,
where the emphasis is solely on doubles; and
• USTA National Selection Tournaments, which will be sanctioned twice each year concurrently on hard, clay, and indoor hard
courts and for which players are selected based on national standing and give the top entrants their choice in playing
surface.
New Quota System. As part of the renewed emphasis on Sectional play to gain access to National and Regional Tournaments,
a new quota system is proposed for the USTA National Championships that considers both size of Section, but also strength of
Section when the quotas are calculated. The proposed ratio is 60% strength/40% size. The same quota calculation will be
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used for Sections to endorse players to the USTA Regional Tournaments, which now will require players to play within their own
Region.
In Conclusion:
This proposal submits the revised tournament schedule as but the first (albeit important major) step toward an ultimate
transformation in cost effective player development. The implementation of a ratings system that will enable the evolution of truly
efficient local-based tennis “eco systems” and level-based tournaments is still needed to fully complete the player development
equation. Until that time, it will be incumbent upon localities, districts, and Sections to provide the best possible competition
experiences for the ever-growing number of new young tennis players.
Also key to the success of this proposal is a review and possible revision of the national ranking points tables to ensure players
have the ability to gain access to the higher levels as they improve their games. As part of this project, a new point table will be
developed for the USTA National Grand Masters. The review will also include a study of the Bonus Point tables and the effect
Bonus Points have on the rankings players from stronger sections who compete in Sectional tournaments that count for national
ranking.
USTA NATIONAL RANKING TOURNAMENTS
Players must meet the eligibility requirements of USTA Regulation IX.2. to enter and play in the National Ranking Tournaments
described below.
Note: The list of tournaments below includes only the National Ranking tournaments sanctioned by the USTA or its Sections,
except for USTA International Tournaments (USTA tournaments played using ITF tournament regulations). ITF tournaments and
USTA International Tournaments will also count for national ranking, and it is anticipated they will have the same ranking levels
as today.
LEVEL 1
USTA National Grand Masters. This new singles-only tournament will have a special points table developed that will award
points appropriately comparable to a Level 1 tournament. The goal is to have this be a hospitality event whereby the lodging
and meals are paid by the tournament. The tournament shall consist of 25 players selected from the most recently published
National Standings List as follows:
• 4 boys and 4 girls in the 14s divisions shall compete on the first day. The winner in each division advances to compete with
the 16s and the remaining 3 stay to train.
• 7 boys and 7 girls in the 16s division (plus the 14s winners) who shall play two rounds in a regular draw (first round losers
play a consolation match) with the players reaching the finals advancing to compete with the 18s. The remaining 6 stay to
train.
• 14 boys and 14 girls in the 18s division (plus the 16s winners) who shall play a Compass Draw.
USTA National Championships.
• The USTA Nationals Championships:
BG18/16/14 - singles draw of 128/doubles draw of 64; BG12 - singles draw of 64; doubles draw of 32
• USTA National Clay Court Championships: All divisions - singles draw of 64; doubles draw of 32
Draw Formats: BG 18: Singles MFIC Draw Format (losers of first three rounds fed into the consolation, a new draw format to be
programmed into TDM); BG16: Singles FIC Draw Format; BG14/12 Singles Compass Draw Format. All doubles draws will be
single elimination, unless a special request by a sanction holder is approved by the Committee.
Selection:
Hard Courts Clay Courts - All 64 Draws
Method of Acceptance BG18
128 Draw
BG 16/14
128 Draw
BG12
64 Draw BG18
BG
16/14 BG12
USTA National Boys’ and Girls’ 16
and 14 Masters Participants* n/a 16 n/a n/a 16 n/a
Sectional Champions 17 17 17 n/a n/a n/a
Sectional Quota** 95 87 44 60 44 60
Wild Cards 16 8 3 4 4 4
128 128 64 64 64 64
Remaining vacancies shall be filled using the most recently published National Standings List.