Advice on Ratings, Rankings and Performance Tennis

Ewell Castle School Tennis Academy

Advice on Ratings, Rankings and Performance Tennis - Alison Battista

There are lots of different types of competition for your child to get involved in! Tennis competitions are graded between 7-1 to give an indication of the standard of play and to make it easier to identify suitable competitive opportunities.

U11 - OPEN TYPE BEST FOR ACCEPTANCE SEEDING GRADE 7 Internal / Club Club champs / Members only Rating then ranking squad box leagues Minis – organisers separate based on information available or by lot

GRADE 6 Matchplay Play against similar standard

GRADE 5 Local /County Entry level competitions First come, first served – enter as soon as it opens for entries!

GRADE 4 County Tour County level competitions Rating then ranking Rating then ranking Red – organisers separate based on information available or by lot

Rating then ranking Red – organisers separate based on information available or by lot

Ranking – limited numbers in draw Ranking Red – 8U – organisers base it on number of matches played Orange and Green – based on recent form

GRADE 3 Regional Tour A circuit of tournaments for 9U-18U players Ranking – limited numbers in draw

GRADE 2 National Tour Tournaments for 10U-18U players to improve matchplay and mental skills at high level Ranking – limited numbers in draw

GRADE 1 National Champs Highest level of domestic competition Ranking – limited numbers in draw Ranking Red – 8U – organisers base it on number of matches played Orange and Green – based on recent form

Ranking Green – based on recent form

Ranking

Wild Cards can be awarded by the organiser/committee of a tournament One for every eight places in a tournament. If it is a 9U or 10U tournament then there may be one wild card for every four places. It would be worth an email to the organiser to ask!

LTA Youth Competitions age groups are aligned with the same competition seasons as Junior Tennis. A player’s competition age is determined by their age on 31 December.

The table below shows which age group players will compete in from 1 January to 31 December 2021:

Age Group 8U (Red) 9U (Orange) 10U (Green) 11U 12U January - December 2021 For players born in...

2013 or later 2012 or 2013 2011 or 2012 2010 or 2011 2009 - 2010

14U 16U 18U 2007 - 2010 2005 - 2010 2003 - 2010

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

If your child is born in 2013 or later, they will play in Red competitions in 2021. If your child is born in 2012 or 2013, they will play in Orange competitions in 2021. If your child is born in 2011 or 2012, they will play in Green competitions in 2021.

Player passports, which are managed by the Talent Performance Teams, are awarded to players who have achieved strong competition results and for whom it would benefit their progress and overall game development. This is reviewed as part of the on-going regional and national camp program.

PLAYER PASSPORTS:

Players are nominated and approved by the LTA Performance Team. Upon receiving a Player Passport, a player will be able to play in the next age group or ball colour above.