Tennis Organizations | USTA
Far too often, there are junior tennis players (players 18 and under) who want to know what level they have to be at to compete in college, and some of them are even already at the level where they can fit on a college team. However, they’ve never had exposure to tournaments of any sort and don’t know where to start - but here’s a comprehensive guide on the tournaments to play. There are three major organizations/federations to know about if you’re aspiring to play college tennis. These are the USTA, the ITF, and the ITA. All three operate with their own distinct geographies and have different rules that govern the way competitions and rankings are created for athletes. Part I covers the USTA.
USTA
The staple organization for American tennis, this is otherwise known as the United States Tennis Organization, and it plays host to a majority of the sanctioned tournaments that are held in the U.S. On the nationwide scale, the organization is divided into sections based on geographical location; for instance, there is a section for the Eastern U.S. which encompasses New York, and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. Another example of a section would be Southern California, which (obviously) covers most cities and towns in the southern region of California. Within the USTA, there are various levels of competition, and these are judged by the type of tournament you play. If you’re a junior, then you’ll be playing junior tournaments, although if you’re at a sufficient level you can even play men’s tournaments to give yourself greater competition. Ultimately, in national level tournaments, players from all USTA sections can compete against each other.
Junior tennis is divided into age groups increasing by two years - in other words, there are the 10’s and Under, 12’s and Under, and so on until the age of 18. Within those age groups, there are varying levels of tournaments that decide the level of competition. An example of these different levels would be in the Eastern section where the tournaments are quite literally named Level 3, Level 2, Level Level 1, with Level 1 being the highest of the three. These levels not only apply within sectional tournaments but also to National tournaments - the big reason for the different levels of tournaments is merely for the number of points you receive for every win you make - these points add up and contribute to your USTA ranking, either in your section or in the whole nation.
So here’s the reason to play USTA tournaments: it gives you a ranking within your section, and if you play national tournaments, then nationally as well. This ranking puts you on the map for coaches to see your results and judge your level to see if you’re a good fit for their program. Typically the higher the level of tournament you play, the more points you receive for your ranking, and the higher your ranking will be. In some cases, depending on the tournament you can receive extra points for beating players with rankings below a certain threshold. For a more concrete explanation of the number of points you receive, you can find the USTA national points table here.
What good is all this if you have no idea which tournaments to actually play? Well, the baseline for any college recruitable player is to be playing tournaments at least on the sectional level. Typically, top players that go D1 will be playing the highest level of tournaments within their section and on the national scale - for instance, these would be Level 1 or Level 2 Nationals. D3 is a much more wide-scale as there are also players that can play at a very high level nationally, however, a good baseline would be to play Level 1 or Level 2 sectional tournaments and have consistent results within those tournaments. Keep in mind this varies by section, as some sections have bigger populations of players and a higher level. For instance, Southern California is a very competitive section, and some of the best players on the national scale that come from there can also be playing Level 1 or Level 2 sectionals. Generally, the tournaments where the most college coaches will be scouting athletes are at Level 1 or Level 1A nationals, however, if you’ve been in contact with a coach, then it is possible for a meetup to be arranged at a lower level tournament if they live nearby. Most likely they won’t be willing to travel if it’s not close and if the tournament is not of high competitive level.
Finally, the part that matters most for people just getting started - the registration process. In order to register for USTA tournaments you’ll have to create an account on the USTA website and then choose a membership plan. These memberships are all one-time payments that vary in price: $44 for adults, $20 for juniors, and $72 for families. Typically you will have to renew your membership every few years as well, but it is best to start early, as you can take advantage of the higher-level men’s tournament while being a junior. After completing this you can register for tournaments using “Tennislink” which essentially takes you to a constantly updated database of the tournaments that are available for registration in your area. Select the blue “Tournaments” tab, and then the advanced search: from there you can select tournaments based on time of the year, Section, and Division.
Typically, you’ll want to start off with lower-level tournaments in order to get your feet wet and understand the level of competition in your area. If you’re a high school player in New York with little experience, then you’ll want to try a Level 3 as a baseline and see where you stack up against the competition. The last step is to find the right tournament you’re looking for and go to the tournament registration page - from that point on you’ll have to pay a registration fee to the director and then you’ll be considered an applicant to the tournament, If you’re selected (based on your ranking in the section to which you applied), then you'll be an eligible applicant. Some tournaments do indeed have a ranking threshold but don’t worry, a life hack is to play an age group above so you are exposed to higher competition and have a head start on getting points in the next age group. This may seem like a complicated process, trust us we went through it ourselves, but as with all good things, practice makes perfect.
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USTA Points Tables:
National Points table Eastern Florida
Hawaii Pacific Intermountain Mid Atlantic
Middle States Midwest Missouri Valley
New England Northern California Northern