National

USTA Sanctioned Tournaments

Player Eligibility Requirements

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USTA Membership

 

All players, including non-U.S. citizens, are required to be members of the USTA in order to play in sanctioned tournaments unless this requirement is waived by the USTA or one of its Sectional Associations or District
Associations for an Entry Level Tournament. Juniors must be in good standing with the USTA to enter ITF Tournaments and USTA International Tournaments, which includes USTA Membership. 

 

Professionals

 

Professional players who are age eligible may enter and play in all USTA National Championships. USTA International Tournaments and ITF Tournaments are governed by ITF Regulations and allow professional players to play. All other USTA junior tournaments are limited to amateurs.

 

Citizenship and Residency Requirements

 

USTA National Championships, USTA National Doubles Championships, USTA National Level 2 Tournaments, USTA National Level 3 Tournaments,  USTA Junior National Tournaments including Level 1 Junior, Level 2 Junior, Level 3 Junior, Level 4 Junior, USTA National Spring Team Championships, USTA National Team Championships, USTA Intersectional Team Championships, and USTA Zone Team Championships shall be open to U.S. ADVERTISEMENT citizens and:

 

  • Permanent resident aliens of the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Province of British Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
  • Diplomats. Aliens who have resided in the United States continuously for more than one year and who are members of families of persons in the diplomatic or consular corps.
  • Aliens with Refugee Status. Aliens who have been granted Refugee Status.
  • Aliens with Asylee Status. Aliens who have been granted Asylee Status. Aliens with Temporary Protected Status. Aliens who have been granted Temporary Protected Status.
  • Aliens with Adjustment Status. Aliens whose I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Resident or Adjust Status) has been accepted for filing.
  • British Columbians. Canadian citizens and landed Canadian immigrants who reside in British Columbia, provided that they were USTA members for at least one month during 2010 and so long as they do not allow their USTA memberships to laps for a period of more than six months.

 

Documents commonly used to support a particular alien status include a permanent resident alien card (green card), Form I-94, or a receipt confirming the filing of the I-485. In order to register for the above events, you must declare your current residency here. Please double check your information as your residency may only be updated once per calendar year. If you would like to change your residency more than once per calendar year for assistance call USTA Customer Care at 1-800-990-8782.

 

The citizenship and residency requirements do not apply to USTA International Tournaments and ITF Tournaments.

 

USTA Closed Events 

 

USTA Closed events including Junior Level 5 Closed, Junior Level 4 Closed, Junior Level 3 Closed, Adult Level 5 Closed, Adult Level 4 Closed and Wheelchair Level 3 Closed is limited to residents of the USTA section and/or district association. 

Declaring residency shall determine the players who may play in Closed Sectional and District Tournaments, the players who may appear on a Sectional Quota List, and the players who may be selected to represent a Sectional Association or District Association in a team competition. In order to register for closed USTA Tournaments, you must declare your current residency here. Please double check your information as your residency may only be updated once per calendar year. If you would like to change your residency more than once per calendar year for assistance call USTA Customer Care at 1-800-990-8782.

 

Age Eligibility

 

 There are three general categories of tournaments:

• Junior;
• Adult, Senior, and Family; and
• Wheelchair.


a. Junior tournaments (18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8). A player, if otherwise eligible, may enter any Junior Division if the player has not exceeded the maximum age by the last day of the month during which the division is scheduled to start (see Table 4 FAC); provided that, annually the Junior Competition Committee may designate one or more junior national tournaments that use the ITF’s year-of-birth age eligibility regulation.


b. Adult, Senior, and Family tournaments. A player, if otherwise eligible, may enter any:

i. Men’s or Women’s Division that is not restricted by age or NTRP rating;

ii. NTRP Division if the player’s NTRP rating is less than or equal
to the NTRP rating for the division; 

iii. Adult, Senior, or Family Division with minimum age restriction if the player will reach the minimum age by December 31 of the year during which the division is scheduled to start;

iv. Parent-Child Division if the parent and child are related by virtue of blood, legal adoption, or current step relationship. (Death does not destroy any step relationship, but divorce does.) A child may play with different parents in different tournaments or different divisions in a tournament; Parent-Child Division with a minimum age restriction for parent. If the parent and child are related as defined in USTA Regulation I.G.3.b.iv. and the parent will reach the minimum age by December 31 of the year during which the division is scheduled to start; or vi. Grandparent-Grandchild Division if the grandparent and grandchild are related by virtue of blood, legal adoption(s), or current step relationship(s). Adoptive and step relationship(s) may be created at the parent or the grandparent levels. (Death does not destroy any step relationship, but divorce does.) A child may play with different grandparents in different tournaments. 

vii. Husband-Wife Doubles Division if one player is male and the other player is female and the players are:
• Married;
• In a civil union;
• Domestic partners; or
• Spousal equivalents.

viii. Same-Gender Couples Doubles Division if players are of the same gender and the players are:
• Married;
• In a civil union;
• Domestic partners; or
• Spousal equivalents.

ix. Combined Ages Division if players meet the other requirements of the division and the combined age of the players will reach the minimum combined age for the division by December 31 of the year during which the division is scheduled to start.

c. Wheelchair tournaments. A player, if otherwise eligible, may enter any :i. Men’s Open or Women’s Open Division if the player meets the eligibility requirements of USTA Regulations I.G.4.a. ii. Men’s A, Men’s B, Men’s C, Women’s A, or Women’s B Division if the player meets the eligibility requirements of USTA Quad Open Division if the player meets the eligibility requirements of USTA Regulations I.G.4.a-c.iv. Quad A Division if the player meets the eligibility requirements of USTA Regulations I.G.4.a-c. v. Junior Open/A (18 & Under) Division if the player meets the eligibility requirements of USTA Regulations I.G.4.a. and the age eligibility requirement of USTA Regulation I.G.3.a.

vi. Senior Open/A (40 & Over) Doubles or Senior B/C (40 & Over) Doubles Division if the player meets the eligibility requirements of USTA Regulations I.G.4.a.-b. and the player will reach the minimum age by December 31 of the year during which the division is scheduled to start.


To play in a power wheelchair, the player must also meet the requirements of USTA Regulation I.G.4.d. d. Mixed doubles tournaments. A team is eligible to enter if one player is female and the other player is male. Players must also meet any age or NTRP requirements of the division.

 

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