Adult Tournaments 101: Levels

Jump To: Levels | Divisions | Rankings | Tournament Talk Webinar Series

Welcome to our new Adult Tournaments 101 series! Here, we explain some of the more confusing aspects of USTA tournaments by breaking them down into easy-to-understand snippets each month.

USTA Tournament Levels

This month, we’re going to shed some light on the different Levels of tournaments available to USTA members and what differentiates them. If you’d like to read more detail on these aspects and more, please click here.

Each sanctioned USTA adult tournament is broken down by Levels 1 (or "Gold Ball" events) through 7. The level of each tournament is displayed in the name of the title.

Each tournament gives you the opportunity to earn ranking points, and the more you win, the more points you’ll earn. For a detailed breakdown of ranking point values, click here.

Level 7 (District Tournaments):

• Event duration: Up to 1 day

• Geographic Level: Section/District

• Draw formats: Round robin/Round Robin with playoff/Compass draw

• Scoring formats: Short set (first to 4 games)/Best 2 of 3 short sets (3rd set is a 7 point tiebreak)/Single set (first to 6 games)/Timed matches

Level 6 (District Tournaments):

• Event duration: Up to 3 days

• Geographic Level: Section/District

• Draw formats: Single Elimination/Round Robin/Round Robin with playoff/Compass draw/Curtis Consolation/Feed-in championships/First match consolation/Voluntary Consolation

• Scoring formats: Best 2 of 3 sets (3rd set is 10-point tiebreak)/Best 2 of 3 short sets (3rd set is 7-point or a 10 point tiebreak)/8 game pro-set/Best 2 of 3, 10-point tiebreak games/Single set

Level 5 (District Tournaments):

• Event duration: Up to 5 days

• Geographic Level: Section/District

• Draw formats: Single Elimination/Round robin/Round robin with playoff/Compass draw/Curtis Consolation/Feed-in championships/First match consolation/Voluntary consolation

• Scoring formats: Best 2 of 3 tiebreak sets/Best 2 of 3 sets (3rd set is 10-point tiebreak)/Best 2 of 3 short sets (3rd set is 7-point or a 10 point tiebreak)/8-game pro-set

Level 4 (Section Tournaments):

• Event duration: Up to 5 days

• Geographic Level: Section

• Draw formats: Single Elimination/Round robin/Round robin with playoff/Compass draw/Curtis consolation/Feed-in championships/First match consolation/Voluntary consolation

• Scoring formats: Best 2 of 3 tiebreak sets/Best 2 of 3 sets (3rd set is 10-point tiebreak)/Best 2 of 3 short sets (3rd set is 7-point or a 10 point tiebreak)/8-game pro-set

Level 3 (National Tournaments):

• Event duration: Up to 5 days

• Geographic Level: National

• Draw formats: Round robin/Round robin with playoff/Compass draw/Curtis consolation/Feed-in championships/Voluntary consolation/Single Elimination

• Scoring formats: Best 2 of 3 tiebreak sets/Best 2 of 3 sets (3rd set is 10-point tiebreak)/Best 2 of 3 short sets (3rd set is 7-point or a 10 point tiebreak)/8-game pro-set

Level 2 (National Tournaments):

• Event duration: Up to 5 days

• Geographic Level: National

• Draw formats: Round robin/Round robin with playoff/Compass draw/Curtis consolation/Feed-in championships/Voluntary consolation/Single Elimination

• Scoring formats: Best 2 of 3 tiebreak sets/Best 2 of 3 sets (3rd set is 10-point tiebreak)/Best 2 of 3 short sets (3rd set is 7-point or 10 point tiebreak)/8-game pro-set

Level 1 (National Tournaments):

• Event duration: Up to 7 days

• Geographic Level: National

• Draw formats: Round robin/Compass draw/Team format/Curtis consolation/Feed-in championships/Voluntary consolation

• Scoring formats: Best 2 of 3 tiebreak sets/Best 2 of 3 sets (3rd set is 10-point tiebreak)/Best 2 of 3 short sets (3rd set is 7-point or a 10 point tiebreak)/8-game pro-set 

Divisions

Welcome to Part 2 of our new Adult Tournaments 101 series! Here, we explain some of the more confusing aspects of USTA tournaments by breaking them down into easy-to-understand snippets each month.

This month, we’re breaking down the difference in divisions.

NTRP vs. Age Group vs. Open - What's the difference?

When scrolling through the list of tournaments in your area, you’re likely to see that most are categorized either by NTRP or Age Group. Each of these types of tournament might also include "open” divisions.

NTRP tournaments are based on players' NTRP levels. NTRP levels for a player are determined by the skill level for that player. The higher the NTRP level, the more skilled the player. Participants typically register at their designated NTRP level. Participants can play up in a higher NTRP division, but only by .5.

Age Group tournaments require participants to meet a minimum age (25, 30, 35, 40, etc.). These tournaments are not based on NTRP. This doesn’t mean these tournaments aren’t as intensive or competitive as NTRP tournaments, however; they can range from local tournaments to those where the Gold Ball trophy is at stake, such as at National Championships. 

Open divisions: Both NTRP tournaments and Age Group tournaments can offer Open divisions within their tournament. Open divisions are available for any and all USTA Members, regardless of age (15+). Typically, players rated equivalent to a 4.0 (NTRP), or higher, will participate in Open divisions; however, as the term "open" implies, anyone can play as long as they are a current USTA Member.

Rankings

Welcome to Part 3 of our new Adult Tournaments 101 series! Here, we explain some of the more confusing aspects of USTA tournaments by breaking them down into easy-to-understand snippets each month.

This month, we’re explaining how the tournament ranking points system works and how you can accumulate those points. If you’d like to learn even more about ranking points and check out a helpful visual breakdown, please click here.

How do you accumulate ranking points?

Ranking points are assigned to players who participate in USTA Sanctioned tournaments. These points help determine your ranking as a player based on how many tournaments you play, at what level, and your finish in each tournament. You get more points the further you proceed through the tournament. Ranking points also vary based on the draw format of each tournament. 

There are many different draw formats, and while at first glance the points up for grabs look the same, they do vary based on the type of draw. The different draws formats are:

• Feed-In Consolation

• Modified Feed-In Consolation

• Compass Draw

• Voluntary Consolation

• First Match Consolation

• Single Elimination

• Curtis Consolation

• Round Robin

• Round Robin with a First Match Consolation Playoff

• Team Tournaments

Have Questions?

If you have any questions about USTA tournaments, including Levels and types of tournaments, please reach out to Scott Howes at howes@movalley.usta.com.