Guide to Playing Competitions

First of all, make sure you are signed up as a member with the LTA here: https://www.lta.org.uk/advantage/

You can then search for competitions (by club, town etc.) here: https://competitions.lta.org.uk/tournaments/

Tournaments are graded from 7 (social club level) to 1 (national level), and entry is based on your World Tennis Number. This is measured on your previous results and is used to match you with players of similar standards (you also receive ranking points for competing in grades 1-5). You will get a WTN when you first sign up with the LTA and it will update automatically. Grades 5-7 are suggested for players new to competing, with progression to the lower grades coming with more experience and success.

Juniors can enter tournaments based on their age in that calendar year (https://www.lta.org.uk/compete/junior/competition-age-groups/). Adults can often also find different age categories within their tournaments (35+, 45+ etc.). This means that you can compete in more than one age group per tournament (and in singles and doubles).

Players should get to play at least two matches per event.

The scoring systems used can be found here: https://www.lta.org.uk/play/how-to-get-started/rules-scoring/

Yellow ball tournaments for both juniors and adults can involve regular sets to 6 (Set, Match, Game on the website), or, increasingly, use the FAST4 format.

Top tips:

• Practice – the more you practice playing matches, the easier they’ll become. It will help you to put everything you learn in squads and lessons together, and help you get used to thinking for yourself without coaches there.

• Be prepared – make sure your bag is packed the night before, with plenty of food and drinks, spare clothes and anything else you think you may need. Make sure you get plenty of sleep. Arrive early so you can warm up properly.

• Enjoy it – you should be competing because it’s fun. If you worry about the results, you won’t be as relaxed and you won’t play your best. Enjoy the process.

More information about competing can be found on the LTA website here: https://www.lta.org.uk/compete/