USTA junior tournaments are an exciting experience for all new players. It’s not about winning or losing. It’s all about allowing our children to physically and intellectually challenge themselves, independently solve problems, and make new friends.

If all this looks like too much just drop us an email at tennisparentsgroup@gmail.com or use our contact page. We will happily answer questions and walk you through the process on the phone or via Zoom.

Here things you need to know.

1. Children can start junior tournament on the month of their 7th birthday
   • Yes there are tournaments for 5 and 6 year olds but unless your tennis club is hosting one they are hard to find.
2. USTA accounts for juniors (children) are free. 
3. Tournaments have fees of about $50 each. 
4. Players are guaranteed at least 2 matches at each tournament. Tournaments for children aged 10 or under usually offer 3 or 4 short matches. 
5. Tournaments are usually on Saturdays and last a few hours.
6. Tournaments have registration periods. You must sign up on the first 2 days of the registration period to guarantee a spot for your child.
7. Children aged 8 or younger must start with orange ball tournaments. Children aged 9-10 must start with green ball tournaments. Children 11 or older can start with yellow ball (standard ball) tournaments.
   • Here are more details but you really don’t need to know this yet.
     • USTA uses a system called PlayTracker to track progress for children aged 10 or younger.
       • Children earn PlayTracker orange ball play-points for each orange ball match played and for green ball tournaments there are play-points and win-points for each match won.
       • Children 8 or younger must earn 1000 orange ball play-points to register for green ball tournaments.
       • Children 10 or younger must earn 500 play-points and 1000 win points
     • Children aged 11 or older do not need to play orange or green ball tournaments.
8. It takes patience to sign up for the first tournament. Give yourself 30 minutes the first time.

First step is to create a free family USTA account and add your child or children. Click Here (opens in a new tab) to link to the Parent’s section of the USTA site & follow the steps.

Then come back to this page for help finding and registering your child for their first tournament.

The next set of steps is to search for an appropriate tournament for your child. Here is how to do that.

1. In another browser tab log into the USTA site with the account you created
2. Click Here to open a new tab with the USTA find tournaments web page
3. Select Junior (18 and Under) in the Player Category field
4. Enter your zip code in the Location or Keyword field
5. Enter a 2 month period starting 2 weeks from the next Saturday in the Date Period field
6. Click Search on the widget.
   • See example screen shot of the Search for tournaments widget.

Now to Filter the results.

1. On the left side of the screen you will see a Filter By panel. You must make selections here to find a good match. Otherwise you will scroll through many tournaments that are not relevant to you.
2. First select the distance you are willing to travel. Longer distance means more options.
3. Then select Level. For children aged 10 or younger you must pick USTA Junior Circuit (See screen shot below).
   • For Children aged 11 or older you must choose Level 7

4. Then select the appropriate Gender, and then age range.

Now select a tournament.

1. Your filtered set of tournaments will look like the screen shot below. Scroll through and click on a tournament that looks appropriate.

2. Now you will see a tournament page like the screen shot below. Notice the registration open date. You want to register your child on that date or very soon after. Tournaments fill up fast. Also notice the fee in the button next to the gender section. In the example below the tournament fee is $50.

3. Now click on the Singles link on the tournament web page just below the gender you are registering for – Boys or Girls. This will open the Tournament Events page like the screen shot below with important information about tournament.

Here is what to look for on the Tournaments Events page

• Draw Type: This is the format of the tournament.
  • There are 2 possible draw types for your child’s first tournaments.
    • Round robin means the children are divided into small groups of 3-5 players. Each child plays the others in the group. Round Robin with playoffs means that the children that win the most matches in their groups will advance to elimination round – quarter final, semi final, and final. Both players who make it to the final get a trophy.
    • Compass draw is a traditional tournament structure where players must win in the first round to advance and so on. For Level 7 matches children that lose in round 1 will play at least 1 consolation match.
• Draw limit is the total number of Boys are Girls that will be selected for the tournament. In the example screen shot the Draw Limit is 16. That means only 16 boys will be selected.
• Registration Closed means that the last full day to register is the day before this date.
• Player select means the way the 16 boys will be picked. First come first served means sign up early before all 16 slots are filled.

4. To register click on the Overview link. Then click on the fee button ($50 in the screen below) and then click the Go To Checkout button which will be highlighted to continue.

5. Now select your child from the Tournament Entries page. And click continue to payment. Your name may appear with a note that you are not eligible for the tournament.

The next set of steps are like any other online purchase. You will see a summary, add a credit card, and complete the registration. You will receive an email from USTA with information about what will happen next.

Congratulations you did it!

Look for our next posting about preparing for your first tournament and drop us an email if you have any questions tennisparentsgroup@gmail.com