Have you wondered when it makes sense for your child to move to the next level of tournaments? Here’s an example based on the progression of the current USTA #1 ranked boy in the 12 and younger division. He moved to #1 in March 2023 after winning a Level 2 national championship. For more info about USTA tournament levels check here.

Player Progression for Zesen Wang
Zesen holds USTA’s #1 ranking for Boys 12 and younger (12U) as of March 2023.
He has 12800 Ranking Points.
Zesen is also #1 in the USTA’s Middle State region and #1 in the USTA’s Central Pennsylvania district.
Zesen’s Overall Record is 288 wins to 134 losses, which is a 68% win percentage.
Zesen is in the 6th Grade making him either 11 or 12 depending on his birthdate.

Tournament Progression
In summary, my observation is that Zesen stepped up to the next level immediately after winning or performing well at his current level. For example, he won a 10u (10 y/o and younger) green ball tournament and immediately tried a Level 7 12u green ball tournament. Because he won that Level 7, he stepped up immediately and tried a Level 6. If he lost in early rounds at the new level, he would step back and try the next level again some months later.

An asterisk indicates a step up to the next level. He played many more tournaments than listed below. These are only the milestones where he stepped up or won a tournament. For a more complete listing check here and for more complete stats check here.

6-7 y/o, First Grade 2017 – 2018
Played Orange Ball Tournaments

7-8 y/o, Second Grade 2018 – 2019
*September 2018, Started 10u Green Ball
May 2019, 10u Green Winner in 3 rounds
May 2019, L7 Green Winner in 4 rounds
*August 2019, L6 Lost in first round

8-9 y/o, Third Grade 2019 – 2020
December 2019, L6 – Winner in 4 rounds
*December 2019, L5 – Lost in 3rd round (Semifinal)
*January 2020, L3 – Lost 1st round, lost consolation match
January 2020, L6 – Winner in 3 rounds
July 2020, L5 – Winner in 2 rounds
*July 2020, L4 – Lost in 2nd round

9-10 y/o, Fourth Grade 2020 – 2021
October 2020, L3 – Lost in 2nd round, won consolation match
*December 2020, 14u L6 Winner in 3 rounds (first 14 and younger tournament)
*February 2021, L2 Lost in 2nd Round

10-11 y/o, Fifth Grade 2021 – 2022
January 2022, 12u L3 Winner in 4 rounds – Significant National Level Win
*July 2022 12u L1 National Clay Court Championship, Lost in 1st Round, won 3 consolation matches
August 2022 12u L1 USTA National Championship, Lost in 1st Round, won 3 consolation matches

11-12 y/o, Sixth Grade – 2022- 2023
November 2022 12u L1 National Indoor Championship, Lost in 4th Round (QF)
January 2023 12u L1 National Winter Championship, Lost in 6th Round (SF)
February 2023 12u L2 Winner in 5 rounds – His highest level win earning him enough points for the #1 ranking.