Competition Models

Open Competition

• All players compete against each other regardless of any age or ability classifications
• The only groupings are men’s, women’s, and quad

Age Classifications

• All players compete against other players in the same age group
• For juniors, this allows use of the US Tennis Association’s 10 and under tennis format (smaller courts, lower nets, lower bouncing balls)
• For more information, see 10 and Under Tennis

National Tennis Rating System

• Players compete against others at their rating level
• For descriptions of the ratings, see USTA

Universal Rating System

• This alternative to NTRP also allows players to compete against others of their rating level
• For a description of the system, see Universal Tennis

Integration

• As specified by the International Tennis Federation rules, wheelchair specific rules apply when the ball is played by the wheelchair player
• A popular format of play is up/down doubles, where each doubles team consists of one player without a disability and one wheelchair player
• It’s also possible for players without disabilities to use wheelchairs. In that case, the wheelchair specific rules apply to everyone

Scoring

Full Set, Advantage Tennis

• Players must win games by two points, as in professional tennis, and win two sets out of three

Tiebreaks

• To shorten match times, a shorter tiebreak can be played in lieu of a third set if the two sets have been split

No-Ad

• Games need only be won by one point
• When the score is 40-40, only one more point is played
• In no-ad tennis, typically the receiver determines which side the server will serve to for the deciding point

Pro Set

• Rather than multiple sets, a single set can be played until someone reaches 8 or 10 games

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