How to Shop for a UTR Tournament

You or a member of your family is getting into competitive tennis. Or maybe you’ve been competing for years but want to upgrade your match experiences. You’ve heard about UTR and like the idea of playing people close to your own ability. You may even realize that playing opponents within 1.0 of your UTR is the best and fastest way to develop your game—and to raise your own UTR. But how to find and choose the right events to do this? There are many UTR Powered tourneys—more than 1,100 in 2017, and that number is bound to increase this year. You’ve come to the right place. We’ve put together a consumer guide to picking the right UTR Powered event for you, or your child, to enter. 1. Begin with the UTR Powered Events tournament pages, which contain information on nearly all UTR Powered tournaments, worldwide. If you know the name of an event that interests you, searching here should turn up a tournament homepage giving details. If you don’t have a specific event in mind, you can search for contests of interest. Filter your search by keyword, country, date range, or a geographical location, e.g., Michigan. There’s information on past tournaments as well as upcoming ones. Since many events recur annually, that can help in sketching out your competitive schedule even before a tourney announces its dates for, say, 2018.

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2. Once you have a specific tournament in mind, go to its homepage under UTR Powered Events. You’ll be able to see the dates of the event, the exact venue, the deadline to register, and details of the design. These can include size of draws, UTR ranges permitted for entry, the entry fee, the method of seeding, the minimum number of matches per player, scoring format(s), the name of the tournament director and contact info, and more. 3. With this tournament information in front of you, match the event to your needs and desires by asking several specific questions: * Is this a level-based tournament, or are competitors divided into categories based on age and/or gender? * If it is a level-based tournament, am I guaranteed matches with players with UTRs within 1.50 of my own? If that does not happen, will my entry fee be refunded, or do I risk being flighted with players with UTRs more than 1.50 above or below mine? * What is the target level of the tournament, in terms of UTR? Does the event specify exactly what level players should consider entering? * What is the entry fee? * When will match times be released? * What is the maximum size of the draw? * What is the scoring format (ad/no ad, standard six-game sets or eight-game pro sets, best two of three?) * Will there be officials? If so, how many? * Is coaching allowed? If so, when and how? 4. Based on the tournament page, if you are unsure of the answer to any of these questions, contact the tournament director and ask. If you get no reply within a few days, that may indicate what to expect from the event. 5. Here’s an example of a tournament homepage for an event held last summer in England. It covers the key points an entrant would want to know and provides the information needed to set realistic expectations for players. This event went off very well and was a classic example of what satisfying competition grows out of level-based play. Find a UTR Powered event, and get out on the court!