Travelling this weekend with my doubles partner for the Saint Joseph's Fall Open tournament, I realized that there are probably adults out there who would like to play tournaments but are intimidated, never having done them before.
For a first timer, I would recommend a local tournament. This would give a newbie a good overview of what to expect without having to deal with the many things that could go wrong and infringe on the player's focus on playing, which is the whole reason for attending a tournament.
Many local clubs offer small, unsanctioned tournaments. By unsanctioned, I mean, the tournaments are not necessarily run by USTA guidelines and they will not count toward any kind of standings or rankings. Local Parks and Rec departments also offer tournaments sometimes. The best way to find out about these tournaments are to contact your nearest club and ask to speak to the pro in charge of adult programs.
Tournaments that are USTA-sanctioned can be found at the website: www.usta.com/tennislink/default.aspx
Or call your local USTA section office. For Southeastern Michigan, the number is 734-421-1025.
Potential tournament players can use the website to search for tennis tournaments in their area based on gender, age, playing surface, etc.
Before attending any tournament that I am not familiar with, I usually like to send an email to the tournament director, asking for answers to any questions I may have: hotel recommendations, expected size of the draw, starting times for play, etc.
After all my questions are answered and I've decided to do the tournament, I sign up using the online system if it is USTA-sanctioned tournament or by registering over the phone with the tournament director if it is not a USTA-sanctioned tournament.
Most tournaments will often only have the starting time for your first match only. Make sure you know when you are scheduled to play. Failure to show up on time can result in being defaulted! Tournament directors sometimes will use discretion in some cases, i.e. you are travelling from another state, but they are not required to and in cases of USTA-sanctioned tournaments, if you are not on the court fifteen minutes after your scheduled start time, it is a default!
Know what time you have to check in. Check-in is thirty minutes before your start time for most matches. Once you are checked in, DO NOT LEAVE THE IMMEDIATE AREA. Once you are checked-in, the tournament director can put you on court if a court becomes available. This is done to keep the matches moving. Many things like weather, long matches, etc., can cause delays so if the opportunity to put a match on early arises, most directors will do that.
Make sure you take snacks with you to the tournament site. Just as tournaments can run ahead of schedule, they can run behind. There's nothing worse than planning to play at noon, but not going on until 1:30 and then finding yourself hungry in the middle of your warm up!
If you are a string-breaker, have an extra set of strings on you so that, if you think you can't make the rest of the tournament with the racquets you have left, you can get the one racquet restrung.
Bring something to read or an I-pod. There is often a lot of downtime between matches where you don't necessarily want to leave the site.
Bring towels and plenty of water. For tournaments that are outdoors, sometimes they don't provide water. I like to have a big cooler in my car with a couple of gallons of water sitting in ice so that I can refill my water jug as needed. If it is hot, soaking a towel in a baggie of ice water is a good idea. It can provide quick relief on changeovers.
Bring a change of clothes. (It can't hurt.)
If the tournament is outdoors, bring a chair. Sometimes theres not a lot of places to sit or the seats available are in the sun.
It is common to have roving umpires at most tournaments. They are not there to interfere with play, call lines or harass you. Their job is to make sure play is continuous, overrule any obvious bad calls and they will call foot faults.
Most USTA-sanctioned tournaments will utilize single sticks for the singles matches. These sticks make the net regulation, but for people not use to playing with them, they can be a distraction, if you weren't expecting them.
Most importantly, have fun! It's so cool to play people outside your normal hitting circle. It helps your game and can provide that freshness to the sport when league play becomes stale.
For a first timer, I would recommend a local tournament. This would give a newbie a good overview of what to expect without having to deal with the many things that could go wrong and infringe on the player's focus on playing, which is the whole reason for attending a tournament.
Many local clubs offer small, unsanctioned tournaments. By unsanctioned, I mean, the tournaments are not necessarily run by USTA guidelines and they will not count toward any kind of standings or rankings. Local Parks and Rec departments also offer tournaments sometimes. The best way to find out about these tournaments are to contact your nearest club and ask to speak to the pro in charge of adult programs.
Tournaments that are USTA-sanctioned can be found at the website: www.usta.com/tennislink/default.aspx
Or call your local USTA section office. For Southeastern Michigan, the number is 734-421-1025.
Potential tournament players can use the website to search for tennis tournaments in their area based on gender, age, playing surface, etc.
Before attending any tournament that I am not familiar with, I usually like to send an email to the tournament director, asking for answers to any questions I may have: hotel recommendations, expected size of the draw, starting times for play, etc.
After all my questions are answered and I've decided to do the tournament, I sign up using the online system if it is USTA-sanctioned tournament or by registering over the phone with the tournament director if it is not a USTA-sanctioned tournament.
Most tournaments will often only have the starting time for your first match only. Make sure you know when you are scheduled to play. Failure to show up on time can result in being defaulted! Tournament directors sometimes will use discretion in some cases, i.e. you are travelling from another state, but they are not required to and in cases of USTA-sanctioned tournaments, if you are not on the court fifteen minutes after your scheduled start time, it is a default!
Know what time you have to check in. Check-in is thirty minutes before your start time for most matches. Once you are checked in, DO NOT LEAVE THE IMMEDIATE AREA. Once you are checked-in, the tournament director can put you on court if a court becomes available. This is done to keep the matches moving. Many things like weather, long matches, etc., can cause delays so if the opportunity to put a match on early arises, most directors will do that.
Make sure you take snacks with you to the tournament site. Just as tournaments can run ahead of schedule, they can run behind. There's nothing worse than planning to play at noon, but not going on until 1:30 and then finding yourself hungry in the middle of your warm up!
If you are a string-breaker, have an extra set of strings on you so that, if you think you can't make the rest of the tournament with the racquets you have left, you can get the one racquet restrung.
Bring something to read or an I-pod. There is often a lot of downtime between matches where you don't necessarily want to leave the site.
Bring towels and plenty of water. For tournaments that are outdoors, sometimes they don't provide water. I like to have a big cooler in my car with a couple of gallons of water sitting in ice so that I can refill my water jug as needed. If it is hot, soaking a towel in a baggie of ice water is a good idea. It can provide quick relief on changeovers.
Bring a change of clothes. (It can't hurt.)
If the tournament is outdoors, bring a chair. Sometimes theres not a lot of places to sit or the seats available are in the sun.
It is common to have roving umpires at most tournaments. They are not there to interfere with play, call lines or harass you. Their job is to make sure play is continuous, overrule any obvious bad calls and they will call foot faults.
Most USTA-sanctioned tournaments will utilize single sticks for the singles matches. These sticks make the net regulation, but for people not use to playing with them, they can be a distraction, if you weren't expecting them.
Most importantly, have fun! It's so cool to play people outside your normal hitting circle. It helps your game and can provide that freshness to the sport when league play becomes stale.
