Grades

The grading of a competition is an indication to players of the likely standard of play and enables players and parents to apply for tournaments and leagues of an appropriate level. All competitions should be managed and delivered to a high standard although a greater expectation will be placed on tournaments and leagues at a higher grade.

Grading criteria

Competition gradings are decided by the LTA for each tournament and league and may change from year to year for a number of reasons. Approval of a competition grade is only applicable to that year. Some of the factors used to determine the grade of a competition are detailed below.

1. Entry Numbers – Previous year’s entry numbers are used to review demand for an individual event, tournament or league.
2. Entry Standard – Previous year’s entry standards are used to check the grade is suitable for the standard of the player base.
3. Tournament Feedback – The Tournament Satisfaction Survey score, for competitions that have been delivered previously, will be considered alongside any feedback received directly from parents and/or players.
4. Venue – The number and type of courts will be considered along with suitable ancillary and catering facilities. Venue accessibility and location will be taken into account together with car parking arrangements. The number of satellite venues being used for the competition will be considered.
5. Presentation – Competitions should be properly presented. For tournaments, information should be available to players both at the competition venue(s) and beforehand. As a minimum, a tournament should have a clearly designated referee’s/control desk which shall include sign-in sheets. The order of play, draw sheets, LTA code of conduct and other key notices should be displayed at the venue. For leagues, players and team captains should be aware of the league rules and a copy of the rules should be available at all fixtures.
6. Finances – A competition should be able to demonstrate consideration of the financial aspects involved in managing their tournament/league. The tournament organizer/league organizer should be able to produce a financial plan for the competition if requested.
7. Pre-Competition Administration – Competitions must be created online using the Competition Creation tool, within the requested timescales. Leagues should be run using League Planner and must be set-up by completing an LTA League Application Form. This must be done in sufficient time for the league to be created ahead of the league commencement date.
8. Post-Competition Administration (Results Submission TTP/LP, Online leagues, Code Violations, Withdrawals) – Missing or late returns/late submission of results may render a tournament/league liable to downgrade.
9. Feedback – Feedback from previous competitions received from parents, officials, field team and other parties may be considered when reviewing the grade of a competition. Tournament organizers, league organizers, and/or referees will be made aware when negative feedback has been received.
10. Officiating Requirements – Minimum levels of officiating for tournaments (referee, court supervisors and umpires) are defined in the quality criteria table.
11. Tournament Duration – Minimum and maximum duration are defined for each grade. All multi age group junior individual tournaments should follow the standard tournament week which means you must start your tournament no earlier than Sunday and finish no later than Saturday (maximum of seven days).
12. Draw Format – A competition’s choice of draw format will be monitored together with the provision of consolation events/matches (not applicable for leagues).
13. Fair Play – Competitions will be expected to adopt the LTA Fair Play values and relevant Fair Play material such as guidelines, posters and sign-in sheet should be displayed at competitions.
14. Leagues – Organizers should ensure that team captains are aware of the LTA Fair Play values and communication should be made to team players about abiding by the Fair Play values in all matches.
15. Match Completion rate (leagues only) – The ratio of matches played to matches scheduled will be used to calculate the completion rates of leagues. Leagues with a low completion of matches may be liable to be downgraded.

Grading process

Grading Process – Individual

Grade 1 to 4 multi-day competitions will be graded a minimum of 3 months before the start of the competition during the relevant Competition Planning period. Grade 4 & 5 one-day competition applications will be considered during a defined competition planning process and Grade 6 & 7 competitions will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

All the above criteria will be considered when making a decision on grading, plus the distribution of competitions in the county, region and country. It is vital to consider the player base of the area to ensure there is the correct number of competitions at each grade in a given time frame. The final decision on Grading is as follows:

• Grade 1, 2 & 3 – LTA Competitions Team (Support from Regional Tennis Competition Co- ordinators);
• Grade 4, 5, 6 & 7 – LTA Competition Development Partners.

Levels of Support

To create a transparent system of accountability the levels of support the LTA can offer to tournaments and leagues have been defined. Hopefully this will allow players to clearly identify what they can expect from a competition and the level of supervision/support/advice the competition receives from the LTA.

• All competitions delivered directly by LTA Competitions Team will be deemed “Staged By”;
• All competitions delivered externally will be deemed “Approved by” upon completion of the appropriate application form, agreeing to abide by the relevant rules and upon sanction from both their local LTA Office and Competitions Team.

Definitions

Grade – A standard of competition defining the ranking points allocated to any given player in an event (please note that different ranking points apply to individual and team competitions). The tournament grade also provides an indication of the standard of players:

• Grade 1 – National Level;
• Grade 2 – National Level;
• Grade 3 – Regional Level;
• Grade 4 – County Level;
• Grade 5 – Local Level;
• Grade 6 – Matchplays;
• Grade 7 – Internal club competitions;
• Grade U (Ungraded) – Assessment free competitions where results have been loaded.

Tournaments

Tournament – A collection of one or more events.

Event – This is a combination of Gender, Age and Type (Singles and Doubles). Examples:

Mini Events:

• 8 & Under Boys Singles/Doubles, 8 & Under Girls Singles/Doubles (Red);
• 9 & Under Boys Singles/Doubles, 9 & Under Girls Singles/Doubles (Orange);
• 10 & Under Boys Singles/Doubles, 10 & Under Girls Singles/Doubles (Green) .

Junior Events:

• 12 & Under Boys Singles/Doubles, 12 & Under Girls Singles/Doubles;
• 14 & Under Boys Singles/Doubles, 14 & Under Girls Singles/Doubles;
• 16 & Under Boys Singles/Doubles, 16 & Under Girls Singles/Doubles;
• 18 & Under Boys Singles/Doubles, 18 & Under Girls Singles/Doubles.

Adult Events:

• Mens Open Singles/Doubles;
• Ladies Open Singles/Doubles;
• Mixed Doubles.

Seniors Events:

• Mens/Ladies 35/40/45/50/55/60/65/70/75/80 & Over Singles/Doubles;
• 35/40/45/50/55/60/65/70/75/80 & Over Women’s Singles/Doubles.

Draw – A sub-section of an event, an event may have just a single “Main Draw” or may be split into two or more draws (Main Draw, Qualifying, Pre-Qualifying, Consolation).

Main Draw – The main draw of any event must produce an overall winner in order to count for LTA rankings purposes. It may contain positional play-offs and a number of approved formats are permitted for a main draw within an event.

Qualifying – A draw allowing a group of players not directly accepted into the main draw on merit to gain entry (qualify). This can be run in any format and can produce as many qualifiers as required.

Pre-Qualifying – Events may be split into as many pre-qualifying draws as required, although in practice the number of stages will be limited according to the overall duration of the tournament.

Consolation Draw – Some tournaments will offer consolation draws within their events. This can guarantee a player more matches following defeat in the main draw.

Leagues/Team Competition

League – A group of teams or clubs that compete amongst themselves. May be comprised of a number of divisions.

Division – A group of teams within a league that are grouped together based on standard and/or travel distance.

Match – One team competing against another team. During a match a number of rubbers will take place.

Rubber – One player (or doubles pair) competing against another player (or doubles pair) within a match.

Fixture – The agreed date for a match between two teams.

Match Completion Rate – The number of matches played out of the number of matches scheduled, expressed as a percentage.

Competition grading

To help players identify suitable competitive opportunities so they can play against others of a similar standard competitions are graded from 7-1, progressing from local club level to county, regional and finally national level competitions.

Grade 7

If you are just starting to compete, Grade 7 competitions offer a great opportunity to gain some competitive experience in a local environment. These include local competitions such as club or squad box leagues and ladders. This grade of competition counts for ratings but not rankings. To find out more contact your local tennis venue or LTA regional office.

Grade 6

Competitions in this grade are usually match-plays which are open to all players to enter. They are run throughout the year and across the country and offer players in all age groups the chance to develop their competitive tennis. This grade of competition counts for ratings but not rankings.

Grade 5

These competitions take place at local club or county level and are open to players of all ages and abilities. They might be for specific age groups or cater for different age groups within one tournament. These competitions count for both ratings and rankings.

Grade 4

These are county level competitions giving players the opportunity to gain competition experience at the next level and count for both ratings and rankings.

Grade 3

These are regional level competitions that count for both ratings and rankings. There are opportunities for players of all ages to compete in grade 3 competitions throughout the year.

Grade 2

These are national level competitions and count for both ratings and rankings.

Grade 1

This is the top level of national competition and counts for ratings and rankings.