Upcoming tournaments
Winter Junior Tournaments
to 28th March 2009
Tournaments are not just something that the good players do, they are an opportunity for all players and standards to enjoy an exciting, sociable and fun tennis experience.
It is one of the most effective ways for a player to improve. Competition allows a player to get an accurate picture of where his or her mastery of the sport really is.
It is not until a child has experienced competition that they become really committed to the sport and motivated to improve.
Talk to the coaches, Leon and Terry about tournaments, improving your technical skill, tactical awareness and put some time aside for physical conditioning work.
SOME BENEFITS FROM TOURNAMENT PLAY
- Player becomes more motivated, accepts a challenge and something ‘to strive for'.
- Player is able to put things from the practice court into action and complete the learning process.
- Player develops mental toughness to cope with the demands of the game.
- Player's ranking improves, creating opportunities for higher-level competition.
- Player experiences unfamiliar venues and environments and meets new friends
- Player experiences different standards of competition, becomes more motivated and gives real drive to future training
- Even a small amount of success is a great confidence builder.
RATINGS
The LTA require that juniors over the age of 10 have a rating to play in all the local LTA approved tournaments.
An LTA Player Rating is a way of measuring your tennis ability, so you can see how you are improving. It’s a bit like a golf handicap.
If you say what your rating is, other players will know what level you are irrespective of age.
To get an LTA Rating you first have to join the LTA and receive a membership number
- Under 10 you do not need a Rating
- Juniors 10-17 years old £3
- 18 years + £6
You will need to apply for a rating in order to enter the LTA tournaments.
See the LTA How to Start page for more details.
When you first apply, the LTA will give you a Rating based on the information you give them in the application form questionnaire.
After that, it will depend on your results from competitive matches against other rated players.
Ratings do not depend on age – so if you are a junior you could have a better rating than your parents.
There are 20 rating bands. A rating of 1.1 is the highest level and 10.2 is the lowest. Beginners will get a rating of 10.2
.