« USTA Junior Team Tennis begins | Home | Tennis season over – what now? »
Playing at tennis tournaments
By Ms. Edwards-Onoro | October 13, 2007
At practices and matches, parents and team members frequently ask me about tennis tournaments – how to sign up, where to go, what to take, etc. Here’s some tournament info that Huron Valley Tennis Club staff have gathered:
How to find out about and register for a tournament
Tournaments are held all over the country throughout the year. During the summer in Michigan, tournaments are generally held on outside courts at tennis clubs, schools, or colleges. During late fall, winter, and early spring, tournaments are held at inside courts at tennis clubs.
To sign up for tournaments, a tennis player needs to be a USTA (United States Tennis Association) member. Cost is around $20/year for a junior player (under the age of 18). To sign up for USTA membership, visit the USTA website.
Registration for tournaments is done online at TennisLink on the USTA website. Tournament schedules and registration can be found at:
- USTA Junior Tournament Schedule (nationwide)
- Midwest USTA Junior Tournament Schedule
- Southeast Michigan District, Midwest USTA Junior Tournament Schedule
What to take to a tournament
- extra racquet with same grip size and string tension
- cooler with ice, water, sports drink, a cold towel
- salty snacks
- change of clothing, hat and sunscreen
- rule book
- practice balls and money
- directions and phone number of site, phone number of site director
- wear loose fitting clothes with pockets
- play only in tennis shoes
Reasons to play tournaments
- learn to compete
- play players of different skill levels
- find out which part of your game needs working on
- increase chance of getting into limited draw tournaments
- allow friends and parents watch you play
- give your training more meaning
Pre-first round tennis warm up routine
- locate a court within 10 minutes of the tournament site
- practice before going to the first round match
- 10 serves from both the ad and deuce side (both ends of court)
- 20 minutes of hitting down the middle
- 5 minutes of overheads and volleys
- play 4 games (two from each end of the court to assess playing conditions)
Topics: Parents, Tournament | 2 Comments »
October 12th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
[...] Playing at tennis tournaments [...]
September 19th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
[...] Playing at tennis tournaments [...]