Sports N' All

USTA  has divided the Tennis Tournaments into the following Categories based on the skill level of the participants - 

Rookies, Intermediate/Challenger, Advanced.

Within these categories there are various Levels of tournaments conducted by the USTA. These are labeled as -

L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6. The L1 tournaments are the biggest,then the L2 and L3 and then  L4, L5 and L6. The L4, L5, L6 tournaments cater mostly to local players where the players can compete with local talent.

The L1, L2 and L3 tournaments are bigger scale and are deemed as National tournaments and attract talent from all over the country.

​It requires skill and experience to select the right tournaments to play – there are way too many tournaments during the course of the year and in various locations and at different levels. There are a few dimensions to consider. First, consider level – Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced. Next, consider the age bracket – U12, U14, U16 and U18. Next, consider the level of the tournament – Level 1, 2, 3 (national), Level 4 and 5 (regional).

As parents of a national player, we consider travel for tournaments roughly an average of 2 tournaments per month during a school year, and about 3 during summer. We prefer Level 1 tournaments (there are about 5-6 that we go to in a year) that we travel far to (Florida, Alabama, Georgia, California, Massachusetts, Arizona). We also like Level 2 tournaments which we travel often to (California, Nevada, Texas, Arizona). You can pick a location that is closest to you to reduce travel time to different time zones. There are specific Level 3 tournaments that we play. For Level 4 and 5 we stick to local tournaments (usually play in the higher age bracket to develop the game by competing with older players).

The fees that are charged by the tournaments vary. For the Level 1, the charges of course are higher because they run longer and are harder to organize. Then Level 2 and Level 3 and so forth. The fees are unfortunately not regulated and so it is at the discretion of the Tournament organizer to decide the fees. USTA does provide for some limited financial aid, that can be looked into, during the planning.