ITA Summer Circuit 2019

It’s almost that time again! The ITA Summer Circuit – now “powered by” UTR – gets underway the week of June 22nd. Registration for the various events opens May 20th.

What is the ITA Summer Circuit and why should you want your junior or college player to participate?

According to the ITA, the Summer Circuit was created to provide college players the opportunity to compete in organized events year-round. Although the primary purpose of the circuit is to provide incoming freshman and collegiate players the chance to compete in the summer months, for NCAA compliance purposes, the events are categorized as “open”; therefore, anyone (including high level juniors and adults) is eligible to compete in these events as long as he/she is a current ITA member. The ITA Summer Circuit is currently made up of 59 events over six consecutive weekends, beginning in mid-June and continuing through the last weekend in July.

The tournaments are typically held on college campuses around the US and give junior players a chance to test their mettle against current and fellow future college players. According to ITA Director of Championships, Cory Brooks, all 2019 tournaments will offer both singles and doubles with a full backdraw for singles and an optional backdraw for doubles. If a player wants to sign up with a doubles partner, they can do that. If, however, a player needs a partner, they can indicate that on the registration form, and the tournament director will make every effort to match them with a partner of similar UTR. Since the ITA partners with UTR on these tournaments, all matches count toward a player’s UTR.

As has been the case for several years now, the Summer Circuit will culminate in a National Championship to be held on the TCU campus beginning August 9. Once again, there will be a monetary prize for each winner of the Championship.

The playing format for the 2019 Summer Circuit is as follows:

Singles:

Best 2 out of 3 tiebreak sets with no-ad scoring with a Match Tiebreak (10-point) played in lieu of the 3rd set

Doubles:

8-game Pro Set with no-ad scoring and a regular tiebreak (7-point) played at 7 games all

Because the tournaments are usually held Saturday through Monday, participants still have plenty of time during the week to train, take summer classes, work, and/or travel.

In order to register and play in any Summer Circuit tournament, players must first purchase a 2019 ITA Summer Playing Membership ($30). Please note it is in addition to any tournament registration fees. Click here to purchase your membership now so you are all set when registration opens later this month, and be sure to save your Member ID – you’ll need it to register!

And a reminder to be sure to join us as a Premium Member so you can participate in our May 9th webinar on the Player Development Pathway with coaches Kendra Becker, Nick Saviano, and David Fish! For more information, see this article or email me at [email protected].

Finally, the NCAA DI Championships get underway today. To follow all the matches including links to livescoring, visit SLAM Tennis from our friends at TennisRecruiting.net here. I will be at the USTA National Training Center in Lake Nona for some of the action on May 19-20 and hope to see many of you there!