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Is your junior player still looking to fill up his/her summer schedule? If so, Oracle and the ITA, in conjunction with UTR, have created an awesome series of tournaments, culminating in the Oracle ITA Jr Masters October 13-16.
Here are all the specifics as I understand them . . .
- Any junior player born on or after November 1, 1997, is eligible to enter.
- Each tournament will have a 16-draw for boys and for girls.
- Selection and seeding will be done using UTR.
- The tournaments are singles only.
- Scoring will be 2 out of 3 full sets, no-ad, in order to mimic Division I scoring. The idea behind this scoring format is that the selected players will all be on a college tennis pathway.
- Similarly, all events will be played on hardcourts, again to mimic Division I competition.
- The events are not USTA-sanctioned. Therefore, they will not count toward USTA ranking. They will, however, be included in UTR ratings.
- The winner of each of the 12 regional tournaments will be invited to play in the Oracle ITA Jr Masters to be held at the Malibu Racquet Club and on the Pepperdine University campus alongside the Oracle ITA College Masters event.
- Wildcards into the October Masters event will be awarded to the top 4 players (based on UTR as of Noon ET on September 14, 2016) who played in – but did not win – a regional event, which will round out the 16-draw in Malibu.
- The 16 players selected for the Masters event will receive vouchers for travel, lodging, and food. Parents and coaches who accompany the juniors are expected to cover their own expenses.
As I mentioned above, these events are not USTA sanctioned. They provide an alternative pathway for junior players looking for something new. According to Tim Russell, the CEO of ITA, “The main initiative behind the Jr Masters Series is to tighten the connection between the juniors and college tennis. This is the first step toward achieving that goal.” What an incredible opportunity for juniors to play alongside some of the top college players in such a gorgeous setting!
Regionals will be held in New York, Cleveland, Atlanta, Austin, Portland, Jacksonville, Tyler, Boston, Los Angeles, Memphis, Phoenix, and Kansas City.
For all the details on the Oracle ITA Junior Masters Series, click here. Entry deadlines, selection dates, wildcard information, and all other pertinent facts are listed on each tournament’s homepage.
