USTA Southern California provides the competitive junior player with an exciting pathway that includes sectional, regional, and national tournaments. Track your ranking among peers in Southern California and across the nation, and experience unique junior competitions like the Bryan Bros. Doubles Race and the prestigious end-of-year Final 8 Junior Masters Championships.
Once a junior player has advanced from PlayTracker or turned 11 years old, he/she may compete in USTA Southern California junior tournaments. Junior tournaments are grouped into seven levels of play, providing competitive opportunities for young champions of all ages and skill levels.
To download tournament structure documents, including eligibility, endorsement, quotas, and team selections, visit the Forms & Information page. Use the toggles below to find more information on the USTA Junior Circuit and tournament levels.
USTA Junior Circuit events utilize a one day non-elimination round-robin draw format for players of all ages to gain match play experience in a tournament setting with a focus on individual results. This experience will encourage players of all ages to develop their skills through level-based play and demonstrate good sportsmanship.
10U Players are eligible to enter the USTA Junior Circuit event in the ball color (Orange or Green) they have achieved or lower as determined by the Net Generation PlayTracker. 10U players in green ball will be required to meet 1500 points on the Net Generation PlayTracker in order to play in yellow ball 12U + Junior Circuits or USTA Tournaments that offer national ranking points. At least 1000 of these points must come from win points. At age 11 players will age out of the Net Generation PlayTracker program.
To determine a player’s level and eligibility, log in and visit the player profile at USTA.com.
The next step in improving and challenging your game. Selection process used for this level is a bottom-up selection process, which means players with no ranking will be selected first.
Level 7 tournaments last up to one day.
Advance further and raise your level of competition. Selection process for this level is based on ranking.
Level 6 tournaments last up to two days.
Select events like Friendship Cup and The Ojai.
Level 5 tournaments last up to three days.
High level section events including Final 8 qualifiers. Includes both closed (SoCal players only) and open (non-SoCal players allowed) events.
Level 4 tournaments last up to four days.
Section/National level events include the Junior Sectionals, Henry Talbert, USTA National L3s, and all ITF Junior Grade 4 & 5 tournaments located in the United States.
Level 3 tournaments last 3+ days.
National level events include USTA National Level 2s, Zone Team Championships, Eddie Herr (B/G 12-16), and the Junior Orange Bowl (B/G 12-14).
Level 2 tournaments last 3+ days.
Highest National level events include the National Championships, Easter Bowl, Eddie Herr ITF (BG18), and Orange Bowl (BG16-18).
Level 1 tournaments last 4+ days.
Westlake Athletic Club
Westlake Village
Level 4 Closed
Singles / Doubles
Fountain Valley High School
Fountain Valley
Level 5 Open
Doubles
Moore Tennis Academy
Cathedral City
Level 6
Singles
Junior players value the experience of representing and competing both individually and on travel teams opposite top players from other USTA Sections. From Level 1 national competition to regional play including Maze Cup, Intersectional, and Zonal events, we encourage players to strive for excellence as they represent #TeamSoCal across the nation!
Each sectional association is entitled to a quota of players for the Level 1 National Championships. Beginning in 2022, the section quota spots will be awarded using the National Standings List.
The allocation of the 2022 quota spots is still being calculated by the National office (2021 Quotas can be found here for reference). Additionally, each section is entitled to have up to two (2) “wild cards” as part of their section quota.
The USTA Southern California Junior Competition Committee has voted to award those wild cards using the methods outlined below. The wild card will be awarded in the division where the player earned it.
The Junior Competition Committee reserves the right to change these procedures at any time for cogent reasons.
Clays
– Winner of Talbert (If winner gets in on their own, then WC will go to finalist, then 3rd, then 4th. After that, it’ll revert to staff/committee WC**). See additional criteria below.
– Leader of Final 8 Grand Prix Points Race at Clays entry deadline (If leader gets in on their own, WC will go to 2nd place, then 3rd, etc, down to 8th place. After that, it’ll revert to staff/committee WC**). See additional criteria below.
Hard Courts
– Winner of Junior Sectionals (If winner gets in on their own, then WC will go to finalist, then 3rd, then 4th. After that, it’ll revert to staff/committee WC**). See additional criteria below.
– Leader of Final 8 Grand Prix Points Race at Hards entry deadline (If leader gets in on their own WC will go to 2nd place, then 3rd, etc., down to 8th place. After that, it’ll revert to staff/committee WC**). See additional criteria below.
Indoors
– Top NSL Player. See additional criteria below.
– Top finisher of the Final 8 Grand Prix Points Race (If 1st place gets in on their own, WC will go to 2nd place, then 3rd, etc., down to 8th place. After that, it’ll revert to staff/committee WC**). See additional criteria below.
Winters
– Winner and Finalist of the Final 8 Masters (If either gets in on their own, then WC will go to 3rd place, then 4th place. After that, it’ll revert to staff/committee WC**). See additional criteria below.
To receive any quota wild card, players must not have 5 or more suspension points on their record due to conduct (i.e. code violations, unsportsmanlike conduct, refusal to play, etc.) starting on January 1, 2022 until the time wild cards are awarded. Wild cards shall be awarded after the entry deadline, therefore, players’ suspension points will be reviewed at that time.
Staff/committee wild cards will be determined using the pool of players who entered by the entry deadline into the tournament. There will be no application process. They will use the all factors method which could include any of the following criteria as well as those not listed below:
– Computerized tennis rating
– NSL
– Sportsmanship
– USTA tournament results
– Support of USTA Southern California programs and team events (Player Development Camps, CTC, Youth Tennis Council, etc.)
– Consistently plays tournaments to completion, including back draws
