Playoff Qualifications
The Ultimate Tennis Playoffs are reserved for the top players at each skill level. *Approximately 50% of the players will earn the right to compete in the post season tournament. Qualifiers will compete against top players from other divisions throughout their playing region. *The approximate number of qualifying players can vary from 25-55% or more in certain cities based on weather, seasonal calendars and delays due to natural disasters.
Accurate playoff seeding is based on your final point total and divisional standing at the end of the season. It is your responsibility to confirm that all point totals have been correctly reported to the league office by the scoring deadline. Playoff draws will not be adjusted for scores submitted after the deadline.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the playoffs, all members, including replacement players must complete a minimum of 4 matches against the assigned opponents on their schedule.
If a new league member in their first season OR a returning member that has not played in 2 or more years earns a rating of +7.0 in Singles or +9.0 or higher in doubles/mixed they will be ineligible for the playoffs.
In "singles leagues only", if a player moves up to a higher skill level in their second season and earns a 7.0 rating or higher they will continue to be ineligible for the playoffs until their rating settles below 7.0 for one season.
Read more about our First Season Player Rule and exceptions.Qualifying
The size or number of players in each division determines the number of playoff qualifying spots.
- In divisions of 4-6 players, the top 2 point finishers per division will qualify*
- In divisions of 7-8 players, the top 3 point finishers per division will qualify*
- In divisions of 9-10 players, the top 4 point finishers per division will qualify*
- In divisions of 11-14 players, the top 5 point finishers per division will qualify*
*Note: The number of qualifying players per division is sometimes reduced in certain cities based on weather, seasonal calendars and delays due to natural disasters. Events with over 300 players will have the number of qualifying spots shown above are reduced to fit the maximum draw size of 128 players per level. For Doubles and Mixed Doubles the maximum draw size will be 32. Read Maximum draw size below.
Wild Cards
After the regular qualifiers have been selected in the manner described above, additional wild card spots may be awarded at each skill level. Players with the highest point totals after the regular qualifiers have been selected will be the most likely candidates for a wild card berth. Wild cards are awarded only when there are available spots in the draw and players with sufficient points. Historically potential wild card qualifiers have around 68+ points. But sometimes players qualify with as few as 50 points, so make sure you "confirm your playoff availability" so you are eligible for the tournament.
Wildcards are added to the playoff draw for two purposes.
- To include players with high point totals that just missed the playoff cut.
- To balance the brackets of the draw and reduce the number of 1st-round byes.
Wildcards are assigned after the playoff draws have been prepared. This means potential wild card qualifiers must wait until the draws are published to see if they have qualified for the tournament.
Draw Size
The size of each playoff draw is dependent on the number of players and divisions at each skill level. A draw can contain anywhere from 2 to 128 players. When a draw increases to a larger size it will contain numerous "byes". The highest seeds will earn the "byes".
Note: To maintain our normal 50% playoff qualifying ratio, "byes" are not free spots to be filled by interested players but rather the normal result of a draw expanding to the next larger size. Once a draw has been published, it is almost never altered as it would affect seeding positions for the entire draw.Maximum Draw Size
The maximum size of a draw is 128 players per skill level. Once the maximum draw size has been met, no further players will qualify for the playoffs. This supersedes all qualifying rules listed above. A 128 draw requires 7 rounds to complete which is equivalent to playing an entire new season. A maximum draw size was established to limit the number of rounds and the duration of the playoffs.
Note: Players who are ranked #140 or more may still qualify for the tournament. Lower seeded players will move up in the standings due to "ineligible" and "unavailable" players being removed from the league standings.