For players attempting to qualify for nationals or seek to compete internationally, your journey begins here. Tennis Newfoundland and Labrador is part of the Atlantic Tennis Alliance (ATA) and through this organization, players in this province can qualify for Atlantics and Nationals. The ATA Playing Ops is a crucial document (one for the indoor season and one for the outdoor season) for parents and players to better understand how these competitive circuits work. For players newer to competing, scroll down the page to view information about the provincial tournament series.

Additional Information about the ATA Indoor Playing Ops:

Wildcards/Qualifying: There are no provincial wildcards for the ATA Indoor season. Players qualify on points earned alone. Cutoff for points accumulation for the Indoor Atlantics is Wednesday, February 5, 2025.

Point Accumulation: Players can earn points in provincial tournaments, ATA tournaments, or tournaments in other regions. Just ensure you look up the provincial rules around participation and the point value of the tournament if you are travelling outside the ATA.

Play Up Rule: The play-up rule has been slightly modified for 2024-2025. See the playing Ops for complete details.

Example: A “natural” U12 player can only play up to U14 in a 4* tournament but may play U16 in a 3.5* tournament (3 level play up is the maximum for any junior event). Unless they are in the top 2 of their secondary age category for the ATA region (not the/their province of competition). As an example, if our U12 player ranks in the top two of the ATA for U14, they would be allowed to play U16 in an ATA 4* event. Any players from visiting outside of the ATA would have to rank higher than the top two ATA players in a given secondary age category to be allowed to play up.

Playing At Other Tournaments

Each tennis jurisdiction in Canada (and internationally) have their own rules regarding play-up and age cutoffs. Be sure to carefully read the tournament regulations to ensure you fully understand the age categories and play-up rules, as well as the points that can be earned.

TNL hosted tournaments in Newfoundland and Labrador will follow the ATA rules for playing up but provincial club tournaments may have different rules. Please consult the tournament regulations for details for each tournament and reach out to the tournament director with questions if needed.

The decision to play up should be made in consultation with the junior players coach based on training plan for the player.

Provincial Junior Tournament Series

For Junior players looking to compete, clubs in Newfoundland and Labrador offer a series of events for the aspiring tennis player.

Juniors looking to try out competing may be interested in the Rookie Tour. These events are geared to young players of all ages looking to try out competing. These are displayed with a RT indicator below the tournament name on our tournament page. Players that play this tour receive a prize at every event they attend and are guaranteed three matches. There are no national points awarded at these events.

Young players (under 10) who are interested in kicking their competitive career into gear will be interested in the Rising Star tour events. These are special events held for under 10 players looking to transition into a competitive career in tennis. These tournaments are played with green dot ball on full court. Players who participate receive a welcome package at their first event and upon completing 5 events in a year will receive a sweater. Rising Star tournaments are displayed with a RS indicator under the tournament name on the tournament page. There are no national points awarded at these events, but points are kept regionally and players who perform well on this tour may be invited to play at Atlantic Canadian Rising Star championship.

Players over 10 who would like to compete in the provincial series should check the tournament page for 2* and 3* tournaments. These tournaments are held at clubs around the province and provide junior players the opportunity to earn points towards their Tennis Canada national ranking. The higher the star value, the more points awarded and the higher caliber of players that are attracted to the tournament. There are also 3.5* and 4* tournaments hosted in Newfoundland and Labrador. These tournaments are part of the ATA circuit hosted in Atlantic Canada.

National Bank Junior Rankings

Players earn points depending on the category of competition they engage in. Junior (age based 18 and under), Adult (skill based categories based on NTRP ratings: 3.0, 4.0, etc), Masters (age based 30+ categories) and Open (available to anyone).

You can learn all about the logic behind junior points on the National Bank Rankings page by visiting the Key Concepts, Ratings and Point Awards, Domestic Events, International Events tabs of this page.

A junior player total points are based on the five (5) best results in a rolling 52 week period. Juniors can play in more than 5 tournaments per year, but only their best 5 will contribute towards their point total. Only junior classed tournaments will count towards their point total. If a junior plays an open draw, they will instead earn points in that category of competition (unless it is an Open 1000 event where it will also count towards their junior ranking).

To determine the point value of a particular junior tournament, visit the ranking page, and select the following for tournaments in NL and the ATA:

As you change options in this page, the table above will update. The points awarded for each level of competition is indicated in a column below the number of stars (2*, 3*, 3.5*, 4*, 5* [Atlantics])