GB ITF tournaments

paulisi · Tennis legend

GB ITF tournaments

the addict · Tennis legend

2018 - GB ITF tournaments

paulisi · Tennis legend

Amendment to wildcard status for ITF events from British Tour

Wild cards to LTA GB Pro-Series tournaments will be available to British players as follows.

Men:
Winner of a LTA British Tour Premier or Tier 1 event will receive a wild card into the main draw of LTA GB Pro-Series tournament in 2018 ($15k) - to be determined by the LTA Mens Performance Team. There will be a maximum of 3 main draw wild cards for men i.e. if a player wins 4 Tier 1 events in 2018, they would only be entitled to request a main draw wild card for 3 LTA GB Pro-Series events
Winner of a LTA British Tour Tier 2 event will receive a wild card into the qualifying draw of a mens LTA GB Pro-Series tournament in 2018 ($15k) - to be determined by the LTA Mens Performance Team
If a player wins 3 LTA British Tour Tier 2 events during 2018 they will receive a wild card into the main draw of a LTA GB Pro-Series tournament in 2018 ($15k) - to be determined by the LTA Mens Performance Team

Players need to make a timely request, to the appropriate person in the LTA Mens Performance Team. Which event the wild card is awarded, is at the discretion of the LTA Mens Performance Team.

Women:
Winner of 2 LTA British Tour Premier events in 2018 will receive a wild card into the main draw of a LTA GB Pro-Series tournament ($25k) within a 12 month period- to be determined by the LTA Womens Performance Team.
Winner of 1 LTA British Tour Premier event, or 2 Tier 1 events in 2018 will receive a wild card into the qualifying draw of a womens LTA GB Pro-Series tournament ($25k) within a 12 month period - to be determined by the LTA Womens Performance Team
If a player wins 3 LTA British Tour Tier 2 events during 2018 they will receive a wild card into the qualifying draw of a womens LTA GB Pro-Series tournament ($25k) within a 12 month period - to be determined by the LTA Womens Performance Team.

Players need to make a timely request to the appropriate person in the LTA Womens Performance Team. Which event the wild card is awarded, is at the discretion of the LTA Womens Performance Team

paulisi · Tennis legend

two things that stand out:

the BT tour is supposed to be a stepping stone to playing on the tour - there is no option to start in the UK for the girls anymore

I feel sorry for the likes of:
Alicia Barnett
Laura Sainsbury
Olivia Nicholls
Alice Gillan
Laura Deigman
Tiffany William
Ella Taylor
Emma Hurst
The Pitak sisters

and all the good juniors who have stepping stone in the UK to step up

Oakland2002 · All-time great

From a pragmatic perspective it seems to line up with the needs of the players being supported by the LTA with a view to becoming ATP or WTA touring pros. If anyone really steps up age appropriate opportunities are there.

The girls who are likely WTA candidates should really be playing 25Ks as teenagers so about right for the likes of Fran Jones, Emily App, Jodie Burrage, Emily Arb (when not in college) and Katie Swan (for a bit but hopefully she will step up). The younger girls Holly Fischer and Emma Radacanu will probably get their developmental needs addressed by focusing on juniors as 15 year olds.

I like the 15Ks for our crop of 15/16/17 year old boys Aidan, George, Jack and Anton.

indiana · Tennis legend

paulisi wrote:
two things that stand out:

the BT tour is supposed to be a stepping stone to playing on the tour - there is no option to start in the UK for the girls anymore

I feel sorry for the likes of:
Alicia Barnett
Laura Sainsbury
Olivia Nicholls
Alice Gillan
Laura Deigman
Tiffany William
Ella Taylor
Emma Hurst
The Pitak sisters

and all the good juniors who have stepping stone in the UK to step up

Nightmare for such players and many others trying to get towards the counters required for a ranking ( we will possibly quite soon in the new year have no unranked players with more than a single counter if Eleanor Dean's two counters drop off without her being able to replace them ). They are absolute victims of so few tournaments now being provided and then seemingly the targeting of these few ITFs that remain at the current range of players deemed likely to 'make it' ( and from experience some of these players will not appear unless it really fits their schedule, since the higher ranked more supported players will often have options ).

OK, I can hear some saying that that is in general a list of players not likely to reach the upper echelons, and perhaps indeed pragmatism, but I can't help but feel very sorry that their own country provides no pro ranking tournaments most appropriate to their current level. Even 25K qualifying can often be relatively stacked.

Also yes I am sure juniors such as Ali Collins, Gemma Heath and Eliz Maloney would appreciate some home 15Ks to help establish some senior foothold and quite possibly some of the very good younger juniors too. It would probably do them no harm to mix in a few senior ITFs sooner rather than later.

That home stepping stone is not being provided for any British female in 2018. Not a single women's 15K

-- Edited by indiana on Saturday 16th of December 2017 02:34:49 PM

Madadman · Masters Series Champion

Really don't understand the strategy. All the money on the Challenger circuit in the summer. Surely it would be best to return those to lower value tournaments and have another round of 15ks. But I assume it's driven by Wimbledon.

Shhh · Challenger level

Shocking. Really dreadful in my humble opinion.

Michael D · All-time great

Shhh wrote:
Shocking. Really dreadful in my humble opinion.

Yes, I agree this schedule, or lack of, is shockingly disgraceful. From the association that receives funding from an extremely lucrative Grand Slam tournament, it clearly doesn't give a damn about supporting junior professional players trying to get onto the ladder, other than the small coterie it is directly supporting. Another totally elitist strategy that exhibits no broader caring - or humanity - and will only foster the further hollowing out of our professional tennis base.

I would like to see the current LTA structure disbanded and totally replaced, with new personnel. It presently provides no wider value, essentially only consumed with its own maintenance, and is not fit for purpose. The tiny added on value it provides now could be provided by any tiny structure with a handful of staff. Worst of all is that the LTA doesn't seem to listen to anyone else any longer, or even care about doing so, and it would seem that the Murray's - Andy and Judy both - seem to have given up totally on it.

telstar · Strong Club Player

Michael D wrote:
Shhh wrote:
Shocking. Really dreadful in my humble opinion.
Yes, I agree this schedule, or lack of, is shockingly disgraceful. From the association that receives funding from an extremely lucrative Grand Slam tournament, it clearly doesn't give a damn about supporting junior professional players trying to get onto the ladder, other than the small coterie it is directly supporting. Another totally elitist strategy that exhibits no broader caring - or humanity - and will only foster the further hollowing out of our professional tennis base.
I would like to see the current LTA structure disbanded and totally replaced, with new personnel. It presently provides no wider value, essentially only consumed with its own maintenance, and is not fit for purpose. The tiny added on value it provides now could be provided by any tiny structure with a handful of staff. Worst of all is that the LTA doesn't seem to listen to anyone else any longer, or even care about doing so, and it would seem that the Murray's - Andy and Judy both - seem to have given up totally on it.

I am in complete agreement with Michael and Shhh. Totally appalling! When will the LTA learn that it is the players aged 18-23 (who have themselves chosen to continue) who are far more worthy of support than 12-16 year oldS who play because their parents push them to do so?

-- Edited by telstar on Saturday 6th of January 2018 07:44:40 PM

Shhh · Challenger level

Has anybody ever be able to ask anyone from LTA (Bob in Spain maybe?) what the thinking is behind so few tournaments? I understand not wanting players coasting along in a comfort zone but, this few seems so extreme?

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Yes. I have had this discussion with them - or to be more precise, with Leon. The biggest problem they have is finding clubs to host the tournaments. They put out a circular offering to go 50/50 on the funding and had ZERO response. Even when they offered to 100% fund the tournaments, there were still only a very small number clubs interested. This is the primary reason they have given.

-- Edited by Bob in Spain on Sunday 28th of January 2018 06:30:18 PM

Shhh · Challenger level

Thanks Bob. We staged so many for a couple of years. I wonder how it worked then?

indiana · Tennis legend

Shhh wrote:
Thanks Bob. We staged so many for a couple of years. I wonder how it worked then?

A very good question.

If there was a true will I am sure there would be a way found to have a few more futures level tournaments. It probably was a fair bit excessive before and priorities change ( which is maybe in truth largely the nub of the matter ). In particular we now so lack home stepping stones for many players, not being comparatively looked after by the LTA, to try to begin to make a mark. I still find the no home 15Ks for women quite ridiculous.

Michael D · All-time great

Bob in Spain wrote:
Yes. I have had this discussion with them - or to be more precise, with Leon. The biggest problem they have is finding clubs to host the tournaments. They put out a circular offering to go 50/50 on the funding and had ZERO response. Even when they offered to 100% fund the tournaments, there were still only a very small number clubs interested. This is the primary reason they have given.

-- Edited by Bob in Spain on Sunday 28th of January 2018 06:30:18 PM

Well, I wonder whose job this is in the LTA to arrange this schedule? Let me ask anyone rhetorically, if this was your job, and you were really interested in the UK hosting a greater number of tournaments and you really did have the funding to support them, would you really just put out a circular to clubs on the off chance a few might respond to you? No you wouldn't do that, you'd contact all the likely candidates directly, and then if you still didn't have sufficient, you'd work out a second tier list you would also contact directly.

These tournaments are not happening, because no-one is really making any effort to get them arranged, and clearly no-one really has the responsibility for doing so, or cares too much.