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Post Info TOPIC: New Accelerator Programme for top-20/30 Juniors
Coup Droit


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New Accelerator Programme for top-20/30 Juniors
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The ITF and the ATP have announced the launch of the Accelerator Programme, a ground-breaking initiative designed to accelerate the careers of young aspiring tennis players from 2023. 

The programme will see playing opportunities at ATP Challenger Tour level and ITF World Tennis Tour events reserved for the worlds top Junior players, and forms part of the ITFs long-term strategy to develop more opportunities for players to progress through the player pathway to the top level of the game. 

Each player ranked in the Top 20 of the ITF Junior Boys Year-End Rankings will be granted up to eight Accelerator Spots at ATP Challenger Tour 50 and 75 tournaments the following season. These will be split between Main Draw (Top 10) and Qualifying (11-20), with players also eligible for two Accelerator Spots at M15 or M25 ITF World Tennis Tour events.  

Players ranked 21-30 in the year-end ITF Junior Rankings will be eligible for eight spots at M15 or M25 events.  

For players ranked in the Top 20 of the ITF Junior Girls Year-End Rankings, there will be a total of five opportunities to access main draws at womens events on the ITF World Tennis Tour, from W15 to W100 level depending on ranking. For the first time this will include access to the new W40 category, introduced for 2023 as part of the ITFs drive for gender parity across the sport. 

The new programme supplements the 2023 ATP Challenger Tour changes announced in September, which signal ATPs long-term strategy for the circuit through significant prize money increases, a balanced calendar, and an increase in total and premium playing opportunities.  

Grand Slam Singles Champions and Finalists will also be eligible for the Accelerator Programme. Champions will receive the same allocation of Main Draw opportunities as the Top 10 group, while Finalists will join players ranked 11-20 in receiving access into Qualifying.

David Haggerty, ITF President, said: "It is important that tennis works together to create new opportunities for young players. By collaborating, we can create a brighter future for the sport and ensure that future generations have opportunities to progress to the top of the game. We are excited to be part of the effort to make this happen." 

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, said: "Tennis has always been a sport that rewards hard work, and we must create an environment that allows young, aspiring players to reach their potential. It is our responsibility to open the door to opportunity and allow them to thrive in the sport. The Accelerator Programme is creating a pathway for the next generation of champions and showcases tennis using its collective influence to remain a sport for all. We look forward to seeing it come into play from 2023." 

Further bolstering the Junior Accelerator Programme is a new Promotion mechanic, which allows year-end Top 20 ranked juniors and Junior Grand Slam Singles Champions and Finalists who achieve direct acceptance by Pepperstone ATP Ranking into ATP Challenger Qualifying, to be promoted into the Main Draw. The programme will be available across all Challenger categories. 

Junior players eligible for the programme will be based off the year-end ITF Junior Ranking, calculated today on Monday 12 December 2022 and available to view on the ITF website



-- Edited by Coup Droit on Monday 12th of December 2022 08:04:09 PM

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JonH comes home


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Good initiative - presumably the itf will also be talking to the wta on similar lines ? D

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Coup Droit


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"Huge new opportunities for top juniors. The existing Junior Reserved spots for $15Ks have been extremely successful in providing opportunities for juniors on the ITF Circuit. Adding ATP Challenger incentives is a valuable step up for the boys."

This was Colette's summary

"The ITF and ATP announced a new program to assist junior boys in the transition to professional tennis, with those who finish in the Top 30 of the ITF Junior rankings receiving what are being called Accelerator spots, not only in ITF $15,000 and $25,000 tournaments, but into ATP Challengers as well. There are also special considerations for junior slam winners and finalists; those can be found in the ATP release on the program.
 
The ITF's current program provides spots in $15,000 tournaments to Top 100 juniors until they turn 19; it's not clear from this ITF release whether that will program will continue, but I hope it will, as it has been popular and productive for many juniors trying to improve their ATP and WTA rankings.
 
This is a collaboration between the ATP and ITF; the WTA is not currently providing a similar program for its 125s, but unlike the ATP, which has lower level Challengers, all the women's tournaments at $100,000 prize money or less are under the jurisdiction of the ITF.
 
I'm surprised that this will take effect in 2023, rather than the start of 2024, because current juniors were not able to schedule for meeting these ranking goals. I believe the program will help draw better fields to the ITF's J1s and JAs next year, especially those at year-end, but it does seem like a sudden, if positive, change that top juniors were not able to prepare for."
 


-- Edited by Coup Droit on Wednesday 14th of December 2022 09:06:17 AM

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Lambda


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JonH comes home wrote:

Good initiative - presumably the itf will also be talking to the wta on similar lines ? D



Girls already have this up to 100K Challengers, as these fall under the ITF. Boys only have it up to 25K. This programme addresses the anomalies that exist between boys and girls junior exempt spots although it does seem to be over correcting in giving boys more opportunities than girls at challenger level if I'm interpreting it right

-- Edited by Lambda on Wednesday 14th of December 2022 10:52:27 AM

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JonH comes home


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Coup Droit wrote:

"Huge new opportunities for top juniors. The existing Junior Reserved spots for $15Ks have been extremely successful in providing opportunities for juniors on the ITF Circuit. Adding ATP Challenger incentives is a valuable step up for the boys."

This was Colette's summary

"The ITF and ATP announced a new program to assist junior boys in the transition to professional tennis, with those who finish in the Top 30 of the ITF Junior rankings receiving what are being called Accelerator spots, not only in ITF $15,000 and $25,000 tournaments, but into ATP Challengers as well. There are also special considerations for junior slam winners and finalists; those can be found in the ATP release on the program.
 
The ITF's current program provides spots in $15,000 tournaments to Top 100 juniors until they turn 19; it's not clear from this ITF release whether that will program will continue, but I hope it will, as it has been popular and productive for many juniors trying to improve their ATP and WTA rankings.
 
This is a collaboration between the ATP and ITF; the WTA is not currently providing a similar program for its 125s, but unlike the ATP, which has lower level Challengers, all the women's tournaments at $100,000 prize money or less are under the jurisdiction of the ITF.
 
I'm surprised that this will take effect in 2023, rather than the start of 2024, because current juniors were not able to schedule for meeting these ranking goals. I believe the program will help draw better fields to the ITF's J1s and JAs next year, especially those at year-end, but it does seem like a sudden, if positive, change that top juniors were not able to prepare for."
 



-- Edited by Coup Droit on Wednesday 14th of December 2022 09:06:17 AM

 Cool - who is Colette by the way?

Agree it does seem like some players , if they had known, might have focused on getting their ranking to the right level but sometimes, you just have to get on with things, and this feels like one of those situations.  



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DavidC


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JonH comes home wrote:

 Cool - who is Colette by the way?

Agree it does seem like some players , if they had known, might have focused on getting their ranking to the right level but sometimes, you just have to get on with things, and this feels like one of those situations.  

 Colette Lewis, a leading US tennis commentator for some years, specialising in juniors



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JonH comes home


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DavidC wrote:
JonH comes home wrote:

 Cool - who is Colette by the way?

Agree it does seem like some players , if they had known, might have focused on getting their ranking to the right level but sometimes, you just have to get on with things, and this feels like one of those situations.  

 Colette Lewis, a leading US tennis commentator for some years, specialising in juniors

 Thank you ! 



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