I entered a tournament - am I going to get in?

 Almost all USTA tournaments – junior and adult – have entry limits.  Most of our local tournaments never approach the limits.  The exception is the higher-level junior tournaments where kids will travel for the points.  Despite that, many of our players run into entry limits when they travel to tournaments. 

There are a few things you should know about the entry limits.

The tournament director selects players into the tournaments.  You will not be charged at this time if you are not selected.  Do not withdraw because you were not selected unless you are no longer interested in playing the tournament due to injury, illness, or personal circumstances.  If you are on the alternate list and get selected, the card will automatically be charged.  

THE SELECTION PROCESS

 Most tournaments that have a selection process use top-down selection.  Level 7's – the lowest tournament level where the results count towards rankings – use a bottom-up selection process.  So what is the difference?  

Top-down starts with the highest-ranked player (the top) and goes to the next ranked player until the draw is complete.  The remaining players are alternates, and the alternate list is ordered according to player ranking.  Again, the highest-ranked alternate is the first player to get into the tournament if someone drops out.  The lowest-ranked player is the last alternate.  

Bottom-up seeding is just the opposite.  Unranked players and lower-ranked players get into the draw first.  If everyone else on the alternate list has made it into the draw, the highest-ranked player gets in last. 

Level 7 tournaments use bottom-up selection to give newer players a chance to earn points to be selected into higher-level tournaments if they are good enough.  

Tournaments must accept entries until the entry deadline.  Once the entry deadline passes, the Tournament Director may choose to accept late entries; they are not required to - it is purely at the Tournament Directors' discretion.  If they accept a late entry, that late entry must be put at the bottom of the alternate list, regardless of the player's ranking.  Late entries cannot be added to the draw if it affects the seeding. 

For example, if the player who entered late would be the second seed in the tournament had they entered on time, they can replace the first or second seed.  Replacing anyone else would mean that three players in the draw are stronger than all of the other players, not 2.  If they replace the first or second seed, there would still be two players at that level. 

That also applies when there are no alternates and not enough players to fill the draw.  A player who would be seeded, who signed up late, cannot be put into the draw unless a higher seeded player withdraws.  Putting them into the draw would mean that a player who otherwise would have gotten a first-round bye now has to play the first round.  I hope this helps your understanding of the selection process.  If you have questions, feel free to contact me.