The question below came into the site recently – we’ve had many similar questions over the past months. I’ve been struggling with exactly the same thing in my coaching, so we thought it would be worth sharing it on the site.
"Our son is just beginning to travel to TE U16 events and possibly some ITF U18’s. He wants to be a professional player and we are under the impression that if he doesn’t get experience travelling, he has much less chance of making it. However, we are finding that by the time you know whether or not you have a place in the draw, you have to pay much higher prices for the flights. We don’t get any LTA funding for these trips, so have you any suggestions for how to manage a good but affordable tournament schedule?"
The problem is a really simple one, but a very difficult one to get around!
We all realise that it is important for a young player to get international experience if they are really trying to progress into senior tennis. The most obvious and common way to do this is to enter Tennis Europe (U12, U14, U16) events and ITF (U18) events in Europe. However, all these tournaments have limited entries and they accept the highest ranking players first into main draw and qualifying. So, if a player has not played in these events before (and therefore has no ranking) they do not get accepted immediately. Instead they are put on the reserve list – it is not uncommon to be 30th to 40th reserve 3 to 4 weeks before the tournament starts. You can then check online and as players start to drop out you move up the reserve list.
This is fine, as it is a part of tennis at all levels that you have a try to get into an event and then take your opportunity when you get there. The problem revolves around the flights! To get reasonable flight prices you need to book well in advance – this means booking when the player may still be 30th reserve for the event. Quite a risk! The alternative, however, is to not book flights – waiting until last minute when you know if you’ve got in – then try and book. At this point you either have to pay hundreds of pounds for flights or possibly can’t even get one!
Hopefully that explains the problem. I can’t completely solve it, but hopefully I can make a few suggestions that can help.
1. Try to get started by entering events you’ll have the best chance of getting in to:
- Summer tends to be better. The draws are bigger at outdoor events and often there are several events running at the same time.
- Do your homework on the web. Check out the size of the qualifying draw and have a look at the event last year to see how many entered and what the entry cut off point was. Although this can backfire as everybody does the same; so an event that had a small entry the previous year can suddenly have a huge entry the next!
2. If you can get really cheap flights consider booking and then hoping:
- The reserve list does start to move quickly near the event – it’s amazing who gets in at the last minute. Sometimes the host nation is holding a load of wild cards that they suddenly don’t use.
- Even if you don’t get in you could still go. Again there are always last minute withdrawals – and although there is in theory still a reserve list – in practice the player that is standing there with a racket tends to get in.
- Try to travel with a team of players travelling without a place in the tournament. This is not as stupid as it sounds. You get experience of the tournament, you may well get in, and even if you don’t get in, there are lots of players hanging around that are looking to practice.
3. Target the UK tournaments first
- There are a few Tennis Europe and ITF events in the UK. Although it might sound like it’s defeating the purpose – as in travelling abroad to get experience – it can be the way to make a start and get a ranking (so enabling entry into other events oversees). So target those events first and then plan overseas events in the following months.
4. Speak to the real experts
- This is not a new problem, the parents of older juniors that have played abroad are the people to speak to.
- They will have been through the same things at many of these events and seen where people tend to get in and where the chances are limited.
- The other people with lots of real experience are the coaching teams at the HPCs. They all go out to events fairly regularly and will have plenty of advice on the best places to try.
5. Try U18 ITF events instead of U16 Tennis Europe Events
- There are lots of grade 4 and 5 ITF events each week of the year
- Most of the events are taking unranked players into the qualifying events – so it's definitely worth a try.
6. Consider other overseas options
- Tennis Europe and ITF events are not the only way to go. Have a look at ‘money’ tournaments in France and Holland. Money tournaments are not junior events - they are open to all players. Players enter at their own level and then as they win they progress through the draw. The level is good and they are very competitive, it is possible to play two events in the same week in the peak season. France in early summer is certainly something to consider; in terms of international experience this is a match with Tennis Europe and ITF events. The ideal option is to find a base in the South of France for a couple of weeks, then travel to events in the surrounding area. The Federation Francaise de Tennis has lots of information.
- Have a look at events in the states such as Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl. These events have huge qualifying draws – they seem to pretty much take everybody. They also have lots of play back and associated match-play events.
7. Consider other UK options
- The AEGON British Tour events are really worth considering. They are obviously not overseas, but they do provide a great standard of tennis and present a new set of challenges for a player to overcome.
- One of the main reasons for going abroad is to push players out of their comfort zone and to get them into more ‘tour’ like situations – the British Tour events will do this.
8. Consider a completely different route
- If your child is U16 and has not got a Tennis Europe or ITF ranking then chances are that they are a late developer in terms of their tennis (although this is not a problem). There is an argument that trying to catch up by following the same route as those ahead is wasting time – what you need is a different route – hopefully a short cut.
- So how about doing a few UK junior events, add in some British Tour and enter a few French money events – that’s a great tournament schedule.
- At some point when progress is starting to happen, target the lower level of the senior tour. The $10,000 events are all over Europe and in some ways it is easier to get into those than the Tennis Europe and ITF events.
Summary
There is no easy solution I’m afraid – it is a genuine problem for players who are coming through a little later. The most important point, however, is that pretty much all players who make it as pros get overseas experience, but not all of them get it in Tennis Europe and ITF events.
If after trying to get in to Tennis Europe Events it becomes apparent that it is going to be pretty much impossible, then come up with a different plan. My suggestion would be to switch to looking at grade 4 and 5 ITFs and then combine that with British Tour and European money events. In some ways this route could be better; the Tennis Europe events are full of GB players these days – this route will provide great tennis and great international experience.
Article by Dan Thorpe
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