Player Selection

The Columbus Indoors are open tournaments and anyone meeting the entry requirements may register. When an entrant registers, the player becomes an "Applicant" and financial information is entered on the USTA website. Once the registration closes, the selection committee quickly selects the entrants into each division and each of these players are now considered a "Competitor." When a player becomes a Competitor, they are charged the entry fee for the tournament. The players that are not selected to become Competitors are not charged, and their credit / debit card information is destroyed. If a player is not selected to be a Competitor, and is not in the 32 player draw, they need not worry about calling about a refund, they will not be charged. We usually have over a hundred Applicants for each draw of 32 Competitors, so the majority of the entrants are never charged. The selection committee will be using the most recently published USTA National Standings list to determine the 32 competitors accepted into each division. There will be no wild cards issued in this tournament.

Selection Process

Players will be accepted into the main draw in the following manner:

Tournaments with draw size of 32:

"Aging Up" - No Wild Cards . . . We have had voluminous calls about players "aging up", a situatuion in which a player has just had a birthday which puts that player up into the next age group. We regret any player's individual circumstances that may affect their ranking, but all the Columbus Indoor tournaments are going strictly by the latest and most current USTA National Standings Lists and player selection criteria. All junior competitors within 6 months of their aging up birthday have hopefully been playing a lot of tournaments at the higher age level to accumulate enough points in advance to help them gain acceptance into the tournaments they wish to play in, once they age up.

In order to maintain absolute objectivity, we are continuing our policy of issuing No Wild Cards, for any reason, to forego and dispel any appearnce of favoritism or impropriety.

The "Competitor" list for each tournament will be posted as soon as possible after the deadline. It is the players' responsibility to check the web site for entry status, draws and match times. The Competitor and Alternate lists are subject to change at any time. To view the lists for up-to-the-minute information, please click the links to the individual tournaments above.

For more information about the national standings lists and the national junior rankings, Click Here.

Entry

Draws are limited to 32 players in each division.

Consolation draws will be offered as follows:

Backdraw matches will use a match tie break in place of a third set.

Players may enter only one age division. No phone or written entries will be accepted.

Entries must be submitted online through the USTA's Tennislink system.

When the entry deadline has passed and USTA online application process has closed, the selection committee will select the highest rated 32 players (from the most recent USTA National Standings List) to be the "Competitors" in each division. Once a player has been accepted as a Competitor, their credit card will be charged for the entry fee.

Withdrawals & Refunds Once a player has registered, there are no refunds after the selection lists are made. If a player wants to withdraw from the tournament, the player must do it themselves, on the USTA website. To withdraw from this tournament before the entry deadline closes, go to our USTA tournament home page online and click on "Edit Registration." Put in the player's USTA number and confirmation number and follow the instructions for withdrawal. Withdrawal can only be done on the USTA web site with the confirmation number provided at registration. No phone call withdrawals will be accepted. If an injury, illness or emergency forces a player to withdraw after the selection lists are made, the player forfeits their entry fee and there will be no refund. We will accept the next highest available alternate to take that player's forfeited spot in the draw.

Withdrawal of Seeds Here is the rule for replacing seeds who have withdrawn from the tournament. "If any of the first four seeds withdraws, the fifth seed becomes the fourth seed, and the new top four seeds are moved into their correct positions. The next player eligible for seeding moves into the open fifth seed position." Seeds 5 through 8 are considered the same so "the next eligible player" can replace any of them without moving the others or changing their seed number. An alternate is then moved into the vacated spot of the player replacing the seed.

Changing Divisions If you have signed up in one age group, then decide you want to play in the other division, you must change your registration by going to the tournament home page under "Edit Registration" (be sure to have your confirmation number available). Once the registration has closed, there will be no changing of divisions.

Practice Courts

Players may reserve practice courts on Friday from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM for $16 per hour; from 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM for $34 per hour; and from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM for $16 per hour.