A.     Residency Requirements for Closed Tournaments
Only players who have established a legal residency in Georgia, hold a current USTA membership card assigned to Georgia, and who are citizens of the United States or meet the international player requirements for a national ranking are eligible to participate in Georgia closed tournaments. These residency requirements must be satisfied at least thirty (30) days prior to the entry date of each Championship.

B.      Adult, Senior, and NTRP Sanctioned Events
The USTA Georgia sanctions the following tournament events for adult and senior players, the results of which are utilized to determine rankings in Georgia at the conclusion of the ranking year. 

C.      Adult Age Eligibility Table
 2009 USTA Georgia Age Eligibility Table
(For tournaments from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009) 

1.   Players must turn 19 years of age or older during 2009. Players eligible to compete in junior tournament events are not eligible to play in Adult NTRP events.

2.   Players must compete in their appropriate NTRP level, determined by
                  the following prioritized order:

a.       Players with a current NTRP computer rating must compete no lower than their computer-rated level.

·         Players are required to compete at their current NTRP year-end computer rating (or higher) for the entire calendar year unless disqualified from the USTA League Tennis Program at that NTRP level.

·         If disqualified, the player must move up in tournament competition for the remainder of the year.  The newly defined level shall be considered the most current NTRP computer rating for tournament competition.

b.   Players without a current NTRP computer rating may appropriately self-rate.

c.   The following limitations will apply for NTRP Doubles and MXD events: A player with a rating of 3.0 may play no lower than the 5.0 level; a player with a rating of 3.5 may play no lower than the 6.0 level; a player with a rating of 4.0 may play no lower than the 7.0 level; a player with a rating of 4.5 may play no lower than the 8.0 level; a player with a rating of 5.0 may play no lower than 9.0; and a player with a rating of 5.5 or higher may play no lower than 10.0. 

E. Adult Rest Periods and Match Limitations

·         Rest Periods Between Sets

There is no rest period after split sets in Men’s Open, Women’s Open, and Men’s 25. In all other adult divisions, including Adult-Child combinations, at the request of any player or team, a ten-minute rest after split sets must be observed. The rest period may be taken only after two consecutive sets have been played– completion of a suspended set counts as one set. There will be no rest period, therefore, between the second and third sets if there is a match suspension of ten minutes or more during the second set.

·         Rest Periods Between Matches

A minimum of one hour must be allowed for rest after a singles match and thirty minutes after a doubles match, except that a singles match in excess of three hours shall have a waiting period of a minimum of one and one-half hours before the next match. Players can waive these rules by mutual agreement and with the consent of the Referee. From one day to the next, a minimum of ten (10) hours must lapse from the end of one match and the beginning of the next match.

·         Daily Playing Limitations

No player may be required to play more than two matches per event per day. Players who enter two different events can face playing four matches on a given day. This rule can be waived with the consent of the players involved and the Referee. 

F. Ranking Prerequisites

• In order to be considered for a Georgia Open, Age-Division, NTRP Division or Special Event, a player must be a legal resident of Georgia as stated in Adult Section A and must compete in one USTA sanctioned tournament.

G. Point Ranking System

• Open, Age, Special Events and NTRP division final rankings in 2009 will be determined by the USTA Georgia Adult Point System.
• Rankings are determined by the Point System.
• Players will earn points for where they finish in the draw, in addition to participation points earned. To earn points for where you finish, you must advance to that round by a win.
• A player’s top four (4) tournaments will be used for ranking purposes.
• Byes will not earn points until the next round is won.
• Defaults, withdrawals and walkovers will count as wins for the opponents, and they will receive points for the round that was reached.
• Participation in National or Sectional (STA) Championships outside the state of Georgia must be submitted to the GTA office by noon, December 31, 2009.  Only the National and Sectional (STA) Championships will be counted toward your Georgia ranking, not “other” tournaments outside of Georgia.
• In ranking any given Open, Age or NTRP divisions, results from other Age or NTRP divisions will not be considered.

H.  USTA Georgia Adult/Senior and NTRP Point System

USTA-Georgia Point System
For Adult/Senior and NTRP 
 

I. USTA Georgia NTRP Tournament Point Values

Level I (300 points)

   USTA Georgia NTRP Tournament of Champions

   Georgia State NTRP Championships

Level II (200 points)

   Marietta NTRP Championships

   Georgia Games

   One Love Tennis Summer Adult Tennis Challenge

   Pine Forest Labor Day Classic

   Callaway Gardens Men’s Clay Court Championships

   John Drew Smith Memorial Tournament

   Columbus Banana Open

   Elvis “Return to Sender” Tournament

Level III (150 points)

   All other USTA Georgia NTRP Tournaments, excluding 1-day tournaments

Level IV (75 points)

   1-day “QuickPlay” Tournaments 

J. USTA Georgia Adult/Senior Tournament Point Values

Level I (300 points)

   Georgia State Adult/Senior Open Championships

   Georgia State Adult/Senior Clay Courts Championships

   Georgia State Adult/Senior Hardcourts Championships

Level II (200 points)

   Southern Championships

   National Championships

   Atlanta Senior Invitational

Level III (150 points)

   All other USTA Georgia Adult/Senior Championships, excluding 1-day tournaments

Level IV (75 points)

   1-day “QuickPlay” Tournaments 

K. One-Day “QuickPlay” Tournaments

Acceptable scoring formats for 1 day events are:

• Regular two out of three set matches;
• Two out of three set matches with a tie-breaker in lieu of the third;
• 8 game pro-sets; and
• 2 out of three “mini-sets” to 4 games. (This is the first to 4 games by 2. Play 2 out of 3 tiebreak mini-sets with a 10 point match tiebreak in lieu of a 3rd set.)

You must win at least one match to acquire points for where you finish in a round robin. This does not include participation points.