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Central WV Tennis Cup Rules and Regulations

1. To qualify for inclusion in the Central WV Tennis Cup series, a tournament must meet the following requirements:
a. Tournament must offer an Open bracket in all divisions it plans to host. For example, a 3.5-Only Men’s Singles tournament would not qualify.
b. Play format must be Single Elimination draw. Consolation rounds may be offered at the discretion of the Tournament Director, however their results will not count towards the Cup series.
2. Series tournaments will be classified as either Major or Minor. The following guidelines will be used to classify tournaments:
a. Major tournament - The tournament must offer competition in all of the following divisions, at a minimum: Open Men’s and Women’s Singles, Open Men’s and Women’s Doubles, Open Mixed Doubles. Other divisions may be included at the Tournament Director’s discretion, such as 3.5 or “B” level brackets.
b. Minor Tournament - Tournaments which offer play in one or more divisions, but do not include all those required of Major tournaments. For example, a Women’s-Only tournament or an Open/3.5 Men’s Singles tournament would be classified as Minor.
3. Points will be awarded based on results in CWVTC series tournaments according to the following table:

4. A player or team will earn points based on the round in which they are eliminated, with the exception of the bracket winner, who gets winner’s points. For example, In a Major tournament with 16 entries for Men’s Open Singles, the first round is R16. Losers in round 1 would get 45, while winners would be guaranteed at least 90 points.
a. Byes - Points are not awarded for advancement due to a first round bye. A player who receives a first-round bye and then loses in the 2nd round will be awarded first round points. If that player instead wins in the 2nd round, he or she would earn 3rd round points. Using the example from Rule 4, if a player receives a first round bye, their first match is in the Quarterfinal round. A win would guarantee them 180 points, while a loss would earn them first round points, or 45.
b. Points will only be awarded to players qualifying for the main draw of a tournament, the sizes of which will be determined by each tournament’s Director
c. Tournament Directors are encouraged to use feed-in or qualifying rounds in lieu of a larger sized draw when entries for a particular bracket are between 17 and 24 or 32 and 48. This would serve to simplify the main draw and reduce the number of byes given.
5. Doubles partnerships earn points as a team, not as individuals. For example, Bob and Jim play 2 tournaments together and earn 200 points. Bob then plays with Dave in a 3rd tournament, earning 150 points. In the series standings the team of Bob and Jim lead the team of Bob and Dave by 50 points. Bob does not receive an individual total of 350 points. At the end of the year, the top pairing wins the Cup.
6. Players or teams who compete in both 3.5 level and Open brackets in the same Division of the same Tournament will receive the higher of the two point totals earned. Example - Betty is a 3.5. She enters both the Open and 3.5 singles draws in the same Major tournament. Both draws have 16 entries. Betty wins the 3.5 draw and loses in the semi-finals of the Open draw. Betty would earn 180 points toward that year’s Women’s Singles Cup based on her results in the Open draw, since she only earned 150 points for winning the 3.5 draw.
7. In order to earn points towards a Series Cup, adults who compete in 3.5 level brackets of any Series tournament must have an active NTRP rating of 3.5 or lower.
a. In the case of a doubles partnership, both players must have valid and active ratings of 3.5 or lower in order for the team to earn points. Individual tournaments may allow 4.0 players to compete in 3.5 doubles in the event that they partner with a 3.0 level player (7.0 partnership), however, these teams will not earn series points. Such teams will, of course, still receive any rewards given by the individual tournament which they earn.
b. In the case of Juniors (if a tournament allows players under 18 to enter) they must play in the Intermediate division of Junior Team Tennis in order to earn Series points in the 3.5 bracket. (According to USTA, Intermediate equates to 3.5, while Advanced is 4.0+). Additionally, 2 juniors playing together in 3.5 level doubles must both be Intermediate level players in JTT in order to earn Series points.
8. After the last Series tournament of the year, players and teams with the highest point total for the year in each division are awarded the Cup.

Central WV Tennis Cup Rule Explanations and other Notes

Rule 1.
The ultimate purpose of the tennis cup is to reward the best local players each year. For this reason, it is a must that tournaments which contribute to Cup standings include a division open to players of all levels.

Rule 2.
Event levels were created with the possibility of future expansion of the Cup series in mind, and are based on a modified version of the ATP Tour system.

Rule 3.
The point system was redesigned for 2011 using a system very similar to the ATP Tour, though with a modified scale. A point scale for players competing in 3.5 level divisions was added due to public response as a way to give more players the opportunity to earn points towards the Cup. However, as the Cup is intended to be the top prize of the year, the points are set such that the Open divisions award significantly more points than the 3.5 divisions. With enough tournaments in the series, the possibility exists for a 3.5 player to win the cup, but the basis for the points in their current form is the idea that a player competing exclusively in 3.5 level events should probably not win a “player of the year” type award.

The reason behind the decision to put all players in the hunt for the same award (rather than have a separate cup for 3.5 players) is that the series is intended to be inclusive, rather than exclusive. Having a prize restricted to a certain level of player would exclude other players.

It is hoped that an eventual side effect of this system will be to inspire more players to challenge themselves by competing in Open divisions.

Rule 4.
Not awarding additional points for advancement due to a bye is a typical regulation for tennis tournaments, and is the standard used by the ATP tour.

Rule 5.
The CWVTC aims here to award the top partnerships of the year. If we instead awarded points on an individual basis, the result could be awarding the doubles Cup to one individual. This, to us, does not make sense when you are giving out a Doubles specific award.

Rule 6.
No notes or explanations

Rule 7.
This rule is to ensure absolute fairness when calculating Series standings. As it stands at the time of publication of these rules, the tournaments that are a part of the Central WV Cup that have 3.5 or “B” level divisions, but none of them require valid NTRP ratings for entry. Player’s acceptance into the 3.5 level draws are based on each Tournament Director’s discretion. This subjectivity leaves open the possibility for unrated players, with skills beyond the typical 3.5 level player, to be placed in 3.5 brackets. The lack of a standard method for placing unrated players in series tournaments necessitates this regulation at the Series level to ensure fairness.

It is well understood that our local player-base includes a large number of 3.5 and below rated players, and as such, popular demand necessitates the inclusion of 3.5 level divisions in local tournaments. Likewise, requiring USTA membership in order to enter a non-USTA tournament only serves to limit a tournament’s player-base, hence limiting its success. The CWVTC believes that all local players should have the opportunity to enter local tournaments without regards to USTA or any other organizational membership. It is also not the intent of the CWVTC to in any way discourage non-USTA members from competing in local tournaments.

The ultimate result of the Cup series is simply the offering of an additional reward which players who wish to, have the opportunity to compete for. All players, regardless of level or membership, have this chance by choosing to play in Open divisions. One does not lose anything by competing in 3.5 level divisions; rewards for doing well in those divisions are still available at each of the tournaments, as they always have been. Historically, entries into Open tournament divisions have been lacking when compared to the 3.5 divisions, especially in the case of Women’s. The CWVTC aim is to fill this gap and boost Open competition in Central West Virginia.