ITST TE Tour Calendar Information in 2013 season

[djarvik]

Hello everyone,

it is my pleasure to notify you that our tour has outgrown current Challenger and Future tournament settings. This is indeed wonderful news for all of us!

Starting from February, the settings will be as follows:

- Challenger Tournaments will now start the same day as Pro/ATP events
- Challenger Maximum rank for participation is now 25+
- Future Tournaments will continue to start on Tuesdays
- Future Maximum rank for participation is now 40+


What that means is that you no longer will be able to participate in Pro/ATP event and the Challenger event at the same time. You will have to pick carefully. For example: in a week where there is only one 250 event, you may want to consider entering a challenger as the playing field in the 250 event will likely include many top players. On the other hand, if there are 2-3 ATP events the same week, you may want to skip the challenger and try entering one of the ATP events, as the playing filed likely to be weaker that week.

In terms of Futures, since they start on Tuesday (others start Monday), you are able to enter them any time you want, as long as your rank qualifies. This should give the lower ranked guys more Tournament time and a chance to improve.


What the future holds?

In the future, we plan to impose a "Minimum Entree Rank" for all ATP/Pro tournaments. What that means (example only) is that in order to enter a 250 tournament - you would need to be at least ranked at ITST. If you are un-ranked/new player - you would need to start from Futures and work your way up. If you ranked lower then the "MER" - you will then have to wait till last day of sign-up to enter, but only if there will be available spots. Once we get to this point, we will layout the qualification rules in detail.

If you have any questions - let me know.

Good luck everyone, may the tennis gods be with you.

[eliomelma]

Sounds good!! Same thing when 2 ATP 250 starts at same date on real ATP world tour , we will have both two tournaments in signup?

[djarvik]

Yes.

[Clog]

Great news, exactly what I was expecting Nice !

[Felipe.M]

It is a great modification to tour, I think that if the objective of this tour is to provide the highest possible realism, was exactly what was missing. Many players are registered to play challengers, when the level is much higher than the demand for these tournaments. And I fully share the view djarvik, where opportunity should be given to players who start or have a low ranking, compete with players of their level.

The entry system is the best there is to control access to every tournament ... Very good initiative congratulate them.

[eliomelma]

Players with over 2000 ELO that playing challengers ... Mah! Yes rules needed but players should help to raise realism!

[costiiforzaa]

I saw that there are 3 ATP 250 tournaments, but all in SIM. What happenend with Elite?

[VMoe86]

I saw that there are 3 ATP 250 tournaments, but all in SIM. What happenend with Elite?

The tournaments were called "ELITE-TRIAL". It can be that there will be offered some in the future again, but we have enough feedback for now.

[djarvik]

Guys, next weeks tournaments include:

500 Event - ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
250 Event - SAP Open
250 Event - Brasil Open
Challenger - QUIMPER France 25+
Future - CROATIA 1 40+


This will be another great week to gulp some nice points for all levels! The 500 event likely to draw a lot of top players, leaving the 2 x 250 events with a weaker field, this becomes a great opportunity for a mid-level player to get his first title and make a good ranking jump. Don't miss it!

Challenger field will be weak as well, as most will opt for a Pro event this week, so the Top Future performers should be able to grab that one.

Future is open for all qualified as a "second" tournament. There might not be many points to be earned, but if you are looking for some match play experience - this is the perfect place to start.

Enjoy everyone!

[eliomelma]

Beautiful tournaments week!

[djarvik]

The following week is just as good!

500 Event - U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships
250 Event - Open 13
250 Event - Copa Claro
Future - RUSSIA 1 40+
Future - AUSTRALIA 1 40+

Same setup as previous week, with 500 getting the most attention, leaving the 250s up for grabs. But this week there is no challenger, so expect all the challenger players to enter the 250 events. This should be very interesting. There are also 2 Future tournaments.

Sign-up is open now, you can start scheduling yourself.

[Martan]

Damn, tour is getting really big! Nice job!

[djarvik]

500 Event - Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
500 Event - Abierto Mexicano Telcel
250 - Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
Future - COLOMBIA 1 40+
Future - KAZAKHSTAN 1 40+

Two 500 events in one week, One on a Fast court the other is on Slow. It will be very interesting to see who prefers which surface. There is also a 250 event in beautiful Delray Beach. We will not add Challengers for this week, but we will run two Future events as always.

[djarvik]

First week of March tournaments are open for sign-up!

1000 - Indian Wells BNP Paribas Open
Challanger - SANTIAGO Chile 25+
Future - CANADA 1 40+
Future - FRANCE 4 40+

First Masters event of the year is here! This is one of the most favorite Tournaments for players to play. A prestigious event with gorgeous courts and laid back atmosphere. You don't miss this one unless you injured. Also starting same day is a Chile Challenger, a clay event for some who may want to skip the masters and hit the week filed of a challenger that week, in hopes for a first title perhaps. AS always, there are two Future tournaments open for anyone who qualifies and start on a separate date, as to allow you to participate in 2 tournaments that week and gain more experience as you chase your goals.

[djarvik]

Second week of March tournaments:

Challenger - DALLAS TX 25+
Challenger - RABAT Morocco 25+
Future - FRANCE 5 40+
Future - JAPAN 1 40+

If you ranked above 25 - this is your week off. You can head to Miami early and get our practice in, or simply enjoy the local beaches. For the rest of the field, this will not be an easy week. With the absence of Pro circuit tournaments, most stronger sub 25 ranked players will be joining the challengers and most strong sub 40 players will play the Futures. So this is going to be quite a competitive week.