LTA COMPETITION REGULATIONS - 1 January 2021

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LTA COMPETITION
REGULATIONS
       1 January 2021
INDEX
1.          pplication of the LTA
            A                                     5.32-5.40    edical evaluation and
                                                              M
            Competition Regulations                           treatment during matches
2.          TA Sanctioned Competitions:
            L                                     5.41-5.45    rocedures in case of adverse
                                                              P
            types, grades and age groups                      conditions
3.           ntering an LTA Sanctioned
            E                                     5.46-5.50   Clothing and equipment
            Competition
                                                  5.51-5.52   Tennis balls
3.1-3.2     The Organiser/Organising Committee
                                                  5.53-5.54   Court markings
3.3-3.6     Sponsorship and advertising
                                                  5.55-5.56    atches played without a
                                                              M
3.7-3.9     Entry information                                 Chair Umpire
3.10-3.13   Overlapping competitions              5.57-5.59   Results
3.14-3.19   Acceptance of entries                 5.60-5.65   Prizes
3.20-3.22   Wild Cards                            5.66        Reasonable Adjustments
3.23-3.24   Refund of entry fees                  6.           ating, Ranking and
                                                              R
                                                              ITF World Tennis/Number
3.25-3.28   The draw
                                                  7.          8U, 9U & 10U Events
3.29-3.34   Seeding
                                                  7.1-7.2     General
3.35-3.37   Byes
                                                  7.3-7.4     Red Ball tennis
3.38        Unseeded Players
                                                  7.5-7.6     Orange Ball tennis
3.39-3.43   Lucky Losers
                                                  7.7-7.8     Green Ball tennis
3.44        On Site Alternates
                                                  8.          Complaints
3.45-3.46   Omissions
                                                  9.          Non-Compliance
3.46-3.49   Errors
                                                  10.         Miscellaneous
4.           ithdrawing from an LTA
            W
            Sanctioned Competition
5.           articipating in an LTA
            P
            Sanctioned Competition                APPENDICES
5.1-5.3     Player eligibility                    One         Definitions
                                                  Two         LTA Logo
5.4-5.6     Referee
                                                  Three       Draw methods and seeding
5.7-5.9     Chair Umpires
                                                  Four        Permitted identifications
5.10-5.12   Court Supervisors
                                                  Five        Rating, Ranking and ITF
5.13-5.14   Conditions of play                                World Tennis Number
                                                  Six         LTA Code of Conduct
5.15-5.18   Player attendance
                                                  Seven       Code Violation Points
5.19-5.20   Composition of matches
                                                  Eight       Withdrawing from an LTA
5.21-5.23   Scheduling of matches                             Sanctioned Competition

5.24-5.31   Warm-up and breaks in play            Nine        Approved Scoring Formats
4 LTA Competition Regulations

                                                            Safeguarding Policy, the LTA Diversity
1.    APPLICATION OF THE LTA                                and Inclusion Policy, Fair Play Principles
      COMPETITION REGULATIONS                               and the Rules of Tennis will also apply to
1.1   These Regulations take effect from 1                  all LTA Sanctioned Competitions. In the
      January 2021 and may be varied from                   event of conflict between any such rules
      time to time by the LTA Board. Any                    and/or policies and these Regulations,
      such variations will be published on                  these Regulations will prevail. In the case
      the LTA Website at www.LTA.org.uk/                    of the County Cup Competitions, the
      CompetitionRegulations and/or notified                British Tour, National League, LTA staged
      to (a) Organisers/Organising Committees               National Tour, Regional Tour and County
      and Licensed Officials by email, and                  Tour, Padel, Disability, and Beach Tennis
      (b) Players as part of the competition                competitions, certain specific competition
      information provided pursuant to                      regulations apply and in the event of
      Regulation 3.8, below. Save where                     conflict between those competition
      otherwise stipulated in the variations                regulations and these Regulations, those
      themselves, the variations will take effect           competition regulations will prevail.
      immediately from when they are so
                                                            Explanatory note: The regulations for the
      published or notified (whichever is earlier).
                                                            County Cup Competitions, the British
1.2 With the exception of Designated                        Tour and National League can be found at
    International Events, these Regulations                 www.LTA.org.uk/CompetitionRegulations.
    apply to all tournaments, championships,
                                                      1.5 These Regulations set out the provisions
    leagues, cup competitions and other tennis
                                                          that apply to (among other things)
    events that are staged or approved by
                                                          the organisation, administration
    the LTA (LTA Sanctioned Competitions)
                                                          and participation in LTA Sanctioned
    and graded from 1 to 7 (see Regulation
                                                          Competitions, and they are organised in
    2.2, below). Unless otherwise stated,
                                                          effectively a chronological order following
    references to matches, events and
                                                          the lifespan of an LTA Sanctioned
    competitions are to matches, events
                                                          Competition as follows:
    and competitions played as part of
    LTA Sanctioned Competitions. Unless               (a)   organising a competition, as set out in
    otherwise stated, these Regulations also                section 2, Regulations 3.1 to 3.8 and
    apply to doubles-only LTA Sanctioned                    Appendix Three;
    Competitions and related references shall
    be construed accordingly.                         (b) entering a competition, as set out in
                                                          Regulations 3.9 to 3.49;
1.3 By organising, entering, playing tennis in
    and/or participating in any way in an LTA         (c)   Withdrawing from a competition, as set
    Sanctioned Competition (including as                    out in section 4;
    Licensed Officials, staff, or medical staff,
    or as Player Support Personnel (as defined        (d) participating in a competition, as set out in
    in Appendix 1 to these Regulations)) a                section 5 and Appendices Four, Six, Seven
    person and/or entity agrees to be bound               and Eight;
    by and to comply with these Regulations,
                                                      (e)   Rating, Ranking and ITF World Tennis
    and the LTA Disciplinary Code.
                                                            Number, as set out in section 6 and
1.4 In addition to these Regulations and the                Appendix Five;
    LTA Disciplinary Code, the LTA Rules,
                                                      (f)   8U, 9U & 10U events, as set out in
    the LTA’s Transgender Policy, the LTA’s
                                                            section 7;
Amended 1 January 2021 5

(g) complaints, as set out in section 8; and           Explanatory note: Further information
                                                       on grading, including grades for
(h) non-compliance and miscellaneous
                                                       particular competitions, can be found at
    information (including contact details), as
                                                       www.LTA.org.uk/CompetitionRegulations.
    set out in sections 9 and 10.
                                                       Where possible, events should be
1.6 Capitalised terms used in these
                                                       scheduled to run over a maximum number
    Regulations will, unless defined elsewhere
                                                       of consecutive days, ideally no more than
    in these Regulations, have the meanings
                                                       four days for grade 3 events and no more
    given to them in Appendix One.
                                                       than two days for grade 4 events. Specific
1.7 Any references to the Rules of Tennis              event dates for every event must be
    may be replaced by the Rules of Padel              provided when the competition application
    Tennis for Padel competitions and                  is submitted. Published event dates
    the Rules of Beach Tennis for Beach                cannot be changed once a competition has
    Tennis competitions.                               opened for entry without the consent of
                                                       the LTA Competitions Team.
2. LTA SANCTIONED                                 2.3 Where an event is oversubscribed and
   COMPETITIONS: TYPES,                               thus divided into two separate events
   GRADES AND AGE GROUPS                              based on merit (i.e. not where a single
                                                      event is simply divided into a main draw
2.1 LTA Sanctioned Competitions vary in
                                                      and a qualifying draw), the Organiser/
    size, duration and standard. For example,
                                                      Organising Committee must contact the
    an LTA Sanctioned Competition may
                                                      LTA Competitions Team to obtain prior
    consist of a single event (such as 14U boys
                                                      written approval for a lower grade for
    singles) or multiple events (such as 12U,
                                                      their overflow ‘B’ event. The Organiser/
    14U, 16U and 18U boys and girls, singles
                                                      Organising Committee must inform
    and doubles). Each event can have pre-
                                                      Players that they have been placed in
    qualifying draws, qualifying draws, a main
                                                      an overflow ‘B’ event and give them the
    draw and a consolation draw.
                                                      option to Withdraw without penalty by the
2.2 As part of the competition application            Withdrawal deadline.
    process set out in Regulation 3.2, below,
                                                  2.4 For LTA Sanctioned Competitions graded
    all LTA Sanctioned Competitions (and
                                                      1 to 5, all Junior age groups (from 8U
    all events within an LTA Sanctioned
                                                      to 18U) are based on calendar years. A
    Competition) are graded by the LTA from
                                                      Player’s competition age group (and his/
    1 to 7, according to criteria laid down by
                                                      her eligibility to participate in events
    the LTA Competitions Team, as follows:
                                                      restricted to certain age groups) is
     Grades 1 and 2: national level;                  determined by the Player’s age on the last
     Grade 3: regional level;                         day of the calendar year in question.
     Grade 4: county level;
     Grade 5: local level;                             Explanatory note: For example, a Player
     Grade 6: matchplay; and                           who will be aged 12 on 31 December 2021
     Grade 7: internal competition.                    will be in the 12U competition age group
                                                       from January 2021 – December 2021;
     The determination of grades by the LTA            a Player who will turn 13 during that period
     will be final and binding.                        (i.e. who will be 13 on 31 December 2021)
                                                       will be in the 14U competition age group
                                                       from January 2021 – December 2021.
6 LTA Competition Regulations

      Further information on age groups                     the relevant LTA Sanctioned Competition.
      can be found at                                       In particular, the Organiser/Organising
      www.LTA.org.uk/CompetitionAgeGroups.                  Committee will:

      Explanatory note: A Player is officially in     (a)   apply to run the competition by creating it
      the ‘Open’ age group category when no                 using the LTA Competition Management
      longer eligible (due to his/her age) to play          System by the date specified by the LTA
      18U competitions.                                     for approval by the LTA and prior to the
                                                            competition dates;
2.5 Adult age groups are based on calendar
    years, and a Player’s competition age             (b) where the LTA requests information on
    group (and his/her eligibility to participate         the competition, ensure that the relevant
    in events restricted to certain age groups)           information is provided to the LTA within
    is determined by the Player’s age on the              the prescribed time limit;
    last day of the calendar year in question.
                                                      (c)   decide on the number and types of events
      Explanatory note: For example, a Player               to be included in the competition, the
      who will turn 35 on 1 June 2021 will be               entry fees and any restrictions on entry
      eligible to participate in all of the 35-and-         (including any maximum numbers in any
      over age group competitions throughout                event), and allocate prizes;
      2021; a Player who will turn 22 on 1 June
      2021 will not be eligible to participate in     (d) be responsible for providing to the LTA
      any of the 21U age group competitions               (accurately and in accordance with any
      in 2021.                                            deadlines imposed by the LTA) all relevant
                                                          dates in respect of the competition
                                                          (including at least the deadlines for entry
3. ENTERING AN LTA                                        and Withdrawals, the start date and finish
   SANCTIONED COMPETITION                                 date of the competition and the dates on
The Organiser/Organising Committee                        which particular age group events will take
                                                          place) in order that the LTA can publish
3.1 For each LTA Sanctioned Competition,                  such dates on the LTA Website;
    the person or entity that is organising
    the competition may appoint an                          Explanatory note: In order to attract and
    Organiser/Organising Committee and                      retain the strongest Players, Organisers/
    designate an entry secretary. For LTA                   Organising Committees should schedule
    Sanctioned Competitions graded 1 to 5,                  age group events around national,
    a representative of the relevant County                 regional and local events. Particular
    Association, National Association or                    attention should be paid to grade 1 and 2
    Island Association may be invited to sit                events (for example, the Junior National
    on the Organising Committee. The LTA                    Tennis Championships). This may mean
    has the right to have a representative on               scheduling age group finals on different
    the Organising Committee for all LTA                    days in order to accommodate Players
    Sanctioned Competitions.                                wishing to compete elsewhere in the same
                                                            week. Organisers/Organising Committees
3.2 The Organiser is permitted to compete in                have no obligation to hold all finals on the
    his/her competition but is not permitted                last day of a competition.
    to conduct the draw. The Organiser/
    Organising Committee will be responsible          (e)   subject to Regulations 5.4 and 5.5,
    for the organisation and administration of              below, appoint a Referee (and, if
                                                            appropriate, assistant Referee(s)) for the
Amended 1 January 2021 7

      competition and delegate the powers and              and to a seat in a stand (if available) upon
      responsibilities set out in Regulation 5.6,          production of a current official pass;
      below, to the Referee. The Organiser/
      Organising Committee will support the          (k) be responsible for health and safety and
      Referee in, but not interfere with, the            safeguarding at the competition and
      proper execution of his/her duties;                ensuring the competition site is inclusive
                                                         and that Fair Play Principles are
(f)   decide upon matters arising out of the             adhered to;
      day-to-day running of the competition
      save for those matters to be decided by        (l)   ensure that the competition has
      the Referee pursuant to Regulation 5.6,              appropriate insurance, including in respect
      below, and/or decide on any matter at the            of public liability;
      request of the Referee;
                                                           Explanatory note: LTA registered venues
(g) without prejudice to the ability of the                (save for local authority venues and
    LTA to deal with the matter under                      commercial centres) receive automatic
    the LTA Disciplinary Code, have                        liability insurance cover (subject always to
    the power to suspend the Referee                       the terms and conditions of the policies
    for incompetence, breach of these                      and the maximum cover limits in force
    Regulations or conduct unbecoming of                   at the time) through the LTA venue
    an Official. All such decisions must be                registration package, including employers’
    reported to the LTA Officiating Manager                liability, public and products liability,
    at officiatingsupport@lta.org.uk within                directors and officers, and professional
    24 hours after the date on which the                   indemnity. Cover may also apply where
    suspension is imposed. The decision of                 a registered venue uses other venues,
    the Organiser/Organising Committee in                  including park and school courts,
    such matters will be final for the purposes            during a competition. For further
    of the competition, but the Referee may                information and the full terms and
    appeal the decision to the LTA within                  maximum limits of cover see:
    seven days of the date on which such                   www.LTA-insurance-centre.com
    suspension was notified to the Referee and             or contact the LTA’s insurance brokers,
    the matter will be dealt with in accordance            Howden UK Group Ltd, on
    with the LTA Disciplinary Code;                        0121 698 8003 or lta@howdengroup.com.

(h) ensure that suitable facilities, with disabled   (m) prepare an entry form for the
    access where possible, are available at              competition, if required;
    the competition site and/or at additional
                                                     (n) accept entries in accordance with
    locations for the completion of the
                                                         Regulations 3.14 to 3.19, below;
    scheduled events, assuming reasonable
    weather conditions;                              (o)   have the right and obligation to use the
                                                           designation ‘LTA Approved Competition’
(i)   ensure that suitable ancillary facilities,
                                                           and the LTA Logo on all competition
      such as toilets, are available at
                                                           literature, including entry forms,
      the competition site and any
                                                           competition websites, results sheets,
      additional locations;
                                                           press and marketing material, signage and
(j)   ensure that all LTA staff and members                stationery. Accordingly, the LTA grants to
      of the LTA Board and LTA Council are                 the Organiser/Organising Committee a
      granted free admission to the competition            non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use
                                                           the LTA Logo solely in connection with
8 LTA Competition Regulations

      the relevant LTA Sanctioned Competition,            nature connected with or arising from
      provided always that such use is at all             LTA Sanctioned Competitions, including,
      times in accordance with any directions of          without limitation, broadcasting rights,
      the LTA and any LTA branding guidelines             new media rights, interactive games
      as notified to the Organiser/Organising             rights, sponsorship rights, merchandising
      Committee from time to time. Any other              rights, licensing rights, advertising rights,
      use of the LTA Logo is expressly prohibited         ticketing rights and hospitality rights. The
      without the prior written consent of                LTA may exploit such commercial rights
      the LTA;                                            (or any part thereof) in any way that it
                                                          may choose and any proceeds received by
(p) ensure that Regulation 5.1, below, is                 the LTA as a result will belong to the LTA.
    enforced so that all Players participating in
    the competition are eligible to do so;          3.4 The LTA recognises the need for
                                                        competitions to raise their own revenues
(q) pursuant to Regulation 5.51, below,                 for their long term sustainability. The
    select the brand of tennis ball to be used,         LTA therefore grants to the Organiser/
    the number of balls per match and the               Organising Committee of each LTA
    frequency of ball changes, and ensure an            Sanctioned Competition the right to
    adequate supply of balls is provided;               exploit the commercial rights relating to
                                                        the competition (Local Rights) and to
(r)   have the authority to order a Player and
                                                        retain any proceeds from the exploitation
      any Player Support Personnel to move
                                                        of those Local Rights, save that:
      away from the side of a court and/or leave
      the competition site;                         (a)   where any of the LTA’s commercial
                                                          partners have naming rights to the
(s)   ensure that TTP, Results Manager, LP or
                                                          competition in question, the Organiser/
      an Excel spreadsheet is used to accurately
                                                          Organising Committee will be entitled
      submit results, Code Violations and
                                                          to exploit the Local Rights only if it has
      Withdrawals (and failures to appear) to
                                                          obtained the prior written consent of the
      the LTA within 72 hours of completion
                                                          LTA; and
      of the competition in accordance with
      Regulations 5.57 and 5.58, below;             (b) the Organiser/Organising Committee
                                                        may not grant any rights to a person
(t)   ensure that the competition complies with
                                                        or entity (i) whose principal business
      all applicable data protection laws and
                                                        includes betting or gaming, or the sale
      regulations including, without limitation,
                                                        of tobacco products, alcohol products
      the General Data Protection Regulation
                                                        or pornographic material, or (ii) that
      (EU) 2016/679, the Data Protection Act
                                                        promotes disparaging views or behaviour
      2018, and the Privacy and Electronic
                                                        relating to an individual or group’s colour,
      Communications (EC Directive)
                                                        race, nationality, ethnic or national origins,
      Regulations 2003 (as may be amended or
                                                        sex, sexual orientation, religion, gender
      replaced from time to time) ; and
                                                        identity or certain other visible or non-
(u) be bound by these Regulations, the LTA              visible difference, age or disability; and
    Rules, and the LTA Disciplinary Code.
                                                    (c)   no advertising or other marketing material
Sponsorship and advertising                               is permitted on the court, net, strap,
                                                          band, net posts, or singles sticks, except as
3.3 The LTA is the sole and exclusive owner               provided in the Rules of Tennis.
    of any and all rights of a commercial
Amended 1 January 2021 9

3.5 Organisers/Organising Committees of              (b) the name, dates, and address of the venue
    LTA Sanctioned Competitions must co-                 for the competition;
    operate fully with the LTA and any third
    parties in relation to the exercise of any       (c)   the competition and event grades;
    commercial rights relating to
                                                     (d) the telephone number of the competition
    the competition.
                                                         venue and/or the competition Referee;
3.6 Organisers/Organising Committees of
                                                     (e)   the names of the Organiser/Organising
    LTA Sanctioned Competitions must notify
                                                           Committee’s members, the Referee and,
    the LTA of all existing and prospective
                                                           where applicable, the assistant Referee(s);
    sponsorship arrangements (or other similar
    arrangements of a commercial nature)             (f)   a list of all the events to be held (including
    when creating the competition using the                those that may have a qualifying draw,
    LTA Competition Management System                      structured playback or a play-off for
    pursuant to Regulation 3.2(a), above, or               places) and, for consolation draws,
    as soon as such arrangements are agreed,               whether entry is compulsory;
    whichever is the earlier.
                                                     (g) any minimum and/or maximum numbers
Entry information                                        of Players who may play in an event at
                                                         the competition;
3.7 Where an entry form is issued by the
    Organiser/Organising Committee, the              (h) the basis for selection where there is a
    entry form must include certain entry                maximum number of Players who may play
    information, i.e. a section containing               in an event and the event is oversubscribed
    relevant competition information (to                 with entries (see Regulation 3.16) and
    be retained by the Player) and a section             whether any wild cards may be issued;
    for Player information (to be completed
    by the Player and returned to the entry          (i)   any maximum number of competition
    secretary of the competition).                         events that a Player is permitted to enter,
                                                           and any restrictions on combinations of
3.8 Unless otherwise communicated by                       such events;
    the LTA, the following competition
    information should be made available to all            Explanatory note: Unless otherwise
    Players in the competition, either in the              agreed by the Organiser/Organising
    entry form (including online entry) or in a            Committee and/or the Referee, a Player
    fact sheet (template available at www.LTA.             may enter a maximum of two singles
    org.uk/CompetitionResources) available                 events and one doubles event in an LTA
    to all Players on request, before any                  Sanctioned Competition.
    entries are accepted:
                                                     (j)   details of acceptable and culturally
(a)   notification that all Players playing in the         sensitive clothing and footwear (see
      competition must:                                    Regulations 5.46 to 5.50);

(i)   hold LTA Membership; and                       (k) the anticipated days and times of play
                                                         (including any times before which the
(ii) with the exception of competitions                  Organiser/Organising Committee can
     carrying World Ranking points, ITF Senior           say that Players in certain events will
     ranking points, ITF Junior ranking points           not be required to attend the
     or Tennis Europe ranking points, have a             competition venue);
     current Rating (see Regulation 6.1);
10 LTA Competition Regulations

(l)   the composition of matches, including        (v)   confirmation that the competition is
      number of sets and scoring methods;                staged or approved by the LTA and will
                                                         be conducted in accordance with these
(m) the brand of tennis ball to be used (see             Regulations (including the LTA Code
    Regulation 5.51);                                    of Conduct), the Rules of Tennis, the
                                                         LTA Rules, and the LTA Disciplinary
(n) the number and type of courts to be
                                                         Code (which includes the Safeguarding
    used, whether floodlights may be
                                                         Regulations, the Tennis Anti-Doping
    used and details of any additional or
                                                         Regulations and the Anti-Corruption
    alternative venues;
                                                         Regulations), all of which will bind the
(o)   the prizes to be awarded (see Regulations          Players and any others who participate
      5.60 to 5.65);                                     in any way in the competition, including
                                                         Player Support Personnel; and
(p) the name and address of the entry
    secretary (to whom entries are to be sent)     (w) notification of any variations made to
    and the closing date and time for their            these Regulations by the LTA, pursuant
    receipt (including for events where entries        to Regulation 1.1, above, as required by
    will be accepted during the competition,           the LTA.
    for example, consolation events or doubles
                                                   3.9 Unless otherwise communicated by the
    events). Certain mandatory timescales
                                                       LTA, a Player wishing to enter an LTA
    apply to all LTA approved Junior and
                                                       Sanctioned Competition must submit to
    combined competitions Grade 2 to Grade
                                                       the entry secretary of the competition
    5 (for full details see ‘Planning Your
                                                       a signed or electronically validated
    Competition – Mandatory Timescales’ at
                                                       entry form (or alternative format where
    www.LTA.org.uk/CompetitionResources);
                                                       necessary due to a disability) containing
(q) the entry fees and notification that entries       the following information, along with the
    submitted without the correct fees may             appropriate entry fee, by the specified
    not be accepted;                                   closing deadline:

(r)   any other conditions of entry;               (a)   his/her LTA Membership number;

(s)   notification that the Organiser/Organising         Explanatory note: A Player can sign
      Committee has the right to refuse any              up for LTA Membership online
      entry provided such refusal is based on            (www.LTA.org.uk/Members/Join/).
      reasonable grounds and is otherwise lawful
                                                   (b) except when using online entry, his/
      (see Regulation 3.15);
                                                       her Rating and Ranking as at the date of
(t)   the deadline for Withdrawals, which will         entering the competition;
      ordinarily be on the date of the draw but
                                                   (c)   an undertaking confirming that the
      must in any event be after the closing
                                                         Player has read, and agrees to be bound
      deadline and before the draw itself;
                                                         by and to comply with, the conditions of
(u) details of the complaints procedure (see             entry (including the application of these
    Regulation 8.1);                                     Regulations, the LTA Code of Conduct,
                                                         the Rules of Tennis, the LTA Rules, and
      Explanatory note: Information on the               the LTA Disciplinary Code (which, as at 1
      LTA’s complaints procedure can be found            January 2021, includes the Safeguarding
      at www.LTA.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/             Regulations, the Tennis Anti-Doping
      governance-and-structure/policies-and-             Regulations and the Anti-Corruption
      rules/complaints-policy/.                          Regulations)) and:
Amended 1 January 2021 11

(i)   acknowledge that emergency                          Explanatory note: For doubles events,
      medical treatment will be provided if               each Player in a doubles pair must submit
      recommended by appropriately qualified              an entry form in accordance with this
      medical personnel including, without                Regulation 3.9.
      limitation, St John’s Ambulance;
                                                   Overlapping competitions
(ii) acknowledge that you may be involved in
     any filming of, and publicity connected       3.10
     with, the competition, including on-
     court video recording, media interviews,      (a)    Subject to the exception below and to
     photographs, TV footage and live                     Regulations 3.11 to 3.13, below, a Player
     streaming of matches, unless the entry               may enter and play in events (including
     secretary or Referee is informed otherwise           qualifying draws) in different competitions
     in writing before the commencement of                where the dates for those events
     the competition;                                     (as published on the relevant competition
                                                          information page(s) on the LTA
(iii) consent to the LTA and/or the Organiser/            Website) overlap.
      Organising Committee using the
      details provided on the entry form to               Explanatory note: For example, if a
      communicate information to the Player               16U event in competition A runs from
      about the competition and future                    Sunday to Wednesday and a 14U event in
      competitions and/or events that may be of           competition B runs from Wednesday to
      interest to the Player;                             Saturday in the same week, the dates for
                                                          those events overlap; the dates will also
(iv) is responsible and accountable for the               overlap where the event in competition A
     conduct of his/her Player Support                    finishes on the Wednesday morning and
     Personnel and undertakes to ensure that              the event in competition B does not start
     each such person is made aware of and                until the Wednesday afternoon.
     agrees to be bound by and to comply with
     these Regulations;                                   For the avoidance of doubt, at each LTA
                                                          Sanctioned Competition, the Referee
(v)   agree to filming by the LTA Performance             is responsible for the scheduling of
      Team for the purposes of player                     matches and is under no obligation
      development, unless the entry secretary             to accommodate scheduling requests
      or Referee is informed otherwise in                 from Players to enable them to play in
      writing before the commencement of the              overlapping events (see Regulation 5.6(e),
      competition; and                                    below). Accordingly, whilst entering
                                                          overlapping events is permitted, Players
(vi) provides information as to whether the               should be aware of the risks if matches
     Player has any medical condition or                  are scheduled at times that, for example,
     disability which the Referee should be               make Withdrawal inevitable.
     aware of.
                                                   (b) In relation to certain weekend
      In respect of any Player who has yet             competitions, a Player can enter only one
      to reach the age of 18 at the time of            competition at each grade in the same age
      signing or electronically validating the         group taking place on the same weekend.
      undertaking, the undertaking must also           If a Player is found to have contravened
      be signed or electronically validated by         the overlapping competitions Regulation
      a person with legal responsibility for the       and competed in more than one event in
      Player and his/her emergency contact             breach of Regulation 3.10, then he/she
      details must be provided.
12 LTA Competition Regulations

      will lose all ranking points obtained from            competition taking place that same week.
      the relevant competitions. A full list of the         However, this Player may enter a 14U
      weekend competitions which are subject                Grade 3 competition and/or a 12U Grade
      to this Regulation 3.10(b) can be found at            4 competition taking place during the
      www.LTA.org.uk/CompetitionRegulations.                same week. Players are reminded that
                                                            Regulation 3.10(a) still applies.
      Explanatory note: If a 12U Grade 3 Winter
      Regional Tour weekend competition is            3.11 Notwithstanding section 4 below (which
      taking place on a Saturday and Sunday, a             will apply in any event), and subject
      Player may not enter another 12U Grade 3             to Regulation 3.13 below, and to any
      Winter Regional Tour competition taking              written dispensation granted in advance
      place that weekend. However, this Player             by the LTA Competition Support Team
      may enter a 14U Grade 3 Winter Regional              (which will be granted only in exceptional
      Tour competition and/or a 12U Grade 4                circumstances), if a Player, in order to play
      Winter County Tour competition taking                in an overlapping event:
      place on the same weekend. Following
      publication of acceptances, the Player          (a)   Withdraws from an event after having
      would have to Withdraw from all but one               started a match in that event;
      of the competitions entered before the
                                                      (b) fails to appear at an event ready
      respective Withdrawal deadlines in order
                                                          and prepared to play without
      to avoid penalty.
                                                          having Withdrawn;
(c)   In relation to weeklong holiday
                                                      (c)   retires during an event; and/or
      competitions, a Player can only enter one
      competition at each grade in the same           (d) gives a Walkover during an event,
      age group (where that age group is 12U
      – Open) taking place during one week.                 he/she will lose all Ranking points obtained
      The competition week runs from Sunday                 from all of the overlapping events and
      through to Saturday, some competitions                may be referred to the LTA Disciplinary
      that run for 8 days may start on the day              Officer in order that he/she may consider
      preceding the competition week or finish              pursuing further disciplinary action in
      the day after the competition week but                accordance with Regulation 9.1, below.
      fall into the competition week in which
      the majority of the competition is held.              Explanatory note: In order to illustrate the
      If a Player is found to have contravened              application of this provision, a number of
      the overlapping competitions Regulation               examples are set out below.
      and competed in more than one event in                If an event starts on a Sunday and
      breach of Regulation 3.10, then he/she                the Withdrawal deadline is 9am on
      will lose all ranking points obtained from            the preceding Wednesday, a Player
      the relevant competitions. A full list of the         who Withdraws (in order to play in an
      weeklong holiday competitions                         overlapping event) at 12 noon on the
      which are subject to this Regulation                  Wednesday will incur two Withdrawal
      3.10(c) can be found at                               Points (pursuant to paragraph 1(a) in
      www.LTA.org.uk/CompetitionRegulations.                Appendix Eight). If that Player were
      Explanatory note: If a 12U Grade 3                    instead to Withdraw (in order to play in an
      competition is taking place during one                overlapping event) after having started a
      week of the summer holidays, a Player                 match in the event (for example, on the
      may not enter another 12U Grade 3                     Sunday afternoon), he/she will incur three
Amended 1 January 2021 13

Withdrawal Points (pursuant to paragraph             1(b) of Appendix Eight), but if that Player
1(a) of Appendix Eight) and will lose all            were to have failed to appear at the event
Ranking points from the two events and               after starting a match in that competition
may be referred to the LTA Disciplinary              without having Withdrawn in order to play
Officer, in order that he/she may consider           in an overlapping event, he/she will incur
pursuing further disciplinary action, in             five Withdrawal Points and will lose all
accordance with Regulation 9.1, below.               Ranking points from the two events and
                                                     may be referred to the LTA Disciplinary
If an event in competition A runs from               Officer, in order that he/she may consider
Sunday to Wednesday and an event in                  pursuing further disciplinary action , in
competition B runs from Tuesday to                   accordance with Regulation 9.1, below.
Saturday in the same week, a Player who
Withdraws from competition A (in order         3.12 Where a Player Withdraws from an event
to play in competition B) after having              after having started a match, fails to
started a match in competition A will               appear at an event ready and prepared to
incur three Withdrawal Points (pursuant             play without having Withdrawn, retires
to paragraph 1(a) of Appendix Eight) and            during an event, and/or gives a Walkover
will lose all Ranking points from the two           during an event, and the Player has
events and may be referred to the LTA               entered and/or played in (or goes on to
Disciplinary Officer, in order that he/she          enter and/or play in) an overlapping event,
may consider pursuing further disciplinary          there will be a rebuttable presumption
action i, in accordance with Regulation             that the Player Withdrew/failed to appear/
9.1, below. In contrast, if that Player were        retired/gave a Walkover in order to play in
instead to Withdraw from competition                the overlapping event.
B (in order to continue playing in
competition A) before having started a               Explanatory note: In such circumstances,
match in competition B, he/she will not              the LTA will deduct Ranking points
lose Ranking points or be considered for             pursuant to Regulation 3.11, above, unless
further disciplinary action, in accordance           the Player is able to demonstrate to the
with Regulation 9.1, below.                          LTA that his/her Withdrawal/failure to
                                                     appear/retirement/Walkover was not in
A Player who Withdraws from a                        order to play in an overlapping event.
compulsory consolation draw (in order to
play in an overlapping event) after having     3.13 Exceptions:
started a match in the event (which, in
                                               (a)   Where a Player is in the qualifying draw of
this context, means having started a
                                                     a pro event (ITF World Tennis Tour, ATP
match in the main draw that preceded
                                                     Challenger, and ATP/WTA Tour), he/she
the consolation draw) will incur three
                                                     may enter and play in a British Tour event
Withdrawal Points (pursuant to paragraph
                                                     in the same week provided that he/she has
1(a) of Appendix Eight) and will lose all
                                                     lost in the qualifying draw of the pro event
Ranking points from the two events and
                                                     before playing in the British Tour event. If
may be referred to the LTA Disciplinary
                                                     the Player qualifies for the main draw of
Officer, in order that he/she may consider
                                                     the pro event, he/she must Withdraw from
pursuing further disciplinary action, in
                                                     the British Tour event, such Withdrawal
accordance with Regulation 9.1, below.
                                                     will not incur Withdrawal Points or
A Player who fails to appear at an event             result in the loss of Ranking points or be
without having Withdrawn will incur five             considered for further disciplinary action,
Withdrawal Points (pursuant to paragraph             pursuant to Regulation 3.11, above.
14 LTA Competition Regulations

(b) If a Player is required to represent his/         3.15 The Organiser/Organising Committee has
    her country, county, school, university, or            the right to refuse any entry provided such
    their club in national finals of the National          refusal is based on reasonable grounds and
    League during a competition, the Player                is otherwise lawful.
    may do so provided that he/she obtains
    the prior written approval of the Referee.        3.16 Where there is a maximum number of
    Where such permission is granted, the                  Players who may play in an event and
    Player will not incur Withdrawal Points or             the event is oversubscribed, subject to
    lose Ranking points or be considered for               compliance with the basis for selection
    further disciplinary action, pursuant                  that was set out by the Organiser/
    to Regulation 3.11, above. Where                       Organising Committee pursuant to
    such permission is not granted, a                      Regulation 3.8(h), above, the surplus
    Player may appeal to the LTA at                        entries may be placed onto a reserve list
    officiatingsupport@lta.org.uk.                         or, where notified in the competition
                                                           information pursuant to Regulation 3.8,
Acceptance of entries                                      above, into a qualifying draw, in the same
                                                           order as set out pursuant to Regulation
3.14 Subject to Regulation 3.15, below,                    3.14, above.
     entries submitted in accordance with
     Regulation 3.9 above, will be accepted           3.17 Entries that are not signed or
     by the Organiser/Organising Committee                 electronically validated, that do not
     in order, using all available information             contain the required details, and/or that
     at the closing deadline, based on some                are not accompanied by the appropriate
     or all of the following (depending on the             entry fee may not be accepted.
     competition’s acceptance criteria): World
     Rankings, ITF Senior rankings, ITF Junior        3.18 Save for entries from Players who would,
     rankings, Tennis Europe rankings, Ratings,            pursuant to Regulation 3.31, below, be
     Rankings and (for 8U, 9U & 10U events                 seeded (which cannot be accepted as
     only) Recent Form.                                    late entries unless the Player has been
                                                           awarded a Wild Card, in accordance
      The order in which entries are accepted              with Regulations 3.20 and 3.22 below),
      will differ according to, among other                entries received after the closing deadline
      things, the grade and age group of                   may be accepted at the discretion of the
      the competition. Further information                 Organiser/Organising Committee. Such
      on acceptance for each grade and                     entries that are accepted before the draw
      age group can be found at                            has been made will go into the draw in the
      www.LTA.org.uk/CompetitionRegulations                usual way; such entries that are accepted
      The LTA may, at its discretion, opt to               after the draw has been made (whether
      change the order of criteria for acceptance          they were received before or after the
      at any time by publicising such change on            draw was made) may be included in the
      the LTA Website.                                     draw at the discretion of the Organiser/
                                                           Organising Committee or will otherwise
      In all Open Age Group events, the                    join the bottom of the reserve list.
      Organiser/Organising Committee may, at               Leaderboard reserves who move in,
      its discretion, give priority to Players aged        who would be seeded, may not be
      19 & over for the age group of that event,           accepted after 8pm the night before
      provided the LTA Competitions Team has               the event starts.
      provided prior approval and it is publicised
      online on the LTA Website.                           The Organiser/Organising Committee is
                                                           prohibited from charging an administration
Amended 1 January 2021 15

     fee for accepting a late entry into             Refund of entry fees
     an event.
                                                     3.23 Subject to Regulation 3.24, below, a
     Explanatory note: A Player accepted as               Player’s entry fee will only be refunded
     a late entrant who subsequently moves                under the following circumstances:
     into a seeded position will be included
     in the draw.                                    (a)   the Player is not accepted for the event
                                                           that he/she applied to enter, or is accepted
3.19 If an event in a competition graded 1                 as a reserve and is not called upon to play;
     to 5 has fewer than five entries (or in
     the case of doubles, fewer than three           (b) the Player Withdraws from the event
     pairs) as at the closing deadline and/or            before the Withdrawal deadline or
     at the time of the draw (and no Ranking             otherwise in compliance with the relevant
     points are therefore available pursuant to          provision of the competition conditions. In
     Regulation 6.3 below), the entry secretary          such cases, the LTA reserves the right to
     or the Referee must notify the relevant             charge an administration fee;
     Players and inform them of their right to
                                                     (c)   the Player Withdraws due to exceptional
     Withdraw, pursuant to Regulation 4.9.
                                                           circumstances, as determined by the
     For the avoidance of doubt, where such
                                                           Organiser/Organising Committee (whose
     notification is not provided the application
                                                           determination will be final and binding on
     of Regulation 6.3 is unaffected, i.e. it will
                                                           all parties and no one will have the right to
     remain the case that no Ranking Points
                                                           appeal against, or otherwise challenge, it).
     will be available for the event.
                                                           In such cases, the LTA reserves the right
Wild Cards                                                 to charge an administration fee; or

3.20 Subject to Regulation 3.21 below, the           (d) the event is cancelled for any reason
     Organiser/Organising Committee may,                 before the Player has started a match
     at its discretion, award places in a draw for       in the event and the Player has not
     Wild Card entries prior to the draw (if no          Withdrawn prior to the decision to cancel
     such places are awarded, such places will           the event.
     be allocated to Players on the reserve list).
                                                     3.24 A Player’s entry fee will not be refunded
     Explanatory note: Further information                if the Player has started a match in the
     on Wild Cards, including the LTA Wild                event. Requests for refunds of entry
     Card Selection Policy for LTA staged                 fees must be made by the Player to
     events, can be found at www.LTA.org.                 the Organiser/Organising Committee,
     uk/play-compete/performance-tennis-                  within 7 days of the conclusion of
     players/pro-players-area/.                           the competition.
     For LTA Approved Competitions, please
     contact the relevant Organiser/Organising       The draw
     Committee regarding Wild Cards.                 3.25 The order in which Players will play
                                                          one another in each LTA Sanctioned
3.21 Except where otherwise provided in
                                                          Competition will be determined by a draw.
     writing by the LTA, Wild Cards may be
                                                          The draw (including when TTP is used)
     awarded for an event up to a maximum of
                                                          will be conducted by the Referee (or, in
     one place in eight (for example, up to four
                                                          exceptional circumstances and with the
     Wild Cards in a draw of 32).
                                                          approval of the Organiser/Organising
3.22 Wild Card entries may be seeded.                     Committee, by the Referee’s designee).
16 LTA Competition Regulations

3.26 For events in competitions graded 1 to 5,            The order in which seeds are selected
     the draw will be conducted using one of              will differ according to, among other
     the methods set out in Appendix Three, as            things, the grade and age group of the
     determined by the Organiser/Organising               competition. Further information on
     Committee and/or the Referee.                        seeding for each grade and age group
                                                          can be found at: www.LTA.org.uk/
3.27 Prior to making the draw, the Referee (or            CompetitionRegulations.
     his/her designee, pursuant to Regulation
     3.25, above) must obtain details of           3.32 Where a traditional draw, a qualifying
     the Wild Cards from the Organiser/                 draw, or a progressive draw is used, the
     Organising Committee and consult                   seeds will be placed in accordance with
     with the Organiser/Organising                      Appendix Three.
     Committee to determine the final
     entry list, the seedings, and any other       3.33 The decisions of the Organiser/Organising
     relevant information.                              Committee (or its designee) on seeding
                                                        will be final and binding on all parties
3.28 For competitions using TTP, the                    (including all relevant Players) and no
     Organiser/Organising Committee must                one will have the right to appeal against or
     arrange for the relevant information from          otherwise challenge such decisions.
     the TTP file (including the dates and start
     times of first matches) to be published       3.34 Where a draw is to be seeded and has four
     on competitions.lta.org.uk as soon as              or more Players, at least two Players must
     reasonably practicable.                            be seeded. The maximum number of seeds
                                                        in an event will be as follows:
Seeding
                                                          Draw size Maximum number of seeds
3.29 Save as expressly agreed in writing by the
     LTA Competitions Team, all seeding in LTA             0-3        0
     Sanctioned Competitions will be carried               4-8        2
     out in accordance with Regulations 3.30
     to 3.34, below.                                       9-16       4
                                                           17-32      8
3.30 The Organiser/Organising Committee
     will determine whether or not an event                33-64      16
     in an LTA Sanctioned Competition is to                65-128     32
     be seeded. Where such an event is to
     be seeded, the selection of seeds will be     Byes
     conducted by the Organiser/Organising         3.35 A Bye is where a Player advances
     Committee or its designee (which may be            automatically to the next round of the
     formed by a sub-committee appointed to             draw without being drawn to play a match.
     conduct such selection or the Referee).
                                                   3.36 If Byes are required in a traditional draw,
3.31 The selection of seeds will be carried out         the number of Byes is calculated by
     according to merit, using the most recent          subtracting the number of entries from
     information, based on some or all of the           the draw size.
     following criteria: World Rankings, ITF
     Senior rankings, ITF Junior rankings,         3.37 Byes will be allotted to the seeded Players
     Tennis Europe rankings, Ratings, Rankings          in the order of seeding. Any remaining
     and (for 8U, 9U & 10U events only)                 Byes will be allotted evenly throughout
     Recent Form.                                       the draw.
Amended 1 January 2021 17

Example of placing seeds and byes                          acceptance criteria for the competition
                                                           includes Ratings, they will be drawn
 1 Seed 1                                                  randomly in descending order of Ratings
2 Bye
3                                                          divisions i.e. all Players in division 5 will
4                                                          be drawn randomly, then all Players in
5                                                          division 6, and so on (see Appendix Five);
6                                                          or (b) where the acceptance criteria for
 7 Bye                                                     the competition is based only on Ranking,
8 Seed 5, 6, 7 or 8                                        Lucky Losers shall be selected as follows:
9 Seed 3 or 4
10 Bye                                                     the order of Players with a Ranking shall
11                                                         be randomly drawn, thereafter the
12                                                         order of the unranked Players will be
13                                                         randomly drawn.
14
15 Bye                                               3.41 If additional Lucky Losers are required
16 Seed 5, 6, 7 or 8                                      to participate in the main draw of an
17 Seed 5, 6, 7 or 8                                      event, they will be drawn from the Players
18 Bye
19                                                        who lost in the previous round(s) of the
20                                                        qualifying draw in the same manner as set
21                                                        out in Regulation 3.40, above.
22
23 Bye                                               3.42 A Player who Withdraws during a
24 Seed 3 or 4                                            qualifying draw may not be a Lucky Loser
25 Seed 5, 6, 7 or 8                                      in the main draw.
26 Bye
27                                                   3.43 A Player who retires from a match in a
28
                                                          qualifying draw due to sickness or injury
29
30                                                        may be selected as a Lucky Loser if he/she
31 Bye                                                    has sufficiently recovered.
32 Seed 2
                                                     Onsite Alternates
Unseeded Players                                     3.44 Players who have not entered who appear
3.38 Once the seeds and Byes have been                    at the competition venue to sign-in
     placed in the draw, the remaining entries            with the Referee on the first day of the
     (including qualifiers and Wild Cards)                competition to fill any vacancies in the
     will be drawn by lot for the remaining               draw are referred to as onsite alternates.
     positions, from top to bottom, save that,            Sign-in for onsite alternates closes half
     where reasonably practicable, Players                an hour before the published time for
     from the same county and/or club may                 the start of play and onsite alternates
     be separated.                                        may only be accepted if they would not
                                                          be seeded. Entered Players and reserves
Lucky Losers                                              have priority for acceptance over onsite
                                                          alternates and, in the event of more than
3.39 Subject to Regulations 3.41 and 3.42,
                                                          one onsite alternate:
     below, Lucky Losers are Players who have
     lost in the final round of a qualifying draw.   (a)   where the acceptance criteria for the
                                                           competition includes Ratings, they will be
3.40 If Lucky Losers are required to participate
                                                           grouped together in divisions and drawn by
     in the main draw of an event: (a) where the
                                                           lot to determine acceptance; or
18 LTA Competition Regulations

(b) where the acceptance criteria for the                 where reasonably practicable a preliminary
    competition is based only on Ranking,                 round may be played between the omitted
    the order of Players with a Ranking shall             Player and the Player last accepted,
    be randomly drawn, thereafter the order               pursuant to Regulation 3.14, above,
    of the unranked Players will be randomly              with the winner proceeding to the draw
    drawn to determine acceptance.                        and receiving Ranking points according
                                                          to the round reached, including first
Omissions                                                 round. Iif not reasonably practicable, the
3.45 If, before any match is started in an event,         omitted Player will simply take the place
     it is discovered that a valid entry has              of the Player last accepted, pursuant to
     been omitted from the draw due to an                 Regulation 3.14, above.
     administrative error:                           3.46 Except as set out in Regulation 4.7, no
(a)   if the omitted Player would otherwise               modification may be made to a draw
      have been seeded: (i) the position of the           (including the inclusion of omitted
      seeds will be changed, with the omitted             Players) once any match in the draw
      Player taking the relevant place in the             has started.
      seeding list and the lowest seed becoming
                                                     Errors
      an unseeded entry; (ii) where the event
      is oversubscribed, the new unseeded            3.47 Errors on a published acceptance list
      entry will take the place of the Player last        which are discovered before the draw has
      accepted, pursuant to Regulation 3.14               been made must be corrected and the
      above, and where reasonably practicable a           acceptance list must be re-published.
      preliminary round may be played between
      the Players that were last and second-to-      3.48 If it is discovered that an ineligible Player
      last accepted, with the winner proceeding           is in a draw, prior to the event starting,
      to the draw and receiving Ranking points            that Player must be removed. If an
      according to the round reached, including           ineligible Player competes, then the
      first round. If not reasonably practicable,         match result stands (including for Ratings
      the new unseeded entry will simply take             purposes), but Ranking points gained
      the place of the Player last accepted,              and any prize will be removed from the
      pursuant to Regulation 3.14, above; and             ineligible Player, and they will be removed
                                                          from the competition. A Player losing to
(b) if the omitted Player would otherwise have            an ineligible Player will receive points from
    been unseeded:                                        the round reached.

(i)   if Byes exist in the first round against       3.49 Where it is discovered that an error has
      unseeded Players, the omitted Player will           been made in the seeding, prior to the
      replace one of those Byes, to be decided            competition starting and where reasonably
      by lot;                                             practicable to do so, the seeding should
                                                          be corrected.
(ii) if only seeded Players are receiving Byes
     in the first round, the omitted Player
     will replace the Bye against the lowest
     seed; and

(iii) if no Byes exist in the first round and
      there have been no Withdrawals up to
      the time of discovery of the omission,
Amended 1 January 2021 19

                                                       if reasonably practicable: (a) the selection
4. WITHDRAWING FROM AN LTA                             of seeds may be revised (as set out in the
   SANCTIONED COMPETITION                              table, below); (b) the seeded positions
4.1 The Regulations concerning Withdrawing             that are vacated will be filled by previously
    from an LTA Sanctioned Competition,                unseeded Players, selected in the same
    and Withdrawal Points, are set out in              order as set out pursuant to Regulation
    Appendix Eight.                                    3.31; and (c) the unseeded positions that
                                                       are then vacated will be filled by Players
4.2 A Player who Withdraws after the                   on the reserve list or, if after the start
    Withdrawal deadline or fails to appear             of the qualifying draw, by Lucky Losers.
    ready and prepared to play shall incur             Should an unseeded Player Withdraw
    Withdrawal Points in accordance with               and there be no reserves to replace them,
    Appendix Eight.                                    the highest seed without a bye should be
                                                       awarded a bye and the Player on the line
4.3 A Player who Withdraws from an event               where the bye will be placed should be
    at any stage, or who fails to appear at the        moved to the space of the Withdrawal.
    competition venue ready and prepared               Where all seeds already have a bye, the
    to play in his/her relevant matches                Player whose opponent has Withdrawn
    without having Withdrawn, is ineligible to         should be awarded a Walkover.
    participate in a consolation draw relating
    to that event (although the Referee may             Seed Withdrawing       Replacement Seed
    at his/her discretion and in exceptional
    circumstances, allow such a Player to               1                      2
    play in a consolation draw in the event).           2                      3
    A Player who retires during a match due
    to sickness or injury or who is ruled by            3-4                    5
    the Referee to be unable to compete due             5-8                    9
    to serious sickness or injury pursuant to
                                                        9-16                   17
    Regulation 5.40, may participate in other
    events in the competition (including a              17-32                  33
    consolation draw relating to that event)
    provided he/she is sufficiently recovered.    4.6 If a Wild Card entry Withdraws from a
                                                      competition, the Organiser/Organising
4.4                                                   Committee may allocate the place to
                                                      another Wild Card entry if the draw has
(a)   If two or more of the top four seeded
                                                      not been made. Once the draw has been
      Players Withdraw after the draw has been
                                                      made, the space in the draw created by the
      made but before any match in the event
                                                      Wild Card Withdrawal may only be filled
      has started, the Organiser/Organising
                                                      by a Lucky Loser where a qualifying event
      Committee may decide to conduct a new
                                                      has been played, pursuant to Regulation
      draw pursuant to Regulation 3.25.
                                                      4.7, or the next person on the Reserve list
(b) In a leaderboard finals event, if a seed          if there is no qualifying event.
    Withdraws after 8pm the night before
                                                  4.7 A Player who Withdraws from an event
    the competition, a reserve who would be
                                                      before he/she has started a match may
    seeded may not be accepted.
                                                      be replaced by a Player on the reserve
4.5 If one or more seeded Players Withdraw            list or by a Lucky Loser from a qualifying
    before any match in the event has started,        draw, provided that such replacement
                                                      Player would not have been seeded;
20 LTA Competition Regulations

      a Player of seeding standard may not
      replace a Withdrawing Player. A Player
                                                    5. PARTICIPATING IN AN LTA
      who has started a match in an event may          SANCTIONED COMPETITION
      not be replaced. For the avoidance of
                                                    Player eligibility
      doubt, when replacing a Player, there is
      no obligation to separate Players from the    5.1 In order for a Player to be eligible
      same county and/or club (even where such          to participate in an LTA Sanctioned
      separation has been applied to the original       Competition (whether in a singles or a
      draw pursuant to Regulation 3.38).                doubles event), the following criteria must
                                                        be satisfied:
4.8 If one member of a doubles pair is forced
    to Withdraw due to injury or other              (a)   the Player must hold LTA Membership;
    exceptional circumstance, he/she can
    be replaced by another Player up to but               Explanatory note: A Player can sign
    not later than the start of a team’s first            up for LTA Membership online:
    match in the doubles event. In the case               www.LTA.org.uk/Members/Join/.
    of an unseeded team, any replacement
                                                    (b) with the exception of competitions
    partner must be of a similar or lower
                                                        carrying World Ranking points, ITF Senior
    standard. In the case of a seeded team,
                                                        ranking points, ITF Junior ranking points,
    any replacement partner must be of a
                                                        or Tennis Europe ranking points, the
    similar standard, otherwise the entire team
                                                        Player must have a current Rating;
    shall be Withdrawn and the open position
    shall be filled by the next eligible team to    (c)   the Player must be in the correct
    be seeded.                                            competition age group, as specified in
                                                          the competition information pursuant to
      If a doubles team is forced to Withdraw,
                                                          Regulation 3.8, above; and
      the whole pair will be replaced by the next
      pair on the reserve list.                     (d) the Player’s entry must have been
                                                        properly completed and accepted
4.9 If an event in a competition graded 1 to
                                                        pursuant to Regulations 3.14 to
    5 has fewer than five entries (or in the
                                                        3.19, above.
    case of doubles, fewer than three pairs)
    as at the closing deadline (and no Ranking            Explanatory note: The regulations on
    points are therefore available pursuant               national and area eligibility are set out in
    to Regulation 6.3), all Players have the              the LTA Rules.
    right to Withdraw from the event up until
    2:00pm on the day before the start of the       5.2 The LTA, any County Association and/
    event (and such Withdrawal will not incur           or the Organiser/Organising Committee
    Withdrawal Points).                                 have the right at any point to demand
                                                        assistance, further information and/or
4.10 In a draw of only five Players (or in the          documents relating to the eligibility of any
     case of doubles, of only three pairs), if          Players. All persons (including Players)
     a Player Withdraws after the draw has              and entities must comply promptly with all
     been made, although that Player will not           such demands.
     participate in the competition, he/she
     must not be removed from the draw in           5.3 Any breach of Regulation 5.1, above
     TTP unless replaced. Ranking points will           (i.e. any Player participating in an LTA
     be awarded.                                        Sanctioned Competition without having
                                                        met all of the criteria set out in Regulation
Amended 1 January 2021 21

      5.1, above), will be referred to the                Explanatory note: Further information
      Organiser/Organising Committee and                  on becoming a Referee can be found at
      may be referred to the LTA Disciplinary             www.LTA.org.uk/workforce-venues/
      Officer. The Organiser/Organising                   officiate-tennis/become-an-official/
      Committee will have the power to                    becoming-a-referee/.
      disqualify the ineligible Player from the
      competition; the LTA will have the power       5.5 Where reasonably practicable, a person
      to amend the results of any matches                must not accept an appointment as
      played by the ineligible Player in the             Referee at any competition in which
      competition and/or to take any action it           he/she has a relationship with one (or
      considers appropriate pursuant to the LTA          more) of the Players in the competition
      Disciplinary Code.                                 that might be considered to give rise
                                                         to a conflict of interests (for example,
Referee                                                  a family relationship). Where it is not
5.4 For each LTA Sanctioned Competition                  reasonably practicable to avoid accepting
    graded 1 to 7, the person appointed as               such an appointment, another official
    Referee by the Organiser/Organising                  will be appointed by the Organiser/
    Committee pursuant to Regulation 3.2(e),             Organising Committee to deal with any
    above, must:                                         issues involving the associated Player(s)
                                                         in question. For the avoidance of doubt,
(a)   be a Licensed Official with a Referee              where a person appointed as Referee
      grade of R5 or higher; or                          accepts that appointment (or deals
                                                         with any issues, as the case may be) in
(b) for grade 6 and 7 competitions only,                 circumstances that would constitute a
    be an LTA Accredited/Accredited+ coach               failure to comply with this Regulation 5.5
    or have completed a competition                      (and Regulation 3.2(e), above), the person
    organiser course.                                    appointed will nevertheless be treated as
                                                         a Referee (with all relevant powers) for
      For the avoidance of doubt, where a                the purposes of these Regulations, and
      person appointed as Referee does not               the failure to comply with this Regulation
      meet the criteria set out in this Regulation       5.5 (and Regulation 3.2(e), above) will
      5.4, while that will constitute a failure          not affect the powers granted to him/
      to comply with this Regulation 5.4 (and            her pursuant to these Regulations
      Regulation 3.2(e), above) by the relevant          (including, without limitation, the power
      Organiser/Organising Committee, the                to impose Code Violations and defaults
      person appointed will nevertheless be              pursuant to Appendix Seven, below).
      treated as a Referee for the purposes              The Referee must not compete in any
      of these Regulations, and the failure to           event of the competition in which they
      comply with this Regulation 5.4 (and               are the Referee. Assistant Referees and
      Regulation 3.2(e), above) will not affect          Court Supervisors may compete in such
      the powers granted to him/her pursuant             events but must not officiate or oversee
      to these Regulations (including, without           any match in the event in which they are
      limitation, the power to impose Code               competing even once they are eliminated.
      Violations and defaults pursuant to
      Appendix Seven, below).                        5.6 In respect of each LTA Sanctioned
                                                         Competition, the Referee will:
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