| Planning your Career |
Planning an effective tournament programme is vital for your development as a tennis player. So how do you go about it? This page gives you, and your coach, a number of factors to consider.
How old are you?
Under 16 years old, there is a limit to how many weeks of professional tennis you can play.
Under 12 years old, you are allowed to play only four weeks of events outside your country.
Under 13 years old, you cannot play in 18 & Under Junior ITF Events.
As a general rule, if you are between 12 and 18 years old, you should be playing between 60 and 100 tight singles matches per year.
Playing during education
Your schedule should allow you to get enough competitive experience while continuing your education. If you are between 13 and 17 years old, you will have an average of 18 weeks' school holiday each year. This will allow you to play enough tournaments outside your own country for you to gain the necessary experience to achieve a good international ranking. But you must make sure you build up a good relationship with your school and teachers - and your parents and coach will need to help you there. If you do have to travel during school time, you should aim to work on your school studies in your spare time at the tournaments - and there is a lot of spare time at tournaments!
Rest and Regeneration
You must make sure that you allow sufficient time for rest and regeneration in your schedule.
It is not a good idea to play more than five consecutive weeks' competitive tennis outside your own country, although there are times when the cost of travel and accommodation makes it favourable to do so.
For example, the ITF's International 18 & Under Team plays eight weeks of high-level tournaments in Europe each year. After four weeks of tough clay-court tennis, finishing at Roland Garros, however, the girls' team takes one week off for practice on grass, while the boys play a three-day exhibition event at the Queen's Club tournament. This week acts as a break, because the competition and the training are not so demanding, and it means that, when the players do start playing in tournaments again the next week, they are reasonably fresh.
Compiling the schedule
Once you have drawn up your ideal schedule, sit down and work out how much money you will need to put this schedule into practice. Then work out how much money you can raise from your federation, club, sponsors or family.
Based on this calculation, you should aim to play as much of the ideal schedule as you can afford.
Good luck with all your plans.
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