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Universal Tennis Launches Junior National Pathway

August 3, 2021

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 3, 2021 — Universal Tennis is proud to announce the creation of the Universal Tennis Junior National Pathway consisting of eight regional events for junior players 17U, 15U, and 13U across eight designated regions beginning September 2021.

Winners of the 17U and 15U regional divisions will go on to play in the Junior National Championships and College Showcase to be held in Las Vegas at Darling Tennis Center on December 3-8 during the 36th annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Coaches Convention. Darling Tennis Center was chosen as it creates the unique opportunity for players to compete in front of the hundreds of college tennis coaches attending the convention.

Junior Regionals will be hosted at the locations listed in the chart. Players will be accepted based on their UTR Rating and be required to play in their designated regions. The format of the events will be a round-robin followed by a knock-out playoff. This format developed for the UTR Pro Tennis Tour has been extremely successful and highly valued by aspiring professional athletes.

In addition to showcasing their talents in front of college coaches, all regional and national events will be live-streamed. Finally, further demonstrating the commitment to broadening the pathway for elite junior players, the 17U National Championship winners, finalists, and semifinalists with an eligible UTR rating will receive main draw wild cards into 2022 UTR Pro Tennis Tour events.

For more information regarding the Junior National Championships and to register for a Junior Regionals event, click here.

“We are very excited to launch this innovative program,” said Mark Leschly, Chairman and CEO of Universal Tennis. “We repeatedly hear about the need for more opportunities to play high-level tournaments and increase college exposure. The Universal Tennis Junior National Championship Pathway fills the gap in a new and exciting way.”

Universal Tennis plans to expand the program in 2022 with additional regional events where players can qualify for expanded national championships.