HOST SITE SELECTION

The ITA office will administer a host site application process in late Fall of the prior year. Once the host application deadline has passed, all applications will be reviewed by the ITA for final selections. The ITA office will notify applicants of acceptance in January with a public announcement to come in Spring. To be considered for an ITA Summer Masters Series event, an ITA member school must place a bid under the following guidelines:

• Applications must be submitted by an ITA member coach

• The host facility must be utilized by a member team

• Private or public facilities interested in hosting must partner with a member coach

Colleges and Universities: Colleges and universities whose administrations will permit them to host an ITA Summer Masters Series event on campus should also check with their compliance office to confirm that there are no conflicts with NCAA bylaws that will prevent them from hosting an event - i.e. recruiting quiet or dead periods, whether or not a coaching staff member may serve as tournament director or be involved in the event, etc. The NCAA has confirmed that ITA Summer Master Series tournaments may use an objective standard at the outset of registration. These tournaments will be administered based on a pre-determined WTN range. 

TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE

Divisions and Flights

2025 Summer Masters Series tournaments will require singles play only with no option for doubles play. Tournaments may be men's, women's, or dual-gender, but this must be decided in advance during the application process. 

The NCAA has confirmed that ITA Summer Masters Series tournaments may use an objective standard at the outset of registration. These tournaments will be administered based on a pre-determined WTN range.

Tournament Length

All ITA Summer Masters Series tournaments will be three-day events. Events may be Friday-Sunday or Saturday-Monday. For events that begin on Friday, we recommend that play starts in the afternoon or early evening so players may travel on that same day. Tournaments that wish to deviate from this structure must indicate this on the host site application form and receive approval from the ITA Office.

Awards and Prize Money

Awards will be given to finalists and will be provided by the ITA. 

The ITA will also provide $3,000 in combined prize money, or $1,500 in prize money per gender. The breakdown will be as follows per gender:

Automatic Qualification to the ITA National Summer Championships

The singles semifinalists of each of the 12 Summer Masters events will receive an AQ to the ITA National Summer Championships in August, as well as a travel stipend to help cover expenses related to the Summer Championships. The Summer Championships now contains: 

• • • $20,000 in total prize money

    • All-American Main Draw Wildcards (Singles and doubles champions)

    • All-American Qualifying Draw Wildcards (Singles and doubles finalists)

    • USTA Pro Wildcards (American Players)

TOURNAMENT MANAGEMENT

Event Insurance

All hosts shall obtain appropriate policies of comprehensive general liability insurance covering bodily injury, death, and property damage liability with limits of no less than two million dollars. The ITA shall be named as additional insured on such policy or policies and shall be provided with a certificate of such insurance by May 1, 2025. A host site that is unable to add the ITA as an additional insured to their existing policy will need to purchase general liability insurance coverage in an amount of no less than two million dollars from a provider of their choosing. K&K Insurance through Nationwide can accomplish this need.  You will most likely need the mailing address for the ITA, which can be found at the bottom of this website.

Pre-Tournament Training Calls

The tournament director must attend two pre-tournament planning calls with the ITA office to review tournament logistics including the tournament creation and submission and selections, alternate, and seeding process.

Serve Tennis Tournament Management Platform

All ITA Summer Masters Series events will be administered using the Serve Tennis tournament management platform. Once you are confirmed as tournament host, ITA staff will provide instructions on how to set up your tournament page. The ITA will also make available online webinar training and video tutorials that will assist in finalizing your tournament homepage and administering your tournament.  

The Serve Tennis tournament management platform utilizes the Stripe financial platform to process entry fees and this is the only way to receive entry fees. 

Tennis Balls

Dunlop is the official ball of the ITA and Dunlop Grand Prix Extra Duty tennis balls are highly preferred for ITA Summer Masters Series events. It is recommended that the ball change should be one new can per set (a new can is not needed for a match tiebreak). Clubs and facilities with pre-existing contracts that prevent the use of Dunlop tennis balls should contact the ITA office for further guidance. Should current supply chain circumstances require the use of a different brand or type (regular duty, etc.) of tennis ball, that ball must be USTA/ITF approved and proper notification should be listed on the tournament page.

ITA-Certified Officials

It is mandatory that each tournament provide a minimum of two ITA-certified officials per site, with one serving as the tournament referee. For sites choosing to play on more than 6 match courts, the ITA recommends increasing the number of officials as needed.  Court configuration may impact this decision. Use good judgment in order to maintain the integrity of the event. Tournaments are encouraged, but not required, to chair main draw matches from the semifinals on.  The ITA office will provide tournament hosts with a list of ITA-certified officials. 

Report on Disciplinary Issues: If a tournament experiences a problem with a player, parent, coach, or spectator (such as a significant sportsmanship issue, the default of a player, etc.), the tournament director along with the tournament referee, should report the incident in writing to the ITA office within 24 hours of the incident.

Sponsorship

The ITA supports any tournament using local sponsors that don’t conflict with existing ITA agreements. If you have questions regarding sponsorship, please contact the ITA office. For a current list of ITA Partners, please click here.

Budget & Profit Estimates

After reviewing this tournament manual, we encourage all prospective tournament directors to establish a projected event budget {ESTIMATED PROFIT = (entry fees - ITA/USTA fees + sponsorship*) - (ITA Membership + Officials + Balls + Court Fees + Insurance) *Sponsorship acquired by host site}.  Tournament profits will vary from site to site based on expenses and field sizes. All tournament directors will be required to complete a budget report form no later than two weeks after the completion of your event. 

Event Promotion

The 2025 ITA Summer Masters Series Tournaments will be heavily promoted by the ITA communication and marketing teams via web advertising, social media promotion, and email and newsletter distribution.  Tournament directors should also make every effort to promote their Summer Master Series events to any who they feel might benefit from this type of event. Please utilize the ITA Media Toolkit to help with branding and promotion of your event. 

ITA Summer Masters Series Logo

The ITA office will distribute the ITA Summer Masters Series Powered logo for use on promotional items for your event, including website and social media graphics, posters/flyers, player gifts, etc. The logo must be used in its original format and any modifications must be approved by the ITA.

TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION

ITA Player Membership

All participants must have a 2025 ITA Player Membership or they will not be able to register for and participate in an ITA Summer Masters Series event. ITA Player memberships expire at the end of each calendar year so participants must purchase/renew their membership each summer. Memberships can be purchased/renewed through the ITA website (wearecollegetennis.com). After purchasing, participants will receive a confirmation email and will then be able to successfully register for a tournament.

Registration & Entry Fees

Tournament registration will take place on your tournament homepage through the USTA’s Serve Tennis platform.  The NCAA has confirmed that ITA Summer Masters Series tournaments may use an objective standard at the outset of registration. These tournaments will be administered based on a pre-determined WTN range of 19.0 for women and 15.0 for men. 

Entry fees for all events will be as follows:
Singles: $70 

The Serve Tennis platform use fee is 3.5% per entry plus 50 cents per transaction. The ITA admin fee is $5.50 per player. These fees will be deducted automatically upon player selection and hosts will receive the remainder of the fees. Additional payment processing fees may occur.

ITA Waiver

All participants must submit an ITA Waiver before they are permitted to practice or compete. The ITA will upload a digital waiver to the tournament homepage that each player must complete. Please ensure you've received a waiver from each player prior to competition beginning. 

Refund & Withdrawal Policy

Players will not be charged entry fees until they are selected into the tournament. At the time selections are made, the players' card on file will automatically be charged. Due to this, players will be able to withdraw from the tournament up until the time that selections are made. Per ITA policy, players who withdraw after selections are made will forfeit their entry fee. This withdrawal policy is agreed to by all entrants during the online registration process.

Registration Deadline

Tournaments should establish an entry deadline of the preceding Tuesday at 11:59 pm local time.

DRAWS, SELECTIONS, & SEEDING

Pre-Tournament Timeline

• Registration closes: Tuesday prior to tournament at 11:59 pm local time

• Selections published: Wednesday prior to tournament

• Draws published: Thursday/Firday prior to tournament

Wild Cards

Host sites will receive two wild cards into each 32 draw. For collegiate programs hosting an event, please communicate with your compliance office, so as not to violate NCAA recruiting rules.

Waived Entry Fees for Select Collegiate Players

Players have many options each summer for tournament play and are looking for the most competitive opportunities they can find. We have found that the level of play of early registrants often dictates the overall level of your event. To that extent, we encourage you to include as many of your players as possible in your event and on your applicant list. To help facilitate this, the ITA will permit you to waive entry fees to players currently on your team’s roster(s). These are the only entrants that may have entry fees waived. These players are still required to have a current 2025 ITA Player Membership. Most importantly, you should confirm with your compliance office that this is permissible under the bylaws of your governing body. 

Alternates

Prior to registration opening, each tournament director will need to identify the number of players that will actually participate in the event, minus any potential wild cards. This should be based on court availability and what a reasonable schedule of play will allow.  Those events that exceed that capacity during registration will make selections into their event based on player WTNs. Selections will automatically be posted to each tournament page. Players that do not gain entry into the event based on their WTN will automatically be placed on an alternate list ordered by numeric WTN.  Alternates may be moved into the draw up until the time that play begins. 

Seeding

• Tournament directors should seed 25% of the draw/flight, never exceeding a 1 seed per 3 player ratio. Seeding will be based on WTN only.

  • 24-32 players, you will seed 8 players

  • 16-23 players, you will seed no more than 4 players

Selections

The NCAA has confirmed that ITA Summer Masters Series tournaments may use an objective standard at the outset of registration. These tournaments will be administered based on a pre-determined WTN range: 15 for men and 19 for women. Selections will be made after the close of registration and will be based on WTN. Numeric WTN (not confidence level) will be used when making selections. 

Draws

All tournaments must provide a guarantee of two singles matches to all participants. We strongly encourage you to consider draw or scheduling options that might provide three guaranteed singles matches (compass draw, voluntary sign-up for matchplay, etc.) Singles draws should never exceed 32 players and never be smaller than a full 16 draw.

Score Format
Singles matches will play 2 out of 3 sets with a 10-point match tiebreak, using no-ad scoring.

RULES

Warm-Up, Start Time, and Lateness Penalties

Players shall have a maximum of five minutes for warm-up before a match. All players should be ready promptly at the specified starting time.  If a court is available, the referee may penalize the late player one game for every five minutes of lateness.  That player also loses the toss.  The referee, after consultation with the tournament director, may default a player for being 15 minutes late from the starting time of the match (assuming a court is available).

Match Schedule & Rest Periods

The ITA Summer Masters Series policy for the maximum number of matches permitted in one day for play utilizing a 3rd set match tiebreak in singles is two singles matches in one day. Extenuating circumstances such as weather delays may require deviation from this plan.  There should be a minimum of 1 hour of rest given between singles matches.  During extreme heat situations, this rest period must be increased to 2 hours.

Coaching

Under no circumstances is coaching of any kind allowed while a match is in progress.

No Service Let Rule

All draws will use the collegiate tennis no service let rule.

Medical Timeouts

Players and officials shall follow the ITA Men’s and Women’s Division I rule for medical timeouts (pages 17-19 of 2024-25 ITA Rule Book):  

K. Timeouts, Bathroom Visits, and Equipment Adjustment 

1. Medical timeout. The USTA regulation on medical timeouts applies with the following exceptions (these ITA Medical and Bleeding Time Out procedures are also summarized in the back of the book in ITA Table 6 – Medical and Bleeding Timeouts): 

a. Treatment on changeover or set break. In all divisions, a player may be treated on any changeover or set break. This treatment is not considered a medical timeout. Direct treatment by a trainer at any other time is only allowed if a bleeding or medical timeout is being taken or if a player is bleeding from the same area for the second time. (Revised August 2023)

b. Bleeding timeouts. In all divisions, bleeding timeouts follow the USTA Regulation for bleeding timeouts with the exception that players may utilize the ITA PPS should the player begin bleeding from the same area again later in the match. The PPS may not be utilized immediately following a Bleeding Timeout. A Medical Timeout shall NOT be taken to deal with bleeding. A player who receives treatment for bleeding solely within a changeover or set break shall not be charged with a Bleeding Timeout. (Revised August 2020) 

c. Medical Timeouts – All divisions. In all divisions, a player may have only one medical timeout. This includes receiving treatment for asthma, diabetes, and/or a foreign object in the eye at times other than at changeovers or set breaks. A player who needs an additional medical timeout shall be retired. Once the trainer starts talking to the player or touches the player, the trainer has a maximum of five minutes for the medical timeout. There shall be no differentiation between diagnosis and treatment time. Multiple injuries/issues may be addressed during the one MTO if necessary. (Revised August 2023)

If a player takes a medical timeout, the player shall be assessed one point. This assessed point is not part of the Point Penalty System. (Revised August 2024)

Bathroom Breaks

Players and officials shall follow the ITA Division I and II rule for bathroom breaks (page 19 of 2024-25 ITA Rule Book):

2. Bathroom Breaks. In all divisions, a player must ask an Official to use the bathroom. The Official may refuse this request if the official determines that the player is resorting to gamesmanship. 

a. Bathroom break. Players in all divisions are allowed one bathroom break during a match. The bathroom break may only occur on a set break and may include up to three (3) minutes additional time for a total of up to five (5) minutes. The Referee will determine the additional time pre-match and notify both head coaches during the pre-match meeting. There shall be no additional “travel time” added to the bathroom break. (Revised August 2024)

b. Changeover and set break. Players in all divisions may use the bathroom during any 90 second changeover or two (2) minute set break with the permission of an Official. Players will only have the specific increment of time for that bathroom visit — no additional time for travel shall be added (Revised August 2024)

c. Other times. If a player in any division wishes to use the bathroom during any other time, this is treated as the player’s one Medical Timeout (if the player has not already taken their Medical Timeout). The time given for the medical timeout for bathroom usage shall match the total time given for the Bathroom Break (not to exceed 5 minutes). There shall be no additional “travel time” added to this Medical Timeout. (Revised August 2024)

d. Late return. Late return from the bathroom in any division for any of the above scenarios will result in Bathroom Break, Time Violation penalties until the player is ready to play. Bathroom Break, Time Violations accrued from lateness when returning from a bathroom break or bathroom visit are separate from Time Violations accrued during play. (Revised August 2024)

General Rules

For all other rules, officials, players, and tournament directors should follow ITA rules as laid out in the “Individual Competition” section of the 2024-25 ITA Rulebook.  This includes the ITA point penalty system, defaults, and unintentional time violation section.  If not specified by ITA rules, officials should default to USTA rules.

FACILITIES

Facility & Court Requirements

The ITA recommends a minimum ratio of 8 courts per 64 participants. This will allow for all players to play twice in one full day (will be a long day) and once during a half day.  Obviously, the required number of courts will increase with corresponding increases in anticipated participants.  Additional sites may be used for larger participant fields. Please consult the Garman scheduling tables for further help regarding court ratios and scheduling.  Host sites should make their best effort to provide practice courts before and during the event. Practice courts may be located at the host site or at sites other than those where the tournament matches are being played.  Practice courts must be available each day at the tournament site(s) one hour before matches begin.   

Emergency Medical Plan & Athletic Trainers

The ITA no longer requires but recommends, if your budget allows, that a certified athletic trainer be on site (or at the main site if multiple sites are used) at least one-half hour before play begins each day and during all hours of play. If athletic training services will not be available, host sites must inform participants prior to the event. 

It is required that tournament directors have a plan in place for medical emergencies.

Stringing

Stringing services should also be provided to participants.  If stringing services will not be available, host sites should inform participants prior to the event. 

Ice & Water

The ITA requires tournament directors to provide ice and water at all facilities being used during the event.  It is preferable that ice and water would be placed on the court but in the event that this is not possible, water and ice should be placed off the court in an easily identifiable and accessible location and be free to participants.

Bathrooms/Locker Rooms/Maintenance

Host sites must make available bathroom and/or locker room facilities to all participants during the course of the event as well as provide appropriate facility maintenance as needed.  

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