The GLTA World Tour Championships (WTC) hold a unique place among GLTA tennis events. This is the culmination of all GLTA Tournaments from 1 November until 31 October of the following year. The tournament is about terrific tennis as the top 8 players in each division (Open, A, B, C , D Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles) face off for the GLTA Championship titles. The Championships are not only about the competition, it is also about friendship, enjoyment of the game, and spending a great time together.
Time, location and cost of the GLTA World Tour Championships
The Championships are usually played annually in January/February/March. The location of the WTC rotates currently between Asia/Australia, Europe, and The Americas. The exact time and location of the Championships are usually announced on the GLTA webpage and Social Media platforms. These details are usually listed on our World Tour Calendar as soon as they become available, generally a couple months after the mid-year GLTA Board Meeting (held in June/July/August).
GLTA World Tour Championship is organised by the GLTA board. Participants can expect a lot of tennis, a player’s banquet, and some GLTA logo merchandise. Some of the Championships cost will be covered by the GLTA. The additional costs are covered by the invited players.
How to qualify
GLTA World Tour Championships are invitational only. The GLTA Board invites 8 top-ranked players in each division (Open, A, B, C, D singles, doubles, and mixed) to compete. In the event that one (or several) of the top eight players cannot participate, the next player(s) in line will be invited to play until there are 8 players in each division. If at a late date we determine that there is not enough interest and time for players to accept and make plans to attend, we will stop sending invites and accept a smaller draw or find additional local players to fill the empty slots. This is usually done around 1 month / 3 weeks before the event.
GLTA players are eligible to qualify if they have played any number of tournaments during the eligibility period (1st November to the 31st of October of the following year). There is currently no championship points threshold.
As for doubles, players compete throughout the GLTA Championship year as individual doubles players. Though the same points are awarded to a team after tournaments, where they play together, a team might elect to not play all their tournaments together and thus have separate individual Championship Race points throughout the year. It is not necessary to play with the same partner to qualify for this competition. As like singles, the top 8 individual players in each division (Open, A, B, C, D doubles) will be invited to participate.
As for mixed doubles, the rules are the same as doubles. However, the GLTA Tournament Software website, where we track the Championship Race points throughout the year, does not track the points accumulated for Mixed Doubles, at this time. Instead, the ranking director calculates the points at the end of the Championship Race Year and invites players using their own list. Since mixed doubles is an infrequent event at GLTA tournaments, most players who win a championship will be invited, until a reasonable amount of players are invited, not to exceed 8 players. In the past, the mixed doubles draws at the WTC only total at most 6 pairs for each division. We strive for 8 pairs. However, this all depends on getting enough participants from each side.
Your GLTA Championship Race rank (CR) is separate from your GLTA Tournament Entry rank (TE) and depends on how many Championship Race points you have accumulated during the eligibility period.
Championship Race points are awarded as follows:
1 point is awarded per match won. 5 points are awarded per semi-final won and 10 points are awarded per tournament won. Playing in a Masters Series Tournament earns double Championship Race points. Note, playing in a masters, does not double your Tournament Entry Ranking points.
*note* this rule applies also to Round-Robin (RR) Draws. However, for RR draws, if there isn’t an elimination draw following the RR play, where in this elimination draw there is a semifinal, then no points are awarded for semifinals, as there hasn’t been one.
|
GLTA Tournament |
GLTA Masters Series Event | |
|
Match won |
1 |
2 |
|
Semi-final won |
5 |
10 |
|
Tournament won |
10 |
20 |
You are eligible to play in the division where you accumulated the most GLTA Championship Race points during the period of Nov 1 through Oct 31 of the following year. If you’ve earned equal points in multiple divisions, then you will be required to play in the highest division where you’ve earned the highest total Championship Race points. For example, if you’ve played in A, B, C singles throughout Nov 1 – Oct 31st and you have 10 pts in A, 30 pts in B, and 30 pts in C, and you qualify as the top 8 in the B division, then you will be invited to play singles in the B division.
If a player wins a Championship in the higher division (regardless of which division they earned the most points) they must play in the higher division for the World Tour Championships. For example, if you have 17 pts in Open Doubles and you have 100 pts in A doubles. If you’ve qualified for top 8 in Open, you will be invited to play Open Doubles. Note, you will not be invited to play A doubles, even if you do not qualify for Open and your points would qualify you for A. Your gradation / division that you qualify for, will be Open because you won a tournament in Open.
Please note: The GLTA Championship is an invitational only event. The event is organized by the GLTA, and players that can’t demonstrate a welcoming, supportive and safe environment free from bullying and harassment are subject to a ban from the GLTA World Tour Championships.
GLTA World Tour Championships Format:
Singles format:
In general, if 8 players accept, there will be 2 groups of 4 to play in a round robin format.
A player will play one match against each player in their group. The #1 and #2 players in each group will advance to the semi-finals. The #1 player from group A will play against the #2 player from group B and vice versa.
Doubles/Mixed format:
In general, if 8 players accept, there will be 2 groups of 4 to play in a round robin format.
A player will play 1 round with each of the other players in their group. The #1 and #2 players from each group will advance to the finals. The #1 player from group A will play with the #2 player from group B and vice versa.