FAQs

Over 1,000 colleges are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The NCAA has three divisions (DI, DII and DIII) in all sports, with Division 1 schools generally having the biggest student bodies and managing larger athletics budgets. Only DI and DII schools are able to offer athletics scholarships. 

As well as playing the other teams in their conference, colleges play a number of matches against teams who aren't in their conference. These also take place in the Spring and help to decide who will make up the 32 teams selected to play in the national championships that didn't win their conference playoff. 

A list of the top 75 teams, singles players and doubles teams from each of the three NCAA divisions. The list is created by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) and is updated weekly. Rankings are based on win-loss record, strength of opposition and closeness of win/loss. 

Throughout the year there are many opportunities for players to compete in their own tournaments outside of collegiate competition. Players can typically compete in the fall semester and over holiday periods. Many collegiate players are ATP ranked. 

There are many recruitment agencies worldwide, some specialising in helping players from specific countries and some helping players from all over the world. Most charge a one-time fee of around $2-3,000, for which you receive in return help with getting recruited and further help if you wish to transfer college. This includes: generating a shortlist of colleges for you, creating a tournament schedule for you, reaching out to coaches for you, NCAA registration, creating your college video and visa applications. 

The biggest reason why players choose to sign with an agency is because of their network. Many coaches know the big agencies and so a good recommendation from one can make all the difference in a player's recruitment chances. It is worth noting that agencies tend not to have a minimum level required and so being signed with one or not isn't necessarily a reflection of a player's quality. 

The majority of players will sign for an agency. 

See more information about scholarships here

The SAT or ACT are standardised admissions tests that form part of your application to a college. Students can choose which one they take: with the SAT test focusing on Maths and English, and the ACT test focusing on science as well. Doing well in these tests can increase your chance of getting an academic scholarship. These tests are usually taken in your Junior year of high school. 

You can register for the TOEFL here. It is around $110 depending on which country you take it in.

Public colleges are funded by the state which they are in and typically have larger student populations and a wider range of majors offered. However because public colleges are funded by taxpayers in the state, they tend to give less academic scholarship and financial aid to out-of-state students. Tennis scholarship availabilities at public colleges tend to be the same as at private colleges since players on the tennis teams are able to generate revenue for the college. There is roughly a similar number of public and private colleges in the US. 

At private colleges most students live on campus in dorms, while at public colleges much less students live on campus. For example at California Berkeley, a public colllege, 24% of students live on campus whereas at Stanford, a private college, 94% of students live on campus. 

The bigger a team's budget, the more likely you are to get a scholarship. In general, the highest ranked D1 teams, especially those with a big football team have the biggest budgets.

The Ivy League is a D1 conference, containing eight private colleges in the Northeast of America. They are most well known for being some of the best academic institutions in the country, but it is important to remember that they are not the only top academic colleges. 

Ivy League schools don't offer scholarship because they prioritise need-based financial aid, aiming to create a diverse and academically driven student body.