Nearly every college in America has a tennis team, at the time of writing there are over 800 colleges with a team playing in one of the three NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) divisions and a further 113 colleges playing in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics). Tennis at NAIA colleges is very similar to NCAA colleges, however this site will mostly focus on NCAA college tennis as NAIA colleges are much smaller and tend to place more of a focus on academics. Most colleges have a men's and a women's team consisting of 8-12 players, some of whom will be receiving scholarships. The players on these teams are known as 'student-athletes'. Life for student-athletes in America can vary depending on which college they are at.
Most colleges have two semesters in each academic year, with the fall semester typically running from the end of August until Christmas, and the spring semester typically running from the end of January until May. Many coaches remind their players that they are 'student-athletes' and not 'athletic-students', this is because a strong emphasis is placed on the degree that players are taking alongside playing tennis. In fact, in DI and DII players are required to take a minimum amount of classes each semester.
Earning an undergraduate degree in America typically takes four years, with the first one or two years being much broader than a degree in other countries. This is because colleges require their students to take credits in many different subjects at the start, this is to give them longer before they have to finalise their major (field of study). For this reason, students don't apply to study a certain subject at a college, they simply apply to the college and can then enrol in any major when they arrive. A student's commitment to a college is semester by semester, so they are not required to complete their degree or stay at a college if they do not feel it is right for them.
The image below shows how a student-athlete's time is divided in a typical week.
*Figures taken from survey of NCAA student-athletes in 2019
The tennis calendar generally follows the academic calendar, with training and breaks aligned with the college year. Even though NCAA tennis is classed as 'amateur' many DI teams are considered as professional teams, with matches broadcast on national television and teams generating revenue for the college. For this reason, the typical college player will have: team training, individual training, strength and conditioning, competition, recovery and match analysis spread throughout their week. Year round there are opportunities for players to compete in individual tournaments, both organised by the NCAA and also by travelling to ITF futures tournaments.
The busiest time of a college player's year is during the spring semester, this is when team matches start. Each NCAA division is split into conferences, each containing 8 or 9 colleges. From January, each college plays the other colleges in their division once, and the win-loss record of each college gets ranked on a league table. For each of these fixtures, there are 9 matches and 7 points up for grabs. The fixture begins with three separate doubles matches, which are a one set shootout, and the team who wins two or more of these gets a point. Following the doubles, there are 6 singles matches played out in a full best of three sets format. Each singles match is worth a point and so the team which reaches four points first wins the fixture. Something unique about college tennis is that coaches can choose the order of their lineups however they want, and so you will sometimes see the best player on the team playing at 5 or 6 in the singles lineup in order to try and 'guarantee' a point.
The top 8 ranked teams from the conference on the league table play in the 'conference championship' which is the playoff phase that decides who will qualify for the national championship. The team ranked 1st in the conference table is drawn against the 8th ranked team, 2nd plays 7th and so on. The winners of the first round progress to the semifinals and then a conference winner is crowned in the final. The winning team of each conference progresses to the national tournament. In each Division of the NCAA there is 32 conferences and a total of 64 teams play in the national tournament.
The other 32 spots in the national tournament are nominated by the NCAA selection committee, who look at teams' win-loss records from conference and non-conference matches (they also take into account strength of team faced by looking at the national rankings). The national championships occur at the start of May and are the closure of the team season. A bracket of the 64 teams is created, with 16 seeds decided by the NCAA committee.
Immediately after the team national championships are the singles and doubles national championships. These include the top 64 ranked singles and doubles players, and offer a US Open main draw wildcard to the winner.
In America it is possible to transfer from one college to another. For regular students it does not happen often with people only choosing to transfer to find a better academic fit or pursue a major that's not offered at their current institution. For student-athletes it is much more common as throughout your four years playing tennis different coaches may offer better scholarship offers or more playing time.
The NCAA has a transfer portal that allows student-athletes to transfer between colleges more easily. Players must notify their college that they wish to enter the transfer portal, and once they are in other coaches can speak to the player and try and recruit them. It is also possible to withdraw from the transfer portal and stay at your current college.
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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.
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Last updated: 2024