USTA Southern California hosted its second annual Fast4 Sectional Championship – a qualifier for the USTA’s NTRP National Championship.

Over 60 players converged on Braemar Country Club this past weekend to fight for the final bid to the National Championships, which will be played in Arizona and Florida for the 50 & Over and 18 & Over age groups respectively.

The Section gives out three bids each year for every NTRP level in both the 18 & Over and 50 & Over categories. The first pair of bids are awarded to the top ranked players in each NTRP level. The second pair of bids are awarded to the top Grand Prix point earners. The third pair is given to the best finishing 18 & Over and 50 & Over players in our Fast4 Sectional Championship.

Fast4 is a short-format scoring method that ensures a lot of tennis in a short period of time. Fast4 uses best-of-three short sets to four games, no-ad scoring, and a tiebreak at 3-3 all. Tiebreaks are played first to five points, win by one. This format was used at the Qualifier at Braemar and will be used for both age groups at the National Championship.

In most Fast4 tournaments, players are put into round robins and play at least two rounds of tennis before the top players from each pool advance to a single elimination bracket. At the SoCal Qualifier – more than 20 players received the coveted third bids to the National Championship.

All qualified players will receive a golden ticket in the mail. They are encouraged to post photos with the ticket on social media using #NTRPNationals and tag @USTA.

 

The National Championships will take place Friday, March 29 – Sunday, March 31, 2019 for the singles divisions and Friday, April 5 – Sunday, April 7, 2019 for the doubles.

For more information on the NTRP National Championships, click here.