Your First Tennis Tournament: What to Expect and How to Prepare

The first tournament is a strange experience for most players. All the shots that work in lessons suddenly feel unfamiliar, the opponent does not feed the ball back nicely, and there are rules and rituals nobody explained. Almost all of that is fixable with information. This guide walks through what actually happens from entering to the drive home, written for a player (or the parent of one) competing for the first time.

Before the day

Entering

Most countries run junior and adult competition through the national federation: the LTA in Britain, the USTA in the United States, Tennis Australia, and so on. You will usually need a membership or player number, and entries are made online a week or two before the event. Read the entry details carefully for three things:

The format. Some beginner events are "match plays" or "team tennis" with short formats, no knockout and a guaranteed number of matches. Others are a full knockout draw where losing in the first round means one match. For a first event, pick a format with guaranteed matches.
The ball and court. Junior events are run by age group and often by ball colour (red, orange, green, yellow). Entering the wrong stage is a common mistake.
The rating or grade. Events are graded by standard. The lowest grade available is the right one for a first tournament, whatever the player's practice level. Winning a match matters more than entering the "right" level.

The kit bag

A pre-packed bag removes a source of stress on the day. The list is longer than it looks:

Two racquets if possible (a broken string with one racquet ends a match), grips in reasonable condition.
Shoes appropriate to the surface. Running shoes are a genuine injury risk on court.
Water, more than you think. Two bottles minimum. A sports drink for longer events.
Food that is easy to eat between matches: bananas, cereal bars, sandwiches. Not crisps and sweets.
A towel, a cap, sun cream, and a warm layer for waiting around.
A small notebook. More on this at the end.
Any medication, and a basic plaster or two for blisters.

The night before

Nothing new. No new shoes, no new strings, no late technical change. A normal meal, an early night, and the bag packed by the door. If nerves make sleep difficult, that is normal; one poor night's sleep has very little effect on performance.

On the day

Arrive at least 45 minutes before the first scheduled match. Find the referee or tournament desk and sign in; players who do not sign in can be defaulted. Ask where the draw is posted and which court you are on. Draws can change if players withdraw, so check again before your match.

The draw and the schedule

In a knockout draw you play one opponent; win and you progress, lose and you are usually out (some events have a consolation draw for first-round losers, which is worth asking about). In a round-robin or box format you play everyone in your group. The schedule gives a "not before" time, which means your match will not start before that time but may start later. Waiting is part of tournaments; bring something to do.

The warm-up

Match warm-ups are short, typically five minutes. Players hit some groundstrokes from the baseline, a few volleys and overheads each, and some serves. It is not a practice session and it is not the time to try to intimidate anyone. Two things to do during it:

Loosen up properly beforehand. The five-minute hit is not a warm-up for the body. Jog, skip, do dynamic stretches and some shadow swings off court before you are called.
Notice the opponent. Do they have a two-handed backhand? Do they move well? Do they look nervous? Which shot do they avoid in the warm-up? This is the beginning of a match plan.

Who serves first, and how a match is scored

Before the match the players spin a racquet or toss a coin. The winner chooses to serve, receive, or pick an end, and the other player gets the remaining choice.

Scoring in a standard match:

Points go love, 15, 30, 40, game. At 40–40 it is "deuce"; a player must win two points in a row from deuce to take the game (advantage, then game). Some junior and club events use no-ad scoring, where the point at deuce decides the game and the receiver chooses which side to receive on.
Games make sets. A set is won by the first player to six games with a margin of two. At 6–6 a tie-break is played, usually to seven points with a two-point margin, and the set is recorded as 7–6.
Matches are typically best of three sets. Many junior and lower-grade events shorten this to short sets (first to four), a match tie-break instead of a third set (first to ten points), or a single "pro set" to eight games. Check the format in advance so a player is not surprised to find the match is suddenly over.

The server announces the score before each point, loud enough for the opponent to hear, with their own score first. Doing this consistently prevents most score disputes.

Calling lines and the honour system

At almost all amateur tournaments there is no umpire. Each player calls the lines on their own side of the net. The rules of fair play are simple and worth teaching explicitly:

If you are not sure a ball was out, it was in. "Any doubt, call it in" is the standard.
Call clearly and promptly, with the hand signal (finger up for out, palm down for in) as well as the voice.
Do not call balls on the opponent's side. If they ask you, you can give your honest opinion.
If a dispute cannot be resolved, call the referee. Do not argue for long; it never ends well.

If there is a genuine, repeated problem with an opponent's calls, the right response is to ask for a court monitor or referee, politely, between points. It is not to start calling badly in return.

Changing ends

Players change ends after the first game, then after every two games (after odd-numbered games: 1, 3, 5...). The time at the change is brief, and in most junior events there is no sit-down. In a tie-break, players change ends after every six points.

Playing the match

Nerves

Everyone is nervous. The player who looks calm is nervous too and has just found a way to work with it. Three practical things:

Breathe out slowly before serving and before returning. A long exhale drops the heart rate a little and, more importantly, gives the mind one thing to do instead of worrying.
Have a between-points routine. Turn away from the net, adjust strings or towel off, decide the next point's plan in one sentence ("serve wide, come in"), then turn back. It should take the same six or eight seconds every time.
Play with margin early. Nervous players either push the ball or go for too much. Aim for big targets, cross-court and deep, for the first few games. Winners can come later.

A plan that fits on a sticky note

A match plan for a first tournament should be two sentences. For example: "Make them hit backhands. If I get a short ball, hit it to the open court." That is enough. A long tactical plan is forgotten by the second game.

For a broader framework on how to read opponents, see styles of play; for the coach who built a career on this, see Brad Gilbert and Winning Ugly.

If it is going badly

Change something small. Serve to the other side. Play higher over the net. Move the return position. Slow the pace between points. The goal is not necessarily to find the answer; it is to stop the opponent getting comfortable. Losing 6–1 having tried three things is a better day than losing 6–1 having tried none.

After the match

The handshake and the scorecard

Shake hands or touch racquets at the net, win or lose, and say something short and decent. Then both players report the score to the desk. The winner usually does this, but it is good practice for both to go. Check when the next match is before you leave the desk.

The notebook

Before the match: the plan, in a sentence. After the match: three things that went well, one thing to work on, and the score. Over a season this becomes the most useful document a player owns. It also gives nervous players something concrete to do with the adrenaline after the match instead of replaying every point.

The five things that go wrong at first tournaments

Not signing in, or arriving late and being defaulted.
Entering too high a grade and getting a first-round lesson instead of a first-round match.
One racquet, and a broken string in the second set.
No food or water, and a second match played on empty.
Treating a first-round loss as a verdict. It is a data point. Good players lose constantly; they just lose to better players and keep entering.

The first tournament is almost never the best one. Its job is to make the second one feel normal.