Considering the difficulties in training young tennis players, their participation in competitions during the war, and the difficult economic situation, the Elina Svitolina Foundation, with the support of Nova Poshta and with Ukrainian tennis players Elina Svitolina and Serhiy Stakhovskyi, announces the launch of an annual series of tournaments for Ukrainian tennis players under the age of 14 – Svitolina & Stakhovskyi Tennis Tour by Nova Poshta.

Events

The format of the Svitolina & Stakhovskyi Tennis Tour by Nova Post includes four qualifying tournaments and the final Finals tournament.

Based on the results of the qualifying tournaments, the top eight boys and girls will be able to participate in the final tournament, where the winners will be determined and will receive a $20,000 grant (this amount will be distributed among the participants), further support from the Elina Svitolina Foundation and mentoring from the best tennis players in Ukraine – Elina Svitolina and Serhiy Stakhovsky.

Dates/venues of the tournaments:

31.07 – 05.08 Campa, Bucha, Kyiv region

14.08 – 19.08 Sokil, Stryi, Lviv region

September 2023 (exact date/venue to be confirmed)

October 2023 (exact date/location to be confirmed)

Final tournament Finals – November 2023 (exact date/venue to be confirmed)

Players, application and registration

The qualifying tournaments are open to tennis players with Ukrainian citizenship who were born between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2009 and who are at least 11 years old at the start of the tournaments.

Players must fill out an application form to participate in the qualifying tournament. Registration lasts until July 21 at the link. The application period ends ten days before the start of the tournament at 0 hours 0 minutes.

The lists of players who have been selected for the tournament will be announced seven days before the start of the tournament

The selection of players from those who have applied on time will be carried out according to the following priorities, which are ranked by importance:

➔ Players with the highest number of winning points (only eight places in the qualifying tournaments and the Finals tournament)

➔ Players with the highest TE rating (Tennis Europe ranking)

➔ According to the results of performances at the national tournaments of category A of the Tennis Federation of Ukraine for the last two years and other national tournaments of the world

➔ National ranking of the FTU

➔ The organizers make the final decision for players not having any indicators in the above priorities at their discretion. This qualification system was chosen because national competitions have not been held systematically over the past few years. Therefore, the national ranking of the FTU may not reflect the real strength of the tennis players.

Registration for tournaments will take place on Mondays from 16:00 to 18:00, and the player’s presence is mandatory. Sometimes, the organizers may allow players to register by phone, but only those who have agreed in advance with the tournament manager or the chief referee.

Provision.

Participation in the Svitolina & Stakhovskyi Tennis Tour by Nova Poshta is free for players.

The Elina Svitolina Foundation reimburses the primary draw players of each of the four qualifying tournaments for accommodation in the amount of 500 UAH per day, starting from the first day of play. For the Finals tournament, the players are provided with hotel accommodation. Every player in the main draw receives catering: lunch and dinner for all participants, and breakfast for those staying at the official hotel. The official hotel also offers discounted rates for tournament participants.

During the matches, the event partner TM Morshynska provides players with water.

During the day, players receive a variety of fruits (bananas, apples, etc.).

Format and conditions of the tournaments

All Svitolina & Stakhovskyi Tennis Tour by Nova Poshta tournaments are held only in singles. The tournaments are officiated by the ITF International Head Judge and 2 assistant judges. Semifinal and final matches are officiated by tower umpires. The organizers provide three new balls for each main draw match.

Qualifying tournaments

Each tournament will be held over five days, excluding the registration day.

The matches start on Tuesday, the last day (finals) on Saturday.

32 boys and 32 girls are allowed to participate.

Places in the grid at the qualifying tournaments are distributed as follows: 24 spots are allocated to players by selection, according to the above priorities. 8 spots (Wild Card) are distributed by the organizers at their discretion.

Tournaments are held according to the playoff system (knockout). In qualifying tournaments, players will receive winning points.

Players who lose their first match in the tournament can take part in the consolation tournament. If a player wishes to participate in the consolation tournament, he must register with the head referee within half an hour after the end of his match.

Finals tournament

Eight boys and eight girls who score the highest points in all four qualifying tournaments will be able to take part in the final Finals tournament. The tournament is held according to a combined system.

Players are divided into four-player groups, playing in a round-robin system (each with each other). The players who took 1st and 2nd place will advance to the next stage of the competition, where they will play in a playoff system.

Selection and draw

The draw and the location of the selected players in the grid comply with the ITF regulations.

The players are selected by the head referee in the presence of at least two witnesses after the end of registration.

Number of seeded players in qualifying tournaments – 8

Number of seeded players in the Finals tournament – 4

The order of seeding is determined according to the following priorities, which are arranged in order of importance:

1. The number of “winning points”
2. TE ranking (Tennis Europe ranking)

There are no selected players in consolation tournaments.

Match format

All matches are played according to the rules of tennis by the ITF (International Tennis Federation)

Main draw matches at the Qualifiers and Finals tournaments consist of 3 sessions of up to 6 games. If the score is 6-6 in games in a session, the players play a decisive tiebreaker game up to 7 points. Consolation bracket matches consist of 3 short sessions of up to 4 games. If the score is 4-4 in games in a set, the players play a decisive tiebreaker game up to 7 points.

At the end of the qualifying tournament, each player is awarded points according to the table below:

‍

‍

‍

Organizers and contacts

The organizers of the Svitolina & Stakhovskyi Tennis Tour 2023 by Nova Poshta are the Elina Svitolina Foundation and the tennis clubs where the tournaments will be held.

Ihor Boguslavsky, chief tournament manager, +380931463929

Oleksandr Kulik, Chief Tournament Referee (ITF White badge), +380935679972

Questions and suggestions info@elinasvitolinafoundation.org

Official communication will take place in the tournament’s Telegram channel, on the pages of the Elina Svitolina Foundation on social networks, and the resources of the tennis clubs hosting the tournament.

‍