FAQ

Hopefully your question is answered by some of the commonly asked one's below, if not please reach out to the commissioner for help resolving your confusion!

Rankings
Q: So how do the player rankings work?

A: Each tournament awards a certain number of points based on which round the player finishes. Those points are also based on the prestige of the tournament. For example: The sum of the points from all the tournaments determines the overall rankings. The points earned from the tournament count towards the players ranking until the following year's tournament. For example:
 * A player who is knocked out in the Semi-Finals of an Invitational level tournament (the lowest tier tournament) will earn 50 points. Compared to a player knocked out of the Round of 8 of an Open level tournament (the highest tier tournament), who will earn 100 points.
 * A player in 2016 wins the Jakarta Invitational, netting them 150 points for their ranking. However, the next year they miss the tournament due to an injury. At the end of the 2017 Jakarta Invitational the rankings will be re-calculated, and the player will no longer have the 150 points counted towards their ranking.

Player Improvement
Q: How does my player get better?

A: Currently, players have two options, or actions, they are allowed to take each month. They are allowed to train or participate in the monthly tournament (if they received an invitation to participate). If they choose to train they will work on improving certain parts of their game. If they choose to participate in the tournament they will spend the month playing in the tournament and earn points towards their ranking.

Tournament Seeding
Q: What determines the player seeding in tournaments?

A: Each tournament extends half of their spots to the top ranked players. The remaining half of the spots are considered 'Wildcard' bids. They are extended on a case-by-case, sometimes based on previous performance at the tournament, or given to players who are playing well recently.

Eventually the FTA might implement a Play-In tournament that will determine who receives Wildcard Bids.

Court Specialization
Q: What is Court Specialization and why does it matter?

A: I could probably write a paper about this, but long story short: How a ball behaves on Hard, Grass, and Clay courts can vary wildly. There is also a difference in how a player moves on each surface, and the level of comfort a player has on each surface varies. Certain playstyles also benefit from different surfaces.

Selecting a Court Specialization is an attempt to replicate how players in the real world tend to favor one court surface, and perform better in those tournaments. They are more comfortable moving on the surface and their style of play tends to match the court's strengths. Having a specialization doesn't guarantee a win, but boosts the players skills slightly on that surface.

Tennis Terminology
Q: I do not understand some of the terms being thrown around, like what is an Ace or a Deuce?

A: There are so many terms that are used in tennis that you do not see in other sports. I would suggest searching this wikipedia entry which has an extensive list of terms used if you are confused or do not know what a term means.