How to Play

ITN Club Benefits

ITN for new club members

  • ITN provides a good talking point for new members.
  • ITN is an effective way to introduce new players to the club.
  • The ITN is a quick and easy way to rate a player who has had no tournament/competition experience.
  • For a player who has come from another club, it is an easy way to select a competition grade for that player. [Note: Grade A is not always the same between country and metropolitan clubs therefore ITN allows for a set standard of play].
  • ITN can be used to introduce new players with a disability to the club.

ITN for social players

  • ITN gives more options for finding compatible playing partners and therefore more enjoyable social play.
  • Increased social players allow for an expansion of membership categories therefore increased revenue for the club.
  • ITN can be used to find players with a disability compatible playing partners to give them more enjoyable practice.

ITN in tournaments

  • By adopting the ITN language in tournaments, clubs are providing a common language that will be easily understood by players coming from different areas/states.
  • Due to ease of rating, there is potential for more players to enter tournaments and thus more entry fees for clubs.
  • ITN can be used to include players with a disability. This is especially useful when there are not enough players to make up their own event.

Note: the highest level of your tournament will not equal the top ITN rating (ie. ITN 1). The highest possible grading will be ITN 2. Players with an ITN 1 rating need to be playing ATP/WTA tournaments. The highest grade of tournament must correspond to the descriptors, eg: ITN 2-4 may need to be used as a grading category where it is anticipated that very few ITN 2’s will enter.

ITN in competitions

  • The ITN is an easy way of rating players to ascertain the grade they should play within a competition.
  • The rating of 1-10 can be used as grading categories in the competitions. For example, Grade 4 Pennant can be renamed ITN 5.

Note: a male ITN 4 is going to be a stronger player than a female ITN 4. It is envisaged in mixed competitions to have the female a higher rating than the male.

  • The ITN is an easy and simple way of rating players who have come from other clubs/states/countries whose competition grading has been different.
  • Due to ease of rating, more players will join clubs to play in competitions and thus increase membership.
  • ITN can be used to include players with a disability within able-bodied competitions.

Ideas/suggestions

  • Hold a grading day at the beginning of each term to rate current and potential members.

ITN in Coaching Programs

  • Coaches can group coaching lessons according to the ITN rating categories.
  • Coaches can rate players with an ITN for entry into tournaments and competitions.
  • ITN certificates provide documentation to players of their standard.
  • The ITN provides incentives for players to improve thereby continuing in coaching programs and increasing revenue for coaches.
  • Coaches can receive additional financial rewards for conducting the ITN on-court assessment.
  • The ITN provides coaches with a tool that they can use to gauge players improvement.
  • ITN can be used to include players with a disability within able-bodied coaching lessons.

Ideas/suggestions/comments

  • Conduct the on-court assessment at the end of each term and hand out ITN certificates.
  • Provide prizes for most improved serve, volley, groundstroke depth, and groundstroke accuracy.
  • Provide a prize for most improved ITN rating.
  • The children had something to aim for and the system gave them feedback on their skill level. Parents were pleased with the system as it focused on the complete game (Summerton Tennis Club, SA).
  • Use ITNs to provide generic tournament categories. For example, what used to be named “Open Women’s”, “Ladies’ Singles”, and “Women’s Singles” can now be named “ITN 2 – Women”.