{"id":9668,"date":"2014-12-04T10:36:25","date_gmt":"2014-12-04T02:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/?p=9668"},"modified":"2014-12-04T10:36:25","modified_gmt":"2014-12-04T02:36:25","slug":"your-guide-to-the-december-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/news\/2014\/12\/04\/your-guide-to-the-december-showdown","title":{"rendered":"Your Guide to the December Showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jordan-Thompson-700x450\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Your guide to the December Showdown<\/h1>\n

Kicking off this Saturday at Melbourne Park, the December Showdown brings together the best players in the country for two weeks of sizzling summer tennis.<\/p>\n

What is it?<\/h3>\n

Every\u00a0December the country\u2019s best players assemble at Melbourne Park for the December Showdown. In 16 days, more than 2000 matches will be played to find out who the best players are across each junior age group. The centrepiece of the December Showdown is the Australian Open Wildcard Play-off, which sees elite Australian players battling it out for a prized main draw wildcard at\u00a0Australian Open 2015.<\/p>\n

When is it?<\/h3>\n

The December Showdown is being staged from 6-21 December 2014, with matches commencing at 9am in the junior events (and at 8.30am on 13 and 14 December). Australian Open wildcard Play-off action kicks off from\u00a0Monday 15 December each day at 10am, with the semifinals and finals starting at 11am.<\/p>\n

What events are being held?<\/h3>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Event<\/strong><\/td>\nDate<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Australian Open 2015 Wildcard Play-off<\/td>\n15-21 December<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18\/u Australian Championships<\/td>\n6-13 December<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16\/u Australian Championships<\/td>\n16-21 December<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14\/u Australian Championships<\/td>\n6-11 December<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14\/u Australian Teams Championships<\/td>\n12-15 December<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12\/u Australian Championships<\/td>\n16-21 December<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12\/u Australian Teams Championships<\/td>\n12-15 December<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Who\u2019s playing?<\/h3>\n

The Australian Open Wildcard Play-off is open to 16 men and 16 women. Twelve players will receive direct acceptance into the men\u2019s draw, with the remaining four spots going to wildcards, while the women\u2019s event features the top eight players ranked outside the Australian Open main draw cut-off and then eight wildcards. Both events feature knock-out draws, and all men\u2019s matches will be contested as best-of-five sets.<\/p>\n

The 18\/u Australian Championships is a 16-player round-robin draw, comprised of\u00a010 direct acceptances \u2013 based on ATP\/WTA rankings, then ITF junior top 100 rankings, then Australian Rankings \u2013 as well as four wildcards and two qualifiers.<\/p>\n

The best 20 junior players \u2013 according to the Australian rankings \u2013 receive direct entry into the 12s and 14s events, with the remaining entries coming from a mix of wildcards, qualifiers, international invitations\u00a0and state championship event winners to complete the 64-player fields. The 16s event is a 32-player knockout draw made of 16 direct acceptances and the rest\u00a0a mix of wildcards, qualifiers and state championship event winners. The 18s championship<\/p>\n

Keep visiting tennis.com.a<\/a>u<\/em> each day as we profile some of the best junior prospects in action\u00a0during the December Showdown.<\/p>\n

The full fields\u00a0for all events will be available this week.<\/p>\n

How can I follow the action?<\/h3>\n

Great news \u2013\u00a0spectator entry during the December Showdown is free! However, if you can\u2019t make it down to Melbourne Park to catch the action in person, there are plenty of other ways you can keep track of all the happenings:<\/p>\n

Live stream
\n<\/strong>The Australian Open Wildcard Play-off live stream this year\u00a0features several unique\u00a0ways for fans to get involved. While watching live from your desktop, mobile or tablet, you\u00a0can join in the coverage \u2013\u00a0the commentary team is dedicated to covering the social chatter.<\/p>\n