Yesterday’s post described the rules and regulations that govern what happens when the USTA League National Championships can’t be completed due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances. Today, we’re exploring the same scenario at the Sectional level. Unlike the National Championships, simply calling off all the matches without conferring a winner isn’t an option. Each Section has the authority — and responsibility — to certify teams for advancement to Nationals.
Sectional Championships. Each Sectional Association shall hold a Sectional League Championship in each National approved NTRP level for each Division and Age Group, on or before the date specified by the USTA League Leadership, to determine its Sectional champions. The winning team at each NTRP level and Age Group shall be allowed to compete in the USTA League National Championships if otherwise eligible. If the winning team at any NTRP level of competition is unable to compete further towards the National Championships, then the Sectional League Coordinator may select the second place team for such further competition, etc.
2025 USTA National League Regulations, Regulation 2.02B(3)
Each Section can send exactly one team to the National Championships for each division of every USTA League format. Failing to send a representative team isn’t a viable option when the Sectional Championships cannot be conducted due to unforeseen circumstances. Each Section is (or should be) deeply motivated to see a strong team advance. Doing that is one of the primary objectives of USTA League play. Each Section should do whatever it takes to ensure a team from their Section is awarded a berth to the National Championships.
That can (and arguably should) create a significant divergence in the “unforeseen circumstances” regulation where each Section is authorized to add additional language to their regulations to cover what happens when the championships at that level can’t be completed.
Unforeseen Circumstances. Should any situation occur, which could potentially result in invalid matches or the postponement, rescheduling, or cancellation of a National Championship, a committee composed of the Tournament Director, National staff and National League Committee member(s) will determine the best course of action. This may include, but not be limited to, changes to the format, number of matches, and scoring. In certain extreme situations, National Co-Champions may be awarded. Sections may add additional language to their regulations or Championship Procedures to cover similar unforeseen circumstances.
2025 USTA National League Regulations, Regulation 2.03O.
The standard way for teams to advance to the USTA League National Championships is by winning Sectionals. However, when that event cannot be held or completed, the Section is still entitled to send a representative. Consequently, each Section’s regulatory language to cover unforeseen circumstances should include provisions for determining which team is awarded the honors. The details will vary from Section to Section.
The USTA League Championship Procedures for the Southern Section are a full page long and cover scenarios for various formats of play and the completion status. For example, if a double round-robin was slated and one full rotation was completed before the event was interrupted, the team that was first in the standings at that time will advance. As another example, a lottery drawing determines which team advances if the Sectional Championships are canceled in its entirety.
In 2018, my 40+ 4.5+ team advanced to the USTA League National Championships from a Texas Sectionals event that wasn’t fully completed due to rain. Based on that experience, I have a piecemeal understanding of the procedures used in that situation for USTA Texas. Tomorrow’s post will share that understanding.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to find those procedures in an official USTA Texas document. Additionally, while I haven’t had the bandwidth to perform an exhaustive search for how every section handles unforeseen circumstances that prevent a USTA League Sectional Championship from being completed, I suspect that there is tremendous variation in both implementation and documentation.
For any Section that finds itself lacking… Southern seems to have a pretty good handle on this.
- 2025 USTA League National Regulations, USTA Resource Document, April 14, 2024.
- 2024 USTA League National Championships Handbook, USTA Published Document, viewed September 11, 2025.
- 2024 USTA Southern Championship Procedures, USTA Southern Published Document, viewed September 13, 2024.
