The organization of tennis tournaments follows rules directly from or derived from the rulebook of the International Tennis Federation, which governs the sport worldwide. Proper sorting of the players prior to the start of a tournament ensures that the players are generally of an equal skill level and that the bracket is balanced so all of the top-seeded players do not meet in matches prior to the finals or semifinals.
Draws
The number of players selected to play in one of the four major "grand slam" events is 128 for singles or 64 doubles pairs, according to the ITF. Other tournaments, such as those put on by the Tennis & Rackets Association, may draw a smaller or larger number of contestants as long as each player meets the guidelines put forth by that association. Many tournaments use an age or skill division to determine if a player qualifies for a tournament. At the professional level, the ITF determines the entry of a player to a grand slam event using its specially designed "merit-based system," which ranks players based upon their win ratio and performance in previous tournaments.
Seeding
Seeded players are the highest ranked players in a tournament and are placed at opposing sections of a tournament bracket to give them the best chances of meeting up in the semifinals and beyond. The number of seeded players varies by tournament and is up to the discretion of the organizing board, but typically makes up 1/3 or less of the total entrants. Seeded players in a singles tournament are selected based on their ranking, and in a doubles tournament the individual ranking of each teammate is combined to determine the seeding.
If a seeded player or team withdraws from a tournament prior to the start of the event, the tournament directing committee may decide at its discretion to reformat the bracket and seeding to compensate for the withdrawal. Players who are not seeded may be placed anywhere in the bracket.
Wild Cards and Byes
Empty slots in a tournament bracket allow the opposing player to automatically advance to the next round of the tournament. This is called a bye. When the tournament bracket is decided upon, byes are typically awarded to top-seeded players.
In order to prevent the presence of byes in some tournaments or as a special gesture, the directors may put in place wild-card players. Wild cards are players that did not qualify for a tournament, but are allowed to play under a special provision. For example, the ITF may allow an up-and-coming local player into a Grand Slam tournament to give them exposure. The number of Grand Slam tournaments a player can participate in as a wild card is not limited by the ITF.
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