Most professional sports have a season where one team emerges as the championship team. Tennis is a sport with nearly year-round tournament play on a variety of different surfaces. Some players excel on one surface compared to others. Tournament series are a group of tournaments leading up to a major, such as a Grand Slam to determine who is the best for that period on that type of surface.
Understanding the Series
Tournaments come and go. As a tennis player, you are taught that if you don't perform well one week, a new opportunity will present itself the following week. Creating a seasonal game plan for peak performance becomes difficult if there isn't a true season. Enter the tennis series. The series is a group of tournaments held on the same or similar court surfaces leading up to a major event. For every match won, players receive points in the series. The series does more than create a season. It provides financial incentive to perform well and participate in certain tournaments. Players potentially increase financial earnings by winning the series and later capturing the major event. Series also exist at amateur levels, though without financial benefits.
Creating a Series
There is no set rule as to how many tournaments must be part of any one series. The U.S. Open Series has 10 tournaments over a six-week period to male and female professional tennis players. The U.S. Open is the major completing the series in weeks seven and eight. By the time the U.S Open rolls around, the series winner is established on both the male and female side. If the series winner is able to win the U.S Open, a bonus of $1 million is earned.
Earning Points
Points are won by winning, plain and simple. The more you win and the deeper you get into the tournament, the more points you get. If players are tied with points, the series officials look at head-to-head play to determine a winner. If the two players have not gone head-to-head, then number of games won is used to designate a winner.
Benefits
There is a benefit to both the players and the fans when a series is created. Because of the potential cash bonus, more major names play an extended part of the series tournaments to accumulate points. Fans are able to see top performers going head-to-head in smaller venues, further promoting the sport of tennis in many communities. The creation of a series also gives players the ability to practice, train and compete for a specified time frame, knowing when peak performance is needed and when much needed time off can be scheduled. Players perform better and fans get a better show.
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