USTA junior rankings come from points. A player earns points for each round won at a USTA junior ranking tournament. The tournament’s level (1 to 7) sets how many points each round is worth. The USTA then adds up the player’s best 6 singles results and 15% of the best 6 doubles results.
This guide uses the USTA’s own documents: the 2026 USTA Junior Tournament, Ranking and Sanctioning Regulations, the 2026 overview of the national junior ranking system, and the USTA junior points table. Links are at the end. Sections can add their own rules, so check your section’s site too.
USTA tournament levels explained
Every USTA junior ranking tournament has a level. Level 1 is the highest. Level 7 is the entry level. All of them count for the national standings.
| Level | What it is | Who runs it |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | USTA National Championships (Spring, Clay Court, the Nationals, Indoor, Winter), National Doubles Championships, Battle of the Sections, National Brewer Team Cup | USTA (national) |
| Level 2 | USTA National Level 2 Tournaments (four times a year, four sites at once) and Intersectional Level 2 team events | USTA (national) |
| Level 3 | USTA National Level 3 Tournaments (up to 192 draw spots) and Closed Section Level 3 tournaments (section residents only) | USTA or your section |
| Level 4 | Section Closed and Open Level 4 tournaments and Level 4 team events | Your section |
| Level 5 | Section and District Level 5 tournaments (up to 3 days) | Section or district |
| Level 6 | Section and District Level 6 tournaments (usually up to 2 days, max 4 rounds) | Section or district |
| Level 7 | Section and District Level 7 tournaments (one day, max 4 rounds; green ball allowed in 12s) | Section or district |
Some ITF junior events in the United States also count, at a fixed level:
- Level 1: J300 ITF events held in the USA, the US Open Junior Championships, the Orange Bowl (BG18 ITF J500; BG16 USTA International Tournament), Junior Davis Cup / Junior Billie Jean King Cup Finals (U16), World Junior Team Finals (U14)
- Level 2: J200 ITF events held in the USA, Pan American Championships ITF (BG18 JB300), the Junior Davis Cup / BJK Cup and World Junior Team qualifying events
- Level 3: ITF J100 events held in the USA
- Level 4: ITF J60 and J30 events held in the USA (new for 2026)
The USTA ranks four divisions: boys’ and girls’ 18, 16, 14 and 12. To play section and district ranking events, a player must be 11, or have completed the USTA 10-and-under Youth Progression, by the entry deadline. For which division your child plays in, use the USTA age group calculator.
USTA junior points table (singles, 2026)
This is the points-per-round table for the most common draws: single elimination, compass, first match consolation, voluntary consolation and modified feed-in. A player earns the points for the furthest round reached.
| Result | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champion | 3000 | 1650 | 900 | 540 | 300 |
| Finalist | 2400 | 1238 | 675 | 405 | 225 |
| 3rd place | 1950 | 990 | 540 | 324 | 180 |
| 4th place / semifinalist | 1800 | 825 | 450 | 270 | 150 |
| Reached quarterfinals | 1110 | 578 | 315 | 189 | 105 |
| Reached round of 16 | 750 | 297 | 162 | 97 | 54 |
| Reached round of 32 | 450 | 165 | 90 | 54 | 30 |
| Reached round of 64 | 270 | 99 | 54 | 32 | 18 |
| Reached round of 128 | 120 | 66 | 36 | 22 | 12 |
| Reached round of 256 | 90 | 33 | 18 | 11 | 6 |
| Each consolation round won | 105 | 62 | 32 | 19 | 11 |
Levels 6 and 7 use points per win, not per round:
| Points | Level 6 | Level 7 |
|---|---|---|
| Main draw win | 20 | 12 |
| Consolation win | 10 | 6 |
| Champion (extra) | 15 | 8 |
| Finalist (extra) | 10 | 6 |
At Levels 6 and 7 a player earns points for at most 4 matches. Level 7 events may only use compass draws in this table; Level 6 may use compass and modified feed-in.
Round robin events (Levels 3 to 7) also pay per win: 225 at Level 3, 135 at Level 4, 75 at Level 5, 20 at Level 6 and 12 at Level 7. Points count for at most 5 matches at Levels 3 to 5.
The USTA points table also has separate tables for feed-in championship, Curtis consolation, round robin with a playoff, team events and flighted Level 4 and 5 draws. A flighted Level 4 event with 16 or fewer players per flight, for example, pays the #1 flight champion 540 points but the #4 flight champion 189. Open the official PDF for those tables.
What the points mean in practice
- Winning a Level 5 tournament (300) is worth less than reaching the quarterfinals of a Level 3 (315).
- Reaching the round of 16 at a Level 2 (297) is worth about the same as winning a Level 5 (300).
- A first-round loss earns nothing: a player must win a round to get any points. A bye is not a win.
Bonus points for big wins
A singles win over a player in the top 500 of the USTA Bonus Point List earns extra points. Doubles wins earn no bonus points.
| Opponent’s standing | Bonus points |
|---|---|
| Top 10 | 225 |
| 11–25 | 203 |
| 26–50 | 169 |
| 51–75 | 135 |
| 76–100 | 101 |
| 101–150 | 68 |
| 151–250 | 45 |
| 251–350 | 23 |
| 351–500 | 11 |
Bonus points stay attached to the tournament. If that tournament is not in the player’s best 6, its bonus points do not count either.
How the USTA ranking is calculated (the best-6 rule)
The USTA calls its system the Points Per Round Combined Ranking System (PPR). The total is:
- 100% of the points from the player’s 6 best singles tournaments
- + 15% of the points from the 6 best doubles (or mixed doubles) tournaments
- + 100% of singles bonus points from bonus-point-only events
An example from the USTA overview: a player has 1,200 points from their best 6 singles tournaments and 2,000 points from their best 6 doubles tournaments. The total is 1,200 + (2,000 × 15% = 300) = 1,500 ranking points.
A player can play more than 6 tournaments. Only the best 6 in singles and the best 6 in doubles count, so a bad weekend does not lower the total once a player has 6 better results.
Other rules worth knowing:
- Walkovers and withdrawals count as wins for points per round, but give no bonus points.
- A retirement gives points per round and any bonus points.
- A player defaulted for code violations or misconduct loses all points from that tournament.
Standings vs rankings
The USTA publishes two kinds of list, and they are not the same:
- National Standings List (NSL): points from the last rolling 12 months. It includes points from the player’s division and older divisions, plus 20% of points earned in the next-younger division. The USTA uses it to select and seed players for most tournaments. The regulations say it is published at least monthly; the USTA overview says weekly.
- National Ranking (year-end): points from one division in one calendar year (January to December). A player needs at least 200 points in the division to be ranked. Tentative rankings come out by January 5, corrections close January 15, and final rankings come out by January 20.
To appear on a standings list at all, a player needs at least 1 point from an on-court win. A walkover does not count for this.
How this fits with UTR and WTN
USTA points measure results in USTA tournaments. They decide who gets into the next level of events and who is seeded. UTR and WTN measure level from match scores, and college coaches look mostly at UTR. Our UTR vs USTA guide explains when each one matters. Sections also use WTN to select and seed some events.
Sources
Checked October 16, 2026:
- USTA Junior Tournament, Ranking, and Sanctioning Regulations (as of January 1, 2026) — levels (Reg. II, III, IX.G), ITF events that count (Table 13), best-6 and 15% doubles (Reg. IX.I and VII), 200-point ranking minimum (IX.M), ranking dates (IX.P)
- USTA Junior Tournaments Ranking System point tables — all points tables and bonus points (the PDF footer says “Updated January 2025”; it is the file the USTA links for 2026)
- USTA: Overview of the National Junior Ranking System (2026) — PPR calculation, standings vs rankings, bonus point rules
