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New to tennis? Start here.

You do not need a ranking, a tournament, or a coach to start. Tonight, after practice, log it: what they worked on, how long, how good the work was, 1 to 5. That is a day won. The vocabulary below you will pick up as you go.

Watch this guide on YouTubeThe same guide, narrated, one chapter per screen. Opens on YouTube; nothing from YouTube loads on this page.

How scoring works (the 5-minute version)

• Points → games. 0 is "love," then 15, 30, 40, game. At 40–40 ("deuce"), traditional scoring needs two points in a row; many junior events use no-ad instead: at deuce, the next point wins the game, and the receiver picks the side.
• Games → sets. First to 6 games, win by two. At 6–6, a tiebreak (first to 7 points, win by two) decides the set.
• Sets → match. Usually best of 3 sets. Many junior events replace the third set with a 10-point match tiebreak: first to 10, win by two. It's fast and brutal, which is why the mental game matters so much.

Tournaments: how the ladder works

In the U.S., most junior tournaments run through the USTA. Events are tiered by level: entry-level local events up through sectional, regional, and national championships. The names vary by section, but the shape is the same everywhere:

• Local events: round-robins and one-day matchplays. Low stakes, high learning. Live here for a while; it's where match craft is built.
• Sectional-ranking events: multi-day draws, seedings, consolation brackets. Results start feeding rankings.
• National-level events: for later. The pathway is long by design.

The full ladder, Level 7 to Level 1, with who gets in and how the points work, is in USTA tournament levels explained. Players also compete outside USTA: high-school tennis, UTR-rated flex leagues and verified events, and team formats like Junior Team Tennis.

The ratings alphabet: WTN, UTR, rankings

The long version, with what feeds each number and why a win can lower a rating, is in UTR vs WTN vs USTA rankings.

Tournament-day survival kit

The full day, from check-in to the handshake, with a printable version of this list, is in Your first USTA tournament.

• Two racquets minimum (strings break), water + electrolytes, snacks that aren't sugar bombs
• Layers: matches start at 8am cold and finish at noon hot
• A printed or screenshotted draw; know the check-in desk and default time
• Sunscreen, a chair for you, and a charged phone (you're the scoreboard now)
• Patience: a "9am match" means 9am or whenever the court frees up

What great tennis parents do

• During the match: stay neutral. Players police their own lines and scores in juniors; that's the deal. Cheer good points (both kids'), say nothing about bad calls.
• After the match: the car ride home decides whether tournaments stay fun. Lead with "I love watching you play." The parents' guide has the full playbook.
• Long term: measure shows-up-and-works, not trophies. TierBreak's whole design exists to make the process visible so results can take their time: streaks, weekly reviews, proof from real points.

Where TierBreak fits from day one

In this order: log practices and win days for a week, track a match at a low-stakes event with two taps a point, read the Weekly Review together on Sunday. The Mental Pathway comes after the habit holds, and it is worth starting young: a ten-year-old who learns to breathe between points has a real edge at fourteen. By the time ratings matter, you will have years of the work written down behind them.

Next: Getting started: ten minutes →