WTA Tour Age Eligibility Rules

Updated: 3 May 1998

In 1994 the Women's Tennis Council (now called the WTA TOUR Council) adopted a new set of age eligibility rules which define the limits of participation in professional tennis tournaments for women ages 18 and younger.

The following chart outlines these new eligibility rules. The source for this information is the WTA TOUR.

WTA TOUR Age Eligibility Chart

--

-----+------------+--------------+-------------+---------------+------------
     |         N u m b e r   o f   A l l o w e d   E v e n t s              
 Age |  WTA Tour  |  ITF Futures | Grand Slams |   Wild Cards  | Non-Tour
-----+------------+--------------+-------------+---------------+------------
 18  | unlimited  |  unlimited   |    all      | WTA Tour, max | unlimited
-----+------------+--------------+-------------+---------------+------------
 17  | 13 + chps  |  13 + chps   |    all      | WTA Tour, max |     4
-----+------------+--------------+-------------+---------------+------------
 16  | 10 + chps  |  10 + chps   |  any via    | 3 (no GS)     |     3
     |            |              | qualifying  |               |      
-----+------------+--------------+-------------+---------------+------------
 15  | 4 Max Tier |  8 minus #   |     0       | 3 - Max of 2  |     1
     | III/IV only|  of WTA Tour |             |   into Tier   |
     | (no chps)  |  events      |             |    III/IV     |
-----+------------+--------------+-------------+---------------+------------
 14  |     0      |      4       |     0       | 3 ITF Futures |     1
     |            |              |             | (qualifying)  |
-----+------------+--------------+-------------+---------------+------------
 13  |     0      |      0       |     0       |       0       |     0
-----+------------+--------------+-------------+---------------+------------

Notes:

• chps = year-ending WTA Tour championships.
• A 15-year-old may compete in up to a maximum of 8 events, 4 or less of which can be Tier III/IV events.
• Non-tour events include such events as World Team Tennis and charity exhibitions but do not include closed national championships.
• Any player in the 14-17 age range who begins competing in 1995 will be treated under the rules as if they are one year older than their actual age. [Hence 14-year-olds Serena Williams and Anna Kournikova are currently subject to restrictions for 15- year-olds.]

Return to WTA Tour Results Plus