what’s the difference between qualifying and main draws in tennis?
lenny asked:
Tags: Draws, Medibank International, sydney, Tennis
Sometimes if a player is not ranked high enough to automatically be allowed to enter a tournament, they must go through qualifying, this is the qualifying round. Whoever does well enough in the qualifying then gets put into the main draw.
Qualifying draws are tournaments for people who aren’t good enough or ranked high enough to be in the Main Draw. The top players from the Qualifying Draws are awarded slots in the Main Draw.
if you are not ranked high enough for automatic qualification into the main draw you must go through qualifying .
if you win through qualifying you get a position in the main draw
Here in San Jose, for the SAP Open, anyone can pay 62 bucks and try to qualify for the remaining 2 spots in the pro tournament. The qualifying round usually starts the week before. To become a pro, you just need to be a great tennis player. And a lowly 4.0 player can try to qualify just for the heck of it, and get killed on the courts for 62 bucks!
When gettign into a main draw of a tournament, it is based upon your ranking. This is why many try to enter the top 100, at least, this way has a better shot of qualifying for The Slams. However, the smaller tournaments, a ranked player, above 75, for most part, might have to go through qualifying, which puts you against other players trying to get into the main draw, by competing with each other, almost like a mini tournament. The winner of the qualifying gets a spot into the main draw, as well as a couple others. Also depending on if a player who was in the main draw, withdraws at last moment, a “lucky loser” might get the opportunity from qualifying to play. That is how you hear of lucky losers sometimes. All in all, a fair system, despite having to play extra matches, this not only gives them more experience, but the opportunity, solely on their efforts, to get into a big tournament.