Knock-out Competition
(presented by KNLTB, The Netherlands)
What is a knock-out competition?
Knock Out is the most famous format in tennis, players are put in a draw the winners progress to the next round the losers drop out. (See Knock Out with Consolation, which has a second draw for players knocked out in the first round)
Organiser tips
COURTS AND PLAYERS: Minimum of 16 players is best in a knockout, though byes can be given if you don’t have enough players. Aim to have enough courts for the first round so that all or most first round matches can be played in a day.
SCORING: Choose a scoring format. Best of 3 tiebreak sets works well. For younger players, or if you have less time, play best of 3 tiebreak sets to 4 games (44tb). Players score their own matches.
SCORESHEETS: Display and update a drawsheet (see page 2) so players can see the draw and keep up with who wins and loses.
Activity
ORDER OF PLAY: Conduct the draw. If seeding players, keep them separate for the first round (see page 2). Once you have drawn your matches, give players a time to arrive and sign-in and play their matches. You may give different times to different players so that 50% of players arrive at 10.00 hours and 50% arrive at 12.00 hours, allowing time for the first 50% of matches to be played and out of the way before the other 50% are ready to start.
AT THE END: The winner at the end is the player who progresses through all the rounds and wins the final.
NOTE: The knockout format is not recommended for starter players or those under 10 years of age.
Adapt the Format
Many formats can easily be adapted to suit players aged under 10, mixed ages, teams and to be a more or less competitive event.
Download ‘ADAPTING COMPETITION’ for a quick and easy guide to adapting this format to suit your needs.
Themes
Many competitions are more fun and easier to promote if they have a theme such as Davis Cup, Olympics or Family Day attached.
Download ‘ADDING THEMES’ for ideas.
Sample Knock Out
In this draw because there was one player too few, in the first round Roger received a bye straight to the second round.
Also see that Roger, the number 1 seed, and Rafa, the number 2 seed, have been kept at opposite ends of the draw, this stops them from meeting until the final.
Blank Score Sheet
