The ITN is an international tennis number that represents a player’s general
level of play. In time it is hoped that every tennis player worldwide will have
an ITN. To facilitate
the rating of tennis players the ITF have developed a Description of Standards and an
objective On Court Assessment both of which can be used to rate tennis players in the
absence of competition results. The ITN on court assessment is made up of 5 sections:
The
assessment measures a tennis players accuracy power consistency and mobility and the
total score achieved corresponds to an ITN . Whilst the ITN On Court Assessment
have been developed primarily as an objective method of initially rating those
tennis players that have no history of competition results it can also be used as powerful
promotional tool at events and as a means for tennis players of all levels to measure
their improvements in certain aspects related to tennis play. It is felt that
the ITN On Court Assessment will allow countries to cater more fully to
the recreational tennis players that don’t
play competition on a regular basis.
What
is the ITN?
The ITF International Tennis Number (ITN) was created by the ITF as a
tool to help their member nations to increase tennis participation in their countries.
We were aware that very few of the ITF member nations had a national rating system
in place and it was recognised that countries that had a national rating system
in place tended to have high levels of tennis participation.
The 1-10 rating
system is very simple and easy for tennis tennis players worldwide to understand. The
creation of the sub-category for starter tennis players (ITN 10.3; 10.2; 10.1) has ensured
that all tennis players can be included because tennis players whatever their level can have
an ITN. For tennis players that are not yet at the ITN 10 level (where they can play
competitively e.g. serve and return / rally with a normal ball on a full tennis
court) a logical progression now exists within the ITN linked to the different
types of transition balls…3, 2, 1 – Tennis!
The
ITN On Court Assessment has been developed to allow countries to cater more fully
to the recreational tennis players that don’t play competition on a regular basis.
Whilst the ITF recognises some of the limitations of any non competition based
assessment in tennis (e.g. the static feeding, only assessing strokes in a closed
situation, only certain strokes being assessed etc.) we believe that the ITN
On Court Assessment is a powerful tool that can be used in conjunction with the
ITN rating system and to complement competition particularly for the recreational
tennis players. Not only can the ITN On Court Assessment be used as an objective method
of initially rating those tennis players that have no history of competition results
but it can also be used as powerful promotional tool at events and as a means
for tennis players of all levels to measure their improvements in certain aspects related
to tennis play.
(ITF - ITN Manual) - Click here to
read more on the ITN.
What
are the benefits of creating an objective official ITN Assessment?
The
ITN Assessment provides a mechanism to track the progress of young champions
around the world as they grow and develop. (E.g. It would be fascinating to have
the Assessment scores of Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt at different ages as
they developed. Imagine all the aspiring young champions measuring their own
progress against our current champions.The development
of the ITN On Court Assessment which was launched on a trial basis at the ITF
AGM in Rio in September 2003 took a great deal of research and trial testing.
The
ITF looked at many existing on court assessments that had been published over
the previous 70 years before agreeing on the assessment outlined in the ITN manual.
All of these assessments are referenced in the appendix of the ITN On Court Assessment
Guide. A Calculation formula has been developed which can be used in conjunction
with a nations competitive singles and doubles competitive structure to adjust
a tennis players ITN on a regular basis.The ITF believe that the ITN will over the next
few years change the face of tennis dramatically particularly for the recreational
tennis players. We have a chance through the ITN not only to attract new people to this
great game of tennis but also to retain tennis players…to
motivate these new tennis players and existing tennis players wherever they might be to play
more tennis. We expect that in a very short time most tennis tennis players in the world
will hold an ITN and the ITN will be recognised as the common rating language
of the tennis world.
Key
Benefits
• A
mechanism to attract non competition and new tennis players into the ITN system.
• An objective method for participants to measure their own improvement.
• Enable tennis players to make comparisons to other tennis players locally, nationally
and globally.
• A tangible path for participants to strive for and proceed along.
• A global database where tennis players can see how they rate compared to others
in their particular category around the world.
• A global bench mark that can be filtered and sorted by any number of
ways.
• An
on-court assessment based on a set number of tasks.
• A tool to measure control, accuracy and power in a set of tasks.
• A tool to enable tennis players to benchmark themselves against themselves and
others around the world.
• A tool to enable the comparison of tennis players around the world.
• An assessment tool to differentiate between tennis players of similar ability.
• A tool to encourage participation in tennis at all age groups and standards.
• A reward and recognition tool.
• A tool to enable tennis players to track their own development and improvement.
• A tool to motivate tennis players to improve.
Who
can participate in an Official ITN On Court Assessment?
• Any
person wishing to receive an understanding of their current level of play.
• Any person wishing to track their own development and improvement.
• Any person wishing to compare themselves with other tennis players on a local,
national and global scale.
• Any person wishing to get a clearer understanding of their tennis strengths
and weaknesses.
Click the image above to view a short video from one of Australia's most successful
tennis academies who have embraced the ITN On Court Assessment.
Andrew Kratzmann
Recently retired touring Professional Player
I have conducted ITN clinics and have graded over 200 people at all levels at clubs throughout Queensland.
The ITN is an ITF, (International Tennis Federation) initiative and is currently being implemented throughout the world. It is an on-court objective assessment that will enable all players worldwide to be linked through one rating system.
I have found this assessment to be of great benefit to clubs and coaches by enabling them to create competitive matches by putting people of the same standard against each other.
The most important benefit of the grading system that I’ve witnessed is that it creates a desire in people to play the game more.
95% of the people I’ve graded have said to me they think they can do better next time they take the test.
For example, say they have an ITN rating of 6 (1 being professional level and 10 being basic beginner level). When I put their ITN rating on the international website at oncourtassessment.com this person can then go and see how they rate by checking how other people at their club have rated.
This is when it creates healthy competition, when they see someone they think they can beat with an ITN rating of 5. This makes them want to practice more and do the test again to try and better their rating.
The On Court Assessment can be taken any amount of times. I have seen the clubs in Australia benefit from this new rating system by getting more kids and people interested in tennis and getting them more active physically.
I believe it can be of the same benefit to clubs throughout every country worldwide.Sincerely
Andrew Kratzmann
Recently retired touring Professional Player
