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What is Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS)?
- Scoring Format
- UTS Tournament Format
- How UTS Rankings Work
- UTS Players
- Prize Money
- Where to Watch UTS?
- History of UTS
- Trivia
- Read More:
Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) is an internationally hosted private tennis league. UTS was created to offer a more engaging tennis experience, featuring shorter matches and a more lenient code of conduct. Each match is divided into four 8-minute quarters, and the serve shot clock has been halved to 15 seconds to increase the pace of play.
The concept of shorter matches is designed to transform traditional, longer matches into fast-paced, action-packed “Showdown” spectacles.
One of the main goals of this format is to make tennis more appealing to younger generations. According to the founders of UTS, modern tennis is too restrictive, which limits both diversity and emotion in the game. Under these constraints, players must fit their personalities into a predetermined mold. While this preserves the classic nature of tennis, it also prevents the sport from evolving.
With its innovative format, UTS aims to create a more modern and distinctive tennis competition for the younger generation of spectators.
Scoring Format
🚀 Quick Start
- No warm-up: the match starts as soon as players enter the court.
🎯 Serve Rules
- Players have one serve only.
- No-Let rule: if the serve hits the net and lands in the service box, play continues.
- Serve shot clock: 15 seconds.
⏱ Match Structure
- 4 quarters of 8 minutes each (32 minutes total).
- 3-minute changeovers at the end of each quarter pause the timer.
- Quarters use tie-break format: players serve 2 points in a row.
- The player with the most points wins the quarter.
🏆 Determining the Winner
- First player to win 3 quarters wins the match.
- If both players win 2 quarters, a 5th “Sudden Death” quarter decides the winner.
💡 Bonus Cards
- Players can use bonus cards to increase the value of the next point.
- Applies only to the player who uses the card.
👥 Coaching & Communication
- Coaching is allowed: players can communicate with their coaches and fans.
- During the match, the coach remains on the player’s bench, except while the point is in progress.
- During changeovers, players are given a headset to talk with their coaches, interact with fans, and answer questions from the interviewer.
Quarter Scoring Format
A quarter is played in a tie-break format for 8 minutes. When the time is up, the quarter points are evaluated, and play continues.
- The player with the point advantage must score one more point to win the quarter.
- The trailing player, known as the “challenger,” can attempt to catch up and draw level with the leader. However, the challenger must do so without losing a single point—otherwise, they lose the quarter.
Example:
At the end of the quarter, Roger leads Leo 10–1. To win the quarter:
- Roger needs 1 more point.
- Leo needs 11 consecutive points to catch up.
If both players have won the same number of points in a quarter, a sudden death is played. In sudden death, a player must win two points in a row to win the quarter. Every point from the second point onward counts as a match point.
In short, the first player to reach 11 points wins the quarter.
Bonus Cards
Each player can use one bonus card per quarter. The bonus card multiplies the value of the next point by 3. If the player who used the bonus card wins the next point, they are awarded 3 points instead of the usual 1. However, the effect of the bonus card only applies to the player who used it; if their opponent wins the next point, they are awarded the normal 1 point.
UTS Tournament Format
3-Day Tournaments 3️⃣
- Players are divided into 2 groups of 4: Group A and Group B.
- The top 2 players from each group qualify for the Final Four (semi-finals and final).
Group Standings Rules:
- Highest number of wins
- The highest number of matches played
- Head-to-head results (if only 2 players are tied)
If 3 players are tied:
- Player with the best quarter average (won quarters − lost quarters)
- Player with the best point average (won points − lost points)
- Lucky draw
Schedule:
- Friday: 4 round-robin matches featuring all 8 players
- Saturday afternoon: 4 round-robin matches
- Saturday evening: 4 round-robin matches
- Sunday: 2 semi-final matches followed by the final
2-Day Tournaments 2️⃣
- Quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final
- 2 classification matches
Schedule:
- Day 1: 4 quarter-final matches featuring all 8 players
- Day 2: Classification matches, semi-finals, and final
UTS Grand Final 🏆
- The final event of the league where the UTS Champion is crowned.
- 8 players compete for the title.
Ways to Qualify:
- Winning a regular event grants direct entry to the final.
- The top 3 players in the UTS Race Rankings qualify, excluding winners of regular events.
- At least 2 wild card players are selected.
How UTS Rankings Work
The UTS League consists of two types of events: Regular Events and the Grand Final. The league uses its own ranking system, called the “UTS Race Rankings,” where players earn points based on their results in Regular Events. After each Regular Event, points are distributed to the players, and the UTS Race Rankings are updated accordingly.
| 3-Day tournament | 2-Day tournament | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | 20 points | 16 points |
| Finalist | 15 points | 12 points |
| Semi-finalist | 11 points | 9 points |
| 3 DAY: Eliminated in Round Robin with 1 win 2 DAY: Eliminated in the quarter-final and won in the classification match | 8 points | 7 points |
| 3 DAY: Eliminated in Round Robin with 2 wins 2 DAY : Tied 5th (loser QF + winner of classification match) | 6 points | does not apply |
| 3 DAY: Eliminated in Round Robin without wins 2 DAY: Eliminated in the quarter-final and lost in the classification match | 4 points | 4 points |
| 3 DAY : Eliminated in Round Robin with 1 win 2 DAY: Eliminated in the quarter-final and won in the classification match | 1 point | 1 point |
This ranking is used as one way to determine the players who are qualified for the UTS Grand Final.
UTS Players
The following players compete in the 2025 UTS:
Prize Money
The prize money in UTS varies, with regular events offering around 1 million USD (€930,000) and the Finals featuring approximately 1.8 million USD (€1,674,000).
Where to Watch UTS?
Live Events
UTS can be watched live at the events, and tickets and locations can be found here.
Streaming Services
UTS is also available through country-specific streaming services. The streaming options vary by event, but the table below provides an overview.
| USA 🇺🇸 | EU 🇪🇺 | Other countries 🌐 |
|---|---|---|
| Tennis Channel/T2 | Discovery + / Max | UTS Live App |
| La Chaine L’Equipe / L’Equipe Live | ||
| Tennis Channel / T2 |
History of UTS
UTS was founded in 2020 by Serena Williams’ former tennis coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, and businessman Alex Popyrin. Initially, UTS was created to address the disruption caused by COVID-19. Since its launch, the league has taken place every year except 2022.
Trivia
- Did you know that in UTS events, competing players have their own nicknames? For example, Ben Shelton is called “The Hammer,” and Alex de Minaur is called “The Demon.”
