Draws FAQs

About the Draws

The Litchfield Watercade Tennis Tournament is an event within the larger Litchfield Watercade community celebration that takes place each summer. We have been very fortunate over the the many years of this tournament to have so many players join us each year. However, this can be a blessing and a curse when scheduling the event! At the core of the tournament is the belief in good sportsmanship, having fun, and protecting the health of all players attending the tournament.

Below we will try to cover the most frequently asked questions when looking at draws for the tournament so you know what to expect when you join us!

Q: What are “if necessary” matches?

All events have a 2 match guarantee. If a player loses their first match, they will move into the consolation bracket. Any loss after the first match played and the player is eliminated. Therefore, there are situations where a player in the consolation bracket will advance because the player who they lost to in the first match is then eliminated by a player who had a bye in their first match. If the player who had a bye in their first match loses, they would move to the consolation bracket because that was their first match played. This can unfortunately lead to longer delays for the first match in a consolation bracket as you may need to wait for the main draw bracket to move forward to find out if you need to play.

Q: Why do you schedule so many matches on Friday?

You will notice that the schedule is weighted more heavily towards the beginning of the tournament and that is on purpose. It is crucial to schedule matches on Friday to help the tournament:

Allow schedule flexibility in case of rain/weather delays.
Allow extra time for rest due to extreme heat. Meteorologically, our tournament is played on the hottest weekend of the summer.
Allow for players and families to participate in other Watercade activities when needed.

It is important to note that the tournament directors may, at their discretion for the safety of players, shorten matches in the event of lengthy weather delays or extreme heat.

If matches need to be shortened due to time constraints due to weather or extreme heat – we will use the “short set” format. This is where each set begins at 2-2 and you then play out the set as normal.

Q: How do you handle TBD match scheduling

Some matches, particularly consolation bracket matches later in the day on Saturday may have TBD times attached to them. This is done because at the time of the draws, there are players in that draw playing multiple events. Historically, just under 1/2 of the players at the tournament each year are playing multiple events. Because there are 7 different events across men’s, women’s, and mixed, you can have quite a combination of possible scenarios that play out over the course of the tournament.

We attempt to schedule the tournament in a way that those “TBD” times will get ironed out well in advance of the actual match as players advance through brackets, times and availabilities for matches (with applicable rest for players) can be scheduled.

How we communicate updates for matches (Weather, TBD, etc)

Follow us on Facebook and/or Twitter for tournament updates
The draws on this website will be updated at least once per day at the end of play for the day. Will likely be updated during Saturday’s play as well.
Draw sheets are posted at the tournament desk (High School Courts)
We will contact players via text or voice at the phone number provided in their registration (or tournament director may ask for a number if players plan to leave the tournament site and next match is unknown.