ITF Junior Circuit Rule Changes in 2026 Include Guidelines for New Round Robin Events, More Generous Coaching Parameters, Live Streaming and Scoring for J500s

Last month the ITF released a summary of the changes in its Junior Circuit regulations for 2026, which includes requirements for some substantial upgrades for the seven J500 tournaments.

I'll start with the new regulations for 2026, the majority of which are related to the introduction of early rounds of robin robin play in selected J30s and J60s.

This ITF article from last fall gives an overview of how these tournaments will work, including the information on how the World Tennis Number will be used for entries. The recently published 2026 regulations go into detail about entries, qualifying, the calculations for advancing to the quarterfinals, points earned and many other situations not encountered in standard elimination events.

The first tournament using this format in the United States will be the J30 in Hawaii in February; the J60 in Claremont California the following week is a standard elimination format. The full ITF calendar for 2026 is not out yet, but the USTA's 2026 junior tournament calendar does contain many of the ITF junior events, along with information on which format is being used for the J30s and J60s.

The round robin matches will be, as are all ITF junior qualifying matches, best of three sets, with a match tiebreaker in lieu of a full third set.

The minimum draw for a J500 event is now 48, down from 64 previously. I personally like 48 draws for J300s, but I would not support a reduction in the draws of the junior slams, so I view this change as an ominous sign. Since the pandemic, many J300s went to 32 draws and then never went back to their original draw size. I would support a regulation requiring J300s to have 48-player draws, because the ITF's "recommendation" for that draw size has been widely ignored.

Coaches Champion and Kortland at Orange Bowl

Off court coaching will now be allowed whether there is a chair umpire or not in all tournaments above the J60 level. Previously, off court coaching was allowed only when a match was chaired.

Off court coaching (“OCC”) (as defined in the Rules of Tennis) is permitted at Qualifying and Main Draw events within ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors J100, J200, J300, J500 and Junior Grand Slams. This applies to matches with and without a Chair Umpire. 

The Electronic Line Calling option, which is not new but I have yet to see at the ITF junior level (except junior slams), has a new requirement that the system must be ITF gold or silver certified. 

There has been a major revamping of the 16&U entry program, now called the Regional Reserved Program. For the past six years, the program was available only to players from Europe and South America, now all regions are included, with the World Tennis Number serving as the criteria for determining those slots.

The maximum number of tournaments for a 15-year-old on the ITF Junior Circuit has been increased from 16 to 18. There was no change for players aged 16 (25), 14 (14), and 13 (10).

An interesting change to the imagery rights, prohibiting any use of photos taken at an ITF tournament for less than four players at a time if used as in promoting an event.

(A) player imagery may only be used in materials featuring no fewer than four (4) players; (B) player imagery may only be used in promotions that reference their association with the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors; and (C) no player’s image may be used in a manner that is materially more prominent than the images of other player(s) used.

This is just a brief summary of the summary and in no way a comprehensive view of the changes. See the full rules and regulations for 2026 for more details.

The 2026 Tournament Organizational Requirements include several new ones for J500s and J300s that are fan-friendly.

Spectator Seating

At J300 tournaments, the main show court must offer a stand / seating for a minimum of 100+ people. 

At J500 tournaments, the main show court must offer seating and/or viewing for a minimum of 250+ people. A second show court must offer seating and/or viewing for at a minimum of 100 people.

And this is a change that will make my reporting from home much easier:

J300 and J500 level tournaments are recommended to provide live streaming on at least two (2) match courts during the tournament. 

At J500 tournaments live streaming on 2 courts is mandatory (my emphasis) from the quarterfinals onwards. 

At J300 tournaments it is recommended that live streaming is provided from the first round of main draw until the conclusion of the tournament. Any live stream must display an on-screen graphic with the names of the players. 

Live Scoring is encouraged at all tournaments. Live scoring is recommended for all Main Draw matches at J300 and J500 tournaments. 

J500 tournaments must provide live scoring for all matches where there is a Chair Umpire. J300 and J500 tournaments must provide live scoring on all courts with live streaming.

I will believe this happens when I see it, but I applaud the ITF for requiring the J500s to provide live scoring and live streaming. 

The Tournament Organizational requirements are interesting reading, changes or not, when it comes to what is required for tournaments offering hospitality. The Food and Drink is particularly aspirational; I have been at many tournaments where the required choices are much more limited than what is outlined here (page 40).