Players, parents, tournament staff, and coaches are entitled to nominate up to three players at each individual tournament held within the USTA Southern California section who have demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship during the designated contest period.

Any Southern California player competing in USTA L3-L7 or Junior Circuit tournaments within the USTA Southern California section during the designated contest period is eligible to participate in the USTA SoCal Ultimate Sportsmanship Challenge.

The Sportsmanship Award System includes a tiered reward system, wherein players who receive a specified number of nominations shall be awarded certain items.

Any player, parent, or tournament staff member may nominate individual players for the Sportsmanship Award by utilizing the Sportsmanship Award button on the tournament page within the Match Tennis App, or by using the respective external tournament nomination page.

The tiered reward system shall be as follows: 

– Three or more nominations: Ultimate Sportsmanship Challenge Limited Edition Bag Tag.
– Seven or more nominations: 40 oz Stanley Tumbler.
– Quarterly winner prize: The top female and male player will receive a $100 Tennis Warehouse gift certificate.

The quarterly prize time-frame is as follows:

– Winners of the 1st Quarterly Prize (March 1st – June 30th) will be announced mid-August.
– Winners of the 2nd Quarterly Prize (July 1st – September 30th) will be announced mid-November.
– Winners of the 3rd Quarterly Prize (October 1st – December 31st) will be announced mid-February.

In addition to the tiered awards, there shall be a Grand Prize Sportsmanship award given to the top female and male player with the highest number of nominations. The Grand Prize Sportsmanship award shall be awarded annually, with the female and male player who has the highest number of qualified nominations in the set time period being awarded the Grand Prize. 

– BNP Paribas Open Grand Prize
– Two (2) BNP Paribas Open tickets 
– One-night hotel stay for two provided by USTA Southern California

Pursuant to the regulations of this competition, participants shall be eligible for a maximum allocation of six (6) points/nominations for the individual designated as the nominations leader during a single tournament. All other participants shall be entitled to a maximum of five (5) points per tournament.

To maintain the integrity of the Sportsmanship Award System, several measures shall be implemented. The nomination process shall be monitored to ensure that nominations are valid and legitimate. The number of nominations that may be made by a single person shall be limited to prevent any one person from unfairly influencing the results. Parents or players who vote for themselves or their child shall be automatically voided. The technical system is designed to disallow such action. 

Additionally, each nomination shall require the nominator to fill in a text field listing the opponent of the match and why they are nominating the player, thereby encouraging votes for players who have earned it through action rather than simply for being friendly or popular. 

Finally, the nomination data shall be regularly reviewed and analyzed to identify any suspicious activity. Appropriate action shall be taken to ensure the integrity of the award system.

If a player receives a code violation, 2x the number of code violation points will be deducted from their accumulative nomination points to date in conjunction with the removal of nominations received from the coded event. 

If a player receives a second code violation, they will be automatically removed from the challenge.

The Sportsmanship Award System is an optional feature within the Match Tennis App and is not required for participation in USTA tournaments. The USTA Southern California Section and Match Tennis App shall not be held responsible for the conduct of individual players or the outcome of any matches. Awards are subject to availability and may be substituted with a similar item at the discretion of the Southern California Section.

The USTA Southern California Section and Match Tennis App reserve the right to modify or cancel the Sportsmanship Award System at any time without notice. By using the Sportsmanship Award System, users agree to be bound by these legal policies and disclaimers.

#1 – Family members cannot vote for their own family. 

#2 – Players cannot vote for themselves.

#3 – For equity and fairness, each player will be capped at five nominations per tournament, with an allowance of one additional nomination given to the player who received the most nominations in an event, for a maximum of six nominations per event. 

#4 – All players who accumulate a minimum of five nominations between March 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025 will receive a sportsmanship Ultimate Sportsmanship Challenge Limited Edition Bag Tag in recognition of their exemplary sportsmanship.

#5 – The player who receives the most approved nominations between March 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025 will receive the Grand Prize Trip for two to the 2026 BNP Paribas Open.

#6 – If a player receives a code violation, 2x the number of code violation points will be deducted from their accumulative nomination points to date in conjunction with the removal of nominations received from the coded event. 

#7 – If a player receives a second code violation, they will be automatically removed from the contest.

#8 – All nominations received are subject to validation by Sportsmanship Committee.

#9 – Each player, parent, coach or tournament official may nominate up to three players per tournament and may replace any vote at any time during the tournament up through the last day of the tournament by 11:59 PM, of which at that time the votes will be finalized and unable to be changed.

#10 – All nominations for the 2025 Ultimate Sportsmanship Challenge must be submitted by December 31, 2025.

If there is a tie for the grand prize, the winner will be selected based on the following criteria: 

#1 – The total number of nominations received by a player throughout the entire time period, exceeding the maximum limit of five nominations per tournament, will be considered if there is still a tie after the first criteria is evaluated.

#2 – A number will be computed by counting the number of tournaments where the player received the highest number of nominations. This count will be compared to other tied players to determine the winner.

The total number of nominations is calculated by multiplying the number of participants by the number of opportunities to participate and the number of nominations per opportunity: 

6500 participants x 12 opportunities x 5 nominations per opportunity = 390,000 total nominations 

To calculate the odds of winning, we divide the number of winning nominations by the total number of nominations: 1 winning nomination / 390,000 total nominations = 0.0002564 or 0.02564% Therefore, the odds of winning the contest are approximately 0.02564%.