College Tennis Scholarships and Recruiting
How to Get a College Tennis Scholarship?
More tennis scholarships are awarded to international athletes than domestic athletes. It is essential that a player actively pursues a coach, or they may never be noticed. Don’t put the fate of tennis scholarships to chance; show coaches you are passionate about attending their school by following these steps.
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Getting College Coaches at Your Matches
The higher level tournaments you play, the more likely a coach will make the trip out to see you. Having a video is a must to convince coaches to come see you in person. Also, certain coaches will frequent the same tournaments each year, and you will need to figure out which tournaments those are and qualify to play in them. Even before you attend these tournaments, make sure coaches know who you are by implementing these ideas.
How the Tennis Recruiting Process Works
Getting recruited in tennis relies heavily on the tournaments you play and the rankings that you earn. However, with so many different ranking systems both internationally and domestically, you need more than just a good ranking for a coach to want to recruit you.
You also need to have a plan and stick to it.
Don’t Let Academic Eligibility Stop Your Scholarship
Every college tennis coach has a different preference in the level of academics he requires.Check here to make sure you at least meet the ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ and NAIA minimum standards.
How Good are College Tennis Players?
Players at the top colleges are expected to have international and national experience, but you don’t have to in order to play college tennis. There are thousands of opportunities; take the time to explore different schools and study their rosters.
Men’s Tennis
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DI – Tier 1
- All-American
- All-State + Top state tournament finish
- All-Region + Regional Champion
- All-League/District + League Champion
- High School #1 Varsity Singles
- Top 100 USTA Ranking (age group)
- Top 200 ITF Ranking
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DI – Tier 2
- All-American
- All-State
- All-Region
- All-League/District + League Champion
- High School #1 player
- Top 250 USTA Ranking (age group)
- Top 300 ITF Ranking
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DII
- All-Region
- All-League/District
- High School #1-2 player
- Top 450 USTA Ranking (age group)
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DIII / NAIA
- All-Region
- All-League/District
- High School #1-3 player
- Top 600 USTA Ranking (age group)
Women’s Tennis
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DI – Tier 1
- All-American
- All-State + Top state tournament finish
- All-Region + Regional Champion
- All-League/District + League Champion
- High School #1 Varsity Singles
- Top 100 USTA Ranking (age group)
- Top 200 ITF Ranking
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DI – Tier 2
- All-American
- All-State
- All-Region
- All-League/District + League Champion
- High School #1 player
- Top 250 USTA Ranking (age group)
- Top 300 ITF Ranking
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DII
- All-Region
- All-League/District
- High School #1-2 player
- Top 500 USTA Ranking (age group)
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DIII / NAIA
- All-Region
- All-League/District
- High School #1-3 player
- Top 600 USTA Ranking (age group)
How Many Scholarships are Available per Team?
The number of tennis scholarships available varies by school and competition level. Depending on how important a scholarship is to you, finding the school with the most scholarships can be critical.
Not all colleges that are eligible to offer scholarships will choose to do so. For example, Ivy League schools choose not to offer athletic scholarships.Men’s tennis is an equivalency sport, which means all scholarships are not full scholarships. For example, in ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ D1, men’s tennis coaches can divide the value of the 4.5 scholarships available to them between as many players as they see fit.
Women’s tennis is a head count sport only in ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ D1, which means that all ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ D1 scholarships are full scholarships.
Men’s Tennis
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DI: 4.5
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DII: 4.5
NAIA: 5
NJCAA: 9
Women’s Tennis
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DI: 8
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DII: 6
NAIA: 5
NJCAA: 9
Number of College Tennis Programs
Men’s Tennis
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DI: 263
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DII: 161
*¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DIII: 314
NAIA: 92
NJCAA: 120
Total: 950
Women’s Tennis
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DI: 320
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DII: 212
*¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DIII: 361
NAIA: 110
NJCAA: 141
Total: 1,144
*¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ Division 3 schools do not offer athletic scholarships, but do offer other forms of financial aid.
IMPORTANT: NCSA College Recruiting provides a college search tool where you can explore Ìý²¹²Ô»å . What are you waiting for? Start your search today!
Who are the Best Tennis Programs at Each Division Level?
The opportunity to play college tennis and earn a scholarship toward your education can come from a school you might never have heard of. These are some of the best programs in their respective divisions: start your search here.
Men’s Tennis
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ D1:Virginia, Tennessee, Texas, Ohio State, USC, Florida, Baylor, Stanford, UCLA, Texas A&M, Kentucky, Georgia
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DII: Armstrong Atlantic, Valdosta State, Lynn, Ouachita Baptist, Barry, Hawaii Pacific, Florida Southern, Rollins, West Florida, Columbus State, Concordia, Lander
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DIII: Middlebury, Washington St. Louis, Emory, Claremont, Cal Lutheran, UC Santa Cruz, Carnegie Mellon, Amherst, Kenyon, Johns Hopkins, NC Wesleyan
NAIA: Fresno Pacific University, Auburn University Montgomery, Azusa Pacific University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Concordia University, Vanguard University, Oklahoma Christian University, Westmont College, Point Loma Nazarene University, Graceland University, Lindsey Wilson College
Women’s Tennis
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DI: Baylor, North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Northwestern, Notre Dame, UCLA, Stanford, Clemson, Duke, Miami, California, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Texas, South Carolina
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DII: Armstrong Atlantic, BYU-Hawaii, Lynn, Barry, West Florida, Abilene Christian, Hawaii Pacific, California (Pennsylvania), Clayton Street, Rollins, Columbus Street, Florida Southern, UC San Diego, Francis Marion
¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ DIII: Amherst, Williams, Emory, Chicago, Denison, Pomona-Pitzer, Gustavus Adolphus, Carnegie Mellon, Tufts, Washington and Lee, Johns Hopkins, Middlebury, Chapman, DePauw, Washington-St. Louis
NAIA: Auburn University Montgomery, Fresno Pacific University, Point Loma Nazarene University, Concordia University, Vanguard University, Brenau University, Azusa Pacific University, Oklahoma Christian University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Northwood University, Shorter College, Savannah College of Art and Design, Southern Nazarene University, Lindsey Wilson College
IMPORTANT: NAIA rule changes. You must now register with the NAIA Clearinghouse.
Tennis Scholarships. College tennis Recruiting
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