UTS Rules

Each match consists of four quarters of 8 minutes + the time of a hypothetical Sudden Death.

The timer stops during the 3-minute changeover at the end of each quarter.

The 1st player to win 3 QTS wins the match. If both players are tied at 2 QTs apiece, the 5th QT is played in a ‘Sudden Death’ format.

The ‘Sudden Death’ is a dramatic cliffhanger where the first player to win two consecutive points wins the match. Every point from the second point onwards is a match point during the Sudden Death.

There is no warm-up: Players enter the court and the match starts straight away

During the quarter, Players serve two points each : player A serves for two points, then player B serves for two points, then player A serves for two points again, etc.

As a major change designed to reduce down time and create more rallies, UTS players are allowed one-serve only per point : missing the serve results in losing the point.

Finally, the ‘No-Let’ rule during serve will be in effect.

Each quarter lasts 8 minutes of regular time + quarter points at the end. During the 8 minutes of regular time, players score as many points as possible (with a tie-break counting style).

At the end of the 8 minutes, quarter points are played, and the leader has an advantage: he must only score one more point to win the quarter.

On the other hand, the challenger can try to fight back: he must draw level without losing a single point. If he manages to do so, a deciding point is played to award the quarter.

Example: after 8 minutes, player A leads by 13-9… then the first player to 14 wins the quarter.

If regular time expires on a tie, a deciding point is immediately played to award the quarter.

To make the matchups even more exciting, we’re introducing a bonus card.  Each player can decide to use this bonus card once per quarter, during the regular time only. The “Next point counts x3” effect applies only for the player who uses the card. And only for the very next point.

Coaches will be on the player’s bench all match long and will be allowed to coach at any time during the match, except during the point. They are equipped with microphones.

UTS aims at redefining the relationship between fans and players during matches. Each player is equipped with a headset during the changeover so that he can talk to his coach, his fans, and answer questions from an interviewer.

Moreover players can talk to each other during the match, except during the points. They are allowed to say anything, except insults and name-calling. Finally, fans can express themselves during the match, even during the points. No more silence, let’s make some noise to support UTS Players!

All UTS tournaments have a 8 players line-up and are packed across 2 or 3 days.

There are several types of tournaments:

3-day tournament with two Round Robin groups:

❖ 2 groups of 4 players (Group A / Group B)

❖ Each player contests in 3 Round Robin matches

❖ The best two players of each group qualify for the Final Four (semifinals & final)

❖ Note : this is the ATP Finals competition format that has been used by UTS Tour since 2023

3-day tournament with one unique Round Robin group:

❖ 1 group of 8 players

❖ Each player contests in 2 Round Robin matches

❖ The best four players qualify for the Final Four (semifinals & final)

❖ Note : this is an innovative format that has never been used prior to UTS Rio 2026

2-day tournament with a single elimination draw

❖ Quarter-finals, semi-finals and final

❖ 2 Classification matches

The final standings of each group are determined by :

❖ Highest number of wins

❖ Highest number of matches played

❖ Head-to-head results if only two players are tied

If three (or more) players are tied, then: 

a) Best quarter average (won quarters – lost quarters)

b) Best point average (won points – lost points)

c) Lucky draw

3-day tournament with two Round Robin groups:

• Day 1: 4 round robin matches, featuring all 8 players 

• Day 2 (afternoon session): 4 round robin matches, featuring all 8 players
• Day 2 (night session): 4 round robin matches, featuring all 8 players
• Day 3: 2 semifinals and the final
• For a total of 15 matches

3-day tournament with one unique Round Robin group:

• Day 1: 4 round robin matches, featuring all 8 players 
• Day 2: 4 round robin matches, featuring all 8 players
• Day 3: 2 classification matches, 2 semifinals and the final
• For a total of 13 matches

• 2-day tournament with a single elimination draw:
• Day 1: 4 Quarter-finals, featuring all 8 players
• Day 2: Classification matches, 2 semifinals, and the final, featuring all 8 players
• For a total of 9 matches

The UTS Championship is composed of 3 to 4 UTS Stages.

Each stage awards UTS ranking points according to the below table.

UTS Ranking System	UTS Stage
P1 “Tournament Winner”	15 points
P2 “Runner Up”	12 points
P3 “Semi-Finalist”	10 points
P4 “Semi-Finalist”	9 points
P5	7 points
P6	6 points
P7	5 points
P8	4 points
P9	3 points
P10	2 points

The ranking of the players will be calculated based on their best 3 results of the year (irrespective of the number of UTS stages across the year).

After each Stage, the points are distributed to the players and the UTS Ranking is updated.

The player ranked #1 at the end of the year is crowned UTS Champion.