Failure to Play Policy

No Show

A no show occurs when a player does not appear for his/her match, and there has been no contact or prior notification from the player that he/she would not appear for the match. For penalty purposes, a no-show player would be considered as having been defaulted. Ordinarily, a player that is a no show would be replaced in the draw by a Lucky Loser or an Alternate; however, if no replacement is available, the match would be recorded as a walkover. 

Withdrawal

A withdrawal occurs when, prior to commencing his/her first match of an event (including during the warm-up period prior to his/her first match), an entered player informs the Referee or Tournament Committee that, for a bona fide reason, he/she is unable to compete in the tournament. The vacancy in the draw created by a withdrawal will generally be filled by a Lucky Loser or an Alternate, if one is available. If no Lucky Loser or Alternate is available, the match would be recorded as a Walkover. A withdrawal that occurs after the withdrawal deadline (or after the draw has been made) is generally considered as a late withdrawal and is subject to the appropriate penalties. 

(FTP) Failure to Play Points

This is an OTA policy that takes effect when players withdraw late or fail to complete all required events in a tournament, regardless of the reason. The player will then receive one Failure to Play penalty point. Once a player accumulates three (3) Failure to Play points within a 12 month span (eg. if point received on february 2nd 2025, it will expire on february 2nd 2026), they will be suspended for 3 months pending the appeal. 

In the event a player receives three Failure to Play points in a 12 month span, they will be notified by the OTA and have their opportunity to explain their reasons for withdrawing such as injuries of family matters, illnesses, etc. Each individual appeal will be treated on a case-by-case basis due to the nature of withdrawals. 

The Failure to Play policy is instated to prevent players from consistently withdrawing from tournaments due to illegitimate reasons such as not wanting to participate in consolations or doubles. Injuries are subject to failure to play as well.