The tour

Rules & Code of conduct

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Rules

All tournaments organized by the Rafa Nadal Tour by Santander will be regulated by the RFET (Real Federación Española de Tenis - Spanish Tennis Federation). The competition committee, composed of the referee, the director of each tournament and the director of the tour, will decide on any extraordinary event or issue of any kind that may arise during the tournaments.

Any player with a valid license can participate in the Rafa Nadal Tour by Santander (this is an essential requirement):
• U-12 category: players born in 2013 (those who will be 12 years old during the ongoing year).
• U-14 category: players born in 2011 (those who will be 14 years old during the ongoing year).
• U-16 category: players born in 2009 (those who will be 16 years old during the ongoing year).

Players from a foreign country who want to participate must apply for a separate license either through the Spanish Tennis Federation or any other local federation of their choice. These applications can be done online for most federations. The players’ ranking will be taken into account and, when appropriate, the points they get in the tournaments.

Players may only participate in one of the categories per tournament. That is, they cannot participate in U-12 and U-14 categories or U-14 and U-16 in the same tournament.

Matches will be played as follows:

• Qualifying draw U-12, U-14 and U-16 (girls and boys).
  Two sets with a tiebreak in both sets. In case of one set all, a super tiebreak will be played.
• Main draw U-12 (girls and boys)
  Two sets with a tiebreak in both sets. In case of one set all, a super tiebreak will be played.
• Main draw U-14 and U-16 (girls and boys)
  To the best of 3 sets with a tiebreak in all sets.

The seeds for the first tournament will be assigned taking into account their ranking from the Spanish Tennis Federation.

From the second tournament onwards, the first 8 seeds of the Main Draws will be seeded according to the ranking of the circuit, and they will go directly to the second round. The seedings from 9 to 16 will always be by national ranking. The seedings in the Preliminary Phase will be by national ranking.

For the tour's master tournament, the seeds will be classified taking into account the ranking achieved in the tournaments of the tour.

In order to play the Rafa Nadal Tour by Santander Master in Mallorca, in the U12 and U14 categories, it is necessary to have played a minimum of 5 of the 8 tournaments (in these 5 tournaments, one of them can be the Spanish Championship). In the U16 category it is necessary to have played a minimum of 4 of the 8 tournaments (in these 4 tournaments, one of them can be the Spanish Championship).

Otherwise, the player classified by ranking within the seven places (in the U12 and U14 categories), or within the 6 places (in the U16 category), will lose the right to participate. It is necessary to have participated in the 5 tournaments in the U12 and U14 categories, as well as 4 tournaments in the U16 category. In other words, it will not be valid to have registered and then not take part in the tournament for whatever reason. The presentation of a medical certificate is not sufficient. This requirement is not necessary for the ranking of values. In any case, the Tournament Committee will decide and take the appropriate decision in each case.

In case of a tie between two or more players, either for the master tournament or for any of the tournaments of the tour, the following requirements will be taken into account in order to be eligible for a place in the master tournament or to be seeded in any of the tournaments of the Rafa Nadal Tour by Santander:

1. A match between tied players.
2. Completed rounds in tournaments.
3. The number of tournaments played.
4. Ranking of values.
5. National ranking.

Players who lose a match because of a WO (unsupported walkover) will not be entitled to points or prizes unless the competition committee decides otherwise.

In the event that any of the tied players had a penalty (point subtraction because of breaking the code of conduct and values) in any of the tournaments, he/she would move directly to the last position.

Since the 2016 edition, the Spanish U-12 championships and the U-14 Manuel Alonso Trophy have been included in the calendar. In the 2021 edition, the U-16 Spanish championship was also included. These tournaments will score for the ranking in the Rafa Nadal Tour by Santander and will count as a played tournament to qualify for the master tournament.

CODE OF CONDUCT

FOULS OR CODE VIOLATIONS	POINTS SUBTRACTED
WO in the first round (without a valid medical note)	-20
Disqualification by the referee or the competition committee	-100
Unsportsmanlike conduct during the tournament (in the hotel, locker rooms, restaurant, courts, etc.)	-60
WO after the first round	-10
Audible obscenity, foul language or verbal abuse	-30
Disqualification by the referee for not changing clothes	-30
Visible obscenity or vulgar behavior	-30
Racket/ball abuse	-30
Failure to use the best efforts during the competition	-50
Disqualification for leaving the court during a match without the authorization of the chair umpire, referee or assistant referee	-25
To withdraw from a match without a justified reason before it is finished	-25
To withdraw after the lists, draws and order of play have been published (even with a justified reason). This decision is made by the competition committee of the tour.	-20
To receive instructions from a coach, parents, etc., after a first warning by the chair umpire, referee, assistants or any member of the organization	-25
Leaving the towel next to a coach, parent, etc. after a first warning by the chair umpire, referee, assistants or any member of the organization	-25
Lack of punctuality once the game has been called and the court has been ready to play for 10 minutes	-5
Delay in starting a game (after 5 minutes warm-up)	-5
Use of inappropriate clothing as contemplated in the Spanish Tennis Federation regulations	-5
Use of illegal products, bribery, gambling and aggravating conduct	-50

Players have 15 minutes to show up for their match after the scheduled time or after he/she has been called, otherwise it will be considered default and the match will be forfeited because of WO, unless the referee, having considered all the events, decides not to do so. The player who violates this point will be penalized according to the established system of points deduction, being also subject to additional penalties if the competition committee so decides.