A new points ranking system has been blamed for low entry numbers which has resulted in the Riverina Open being cancelled this weekend

Jim Elphick Tennis Centre manager Tom Denahy said it was disappointing that the event would not be going ahead, however was left with no choice after a new ranking system that was introduced at the start of the year crucified entry numbers for the Riverina Open.

"It's a combination of a new ranking points system," Dehany said.

"The UTR (Universal Tennis Rating) ranking system that has affected how tennis players generate ranking points.

"It's a new system that was introduced on January 1 this year and it seems to have affected regional tennis centres and regional tennis tournaments."

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In addition to the points system, the cost of travel has also been listed as a possible factor in people's decision not to travel to Wagga and enter the event.

"Travel expenses are also a factor," Dehany said.

"Before someone could fly from Sydney to Melbourne or Adelaide for $99 to play in a tournament and now it is $500.

"Travel expenses have changed and perhaps there was also a clash with the Gears and Beers being on the long weekend which has always been an issue.

"People may have tried to get accommodation in Wagga and then realised there was nothing there, so they thought we will just go to Bathurst or go to a tournament closer to Sydney."

At the crux of the issue though is the introduction of the UTR system and the devastating effect it has had on regional competitions across Australia.

Where in the past where ranking was regulated by performance in Australian Ranking (AR) tournaments like the Riverina Open, players are now very much unregulated in how they acquire points via the UTR system.

Points are now being available in local social events, meaning there is no longer the need to travel five hours in order to compete for crucial ranking points.

In addition to the change of system, in order to be entered into the Riverina Open this year, guidelines mandated from Tennis Australia required players to be a member of Tennis Australia, to have a tennis id and also have a UTR ranking.

The consequence of the changes resulted in there only being 47 total entries for the event, when the last event held in 2019 had over 160.

In the open men's singles where entrants would usually sit at around 30-40, this year were reduced to only six.

In total there were 30 events planned for the Riverina Open this weekend with seven of those events not receiving any entries at all while the majority only got one to two entrants.

The scheduling of events has also been raised as a possible factor with other regional events told to move their tournaments to be held over the long weekend.

In the past the Bathurst Open was held on the first weekend of the school holidays, with the Riverina Open being held the following weekend.

The clash this year has resulted in a negative impact on entries for the Riverina Open while Bathurst has received over 240 entrants.

Unfortunately the issue has not only resulted in the cancellation of the Riverina Open with other regional events such as the Merimbula Junior's also being cancelled this week due to low entry numbers.

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