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.::.A Beginner's Guide to Fill-in-the-Draw.::.
1. What is Fill-in-the-Draw (FITD)?
FITD is simple and only takes a few minutes each week. You just post a full predicted draw for the current WTA tournament. That's all of the winners of all of the matches for every round. You then score points for each correctly chosen winner of each match.
2. So how do I post my draw?
You can begin predicting once the main draw has been made. Post your predictions in the form of "A def B" or "A d. B" (not "A loses to B" please). You may also write down the winners' name only.
Please make sure you write down the player's full name or surname, no nicknames please!
Please note that the tournament manager can use their discretion as to what is an acceptable format or not.
3. Is there a commitment thread I need to post in first?
No commitments are required for FITD, just post your picks in the tournament thread! However, all draws must be made before the first ball of the first main draw match is struck. Any draws posted after this time will not be counted!
There are no special rules for new posters either. Everyone is welcome to play whether you have 2 posts or 20,000 posts; if you've been a member for 1 week or 5 years!
4. The main draw has started and the qualifiers are still unknown. Can I change my draw once they're placed?
No you can't. Occasionally the qualifying rounds are finished before the main draw has started, but if the qualifiers are still unknown you can indicated them as "Q" or "Qualifier".
If two qualifiers are drawn to face each other you must specify which one you want to win in the form of, for example, "Q1 def Q2". If you do not do this, that particular pick will not be counted.
5. A player has withdrawn. Can I change my draw?
You can change your draw only if the withdrawing player was seeded. If this is the case, make sure you make a new post and quote your previous draw. If play has already begun and the seeded player then withdraws unfortunately this is just bad luck.
6. Why must I quote my old pick? Wouldn't it be easier to edit my post?
It would save you one post but the tournament manager would not be sure of the exact reason for you editing your picks. So to keep this game as fair as possible there is this no editing rule and any edited post will not be counted UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Don't worry if the formatting gets lost in transit, we can pick out your predications no problem!
7. Ok, so I've posted my draw what happens now?
You can sit back and relax! Once each round of the tournament is completed the tournament manager will give you points for each player you correctly predict into the next round. These points are based on the WTA ranking points the pro players gain in a tournament. For example scoring for a Grand Slam uses these points:
2000....Picking the correct winner
1400....Picking each correct finalist
900.....Picking each correct semi finalist
500.....Picking each correct quarter finalist
280.....Picking each correct player into Round of 16
160.....Picking each correct player into Round of 32
100.....Picking each correct player into Round of 64
So say for example you predicted the following at the US Open quarter final stage:
Dementieva..def....Sharapova
Jankovic....def....Kuznetsova
Serena......def....Venus
Ivanovic....def....Wozniacki
And the actual real winners were:
Sharapova
Jankovic
Serena
Wozniacki
You will score 1800 points for guessing two of the semi finalists correctly (900 x 2 = 1800).
The poster with the most accumulated points at the end of the tournament will be champion.
8. I have predicted the right winners but my Quarter Final doesn't match the real Quarter Final. Does that mean I won't score any points?
As long as you guess the correct winner you will score points regardless of who they actually play in their matches.
9. What if there's more than one tournament each week? Can I play in all of them?
Yes you can, but the highest number of ranking points you earn from only one of the tournaments will count towards your ranking.
10. How do the rankings work exactly?
FITD has two sets of rankings - the Race and the Overall 52-week system.
Both use a special set of ranking points depending on the grade of a tournament and can be found here
The Overall 52-week system only takes into account your 18 best tournaments. These are made up of the 8 mandatories (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing) and your 10 best other results. Here's an example below:
Here is the breakdown for my current ranking. The mandatory tournaments are in bold at the top, followed by my 10 best other results. My 17th best result is the 70 points I gained from New Haven. This means in order to improve my ranking, I need to gain more than 70 points each week.
The Race starts afresh each January and those who finish 1st-16th at the end of the year will take part in the SEC in Doha and those who finish 17th-32nd in the standings will play the TOC in Sofia. There are no cut-offs for these ranks, all weeks count!
You gain a ranking after you've competed in your first tournament.
The rankings can be found here: Race and Overall
11. Do I need to be a certain rank to play in some tournaments?
No, you can enter any tournament grade whether you are ranked #1 or #999!
Only the YEC is restricted to the top sixteen finishers in the Race rankings.
12. Can I be a tournament manager?
Of course, just sign up here. However, we would prefer it if you've already played FITD for a few weeks first or if you've already had experience running a tennisforum.com game before!
13. Any other questions/queries/complaints/comments?
If you think one of us has made a mistake or have any other questions, feel free to PM one of the tournament managers and we'll be happy to try and help! Also, if you have any suggestions that you think will improve the game then don't hesitate to say.
