Who is considered a competitive tennis player?

 There are two types of tennis players: Recreational and Competitive. First let's define these.

Recreational Tennis Player: As the name suggests, this player plays tennis for recreation, for fun. They do it socially. They like the work-out aspect of it. They don't play tournaments.

Suggested Practice Tennis Load: A few hours a week and 1-2 hours of private lessons to learn the proper technique for faster improvement and injury prevention.

Competitive Tennis Player: This player is serious about their tennis game. They play tournaments and compete at a high-level. Adults with NTRP Tennis Rating of 4.5 and above and Juniors who play Satellite and Open tournaments are considered competitive. Tennis is big part of their life.

In this section, I will focus on what it takes to be a top-level competitive player.

 Juniors 

Ages 9-13: This player is at the evolution/transformation phase. Learning the strong and proper technique is a must here. Conditioning is important.  

Suggested tennis practice load: 5-9 hours per week at earlier stages. 8-12 hours per week for later stages. Tournament and match play must be incorporated to prepare the player for the competitive phase (discussed next)

Ages 13 and up: This player is at the competitive phase. He/she has a personal desire to play tennis, rather than their parents' suggesting of it. The player loves tennis and wants to play at a very high, competitive level and is physically stronger at this phase. Tennis practices and conditioning become more intense. The player must be pushed harder at this level. The next 3-5 years will be the most fun, challenging part of their lives. This is the phase that a player will improve (or not) the most. This phase is their chance to make it big. The mental part of the game plays a big role here and the player learns to deal with emotions. 

Suggested tennis practice load: 15-25 hours per week including on-court (play) and off-court (mental, nutrition) conditioning. There is no easy way out here; If there were, everyone would turn pro.  The player must put in the work and have lots of dedication. He/she must make tennis most of his/her life in order to succeed. Tournament and match play is a must.