How do tennis age categories work in Spain?
Your category is set by the year you were born. The RFET's seven categories, who plays in each and which draws you can enter.
In Spanish federation tennis, your category depends only on the year you were born: what counts is the age you turn between 1 January and 31 December, not your actual birthday. The Royal Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) sets seven categories: under 10, alevín, infantil, cadete, júnior, absoluto and veterano. Everyone moves up on the same day, 1 January. In junior tournaments you can play your own category and some older ones, never a younger one.
Which categories are there, and who plays in each?
| Category | Age you turn this year | Born in | Junior draws you can enter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 (sub-10) | 10 or younger | 2016 or later | Under 10 and alevín |
| Alevín (under 12) | 11 or 12 | 2014 or 2015 | Alevín and infantil |
| Infantil (under 14) | 13 or 14 | 2012 or 2013 | Infantil, cadete and júnior; absoluto only in the second year |
| Cadete (under 16) | 15 or 16 | 2010 or 2011 | Cadete, júnior and absoluto |
| Júnior (under 18) | 17 or 18 | 2008 or 2009 | Júnior and absoluto |
| Absoluto (open) | 19 to 29 | 1997 to 2007 | Not a junior category |
| Veterano (+30 to +90) | 30 or older | 1996 or earlier | Not a junior category |
The ages come from the RFET Licence Regulation (article 4.4); the birth years are those ages subtracted from 2026. The last column is the entry table in the Technical Regulation 2026 (section III.B). The first five make up the junior category, which the same regulation defines as running up to and including age 18.
The Spanish names stay as they are in English too: they are the words on every entry list and draw. Many regional federations call the under-10 category benjamín. The Canary Islands Tennis Federation, for example, refers to "junior draws (benjamín to júnior)".
Veterans are split into five-year bands: +30, +35, +40 and so on up to +90. You join each band on 1 January of the year you turn that age.
An example
A player born in 2012 turns 14 in 2026, so she is infantil for the whole year, even if her birthday is in December. It is her second infantil year, so on top of the infantil, cadete and júnior draws she can enter absoluto draws. If that absoluto draw has prize money, she can only enter once she has actually turned 14 by the day the main draw starts. On 1 January 2027 she becomes a cadete.
Exceptions worth knowing
- Minimum age. To play an official tournament you must be 8 by the day the main draw starts. In regional under-10 championships and their qualifying events, the regional federation may let players take part throughout the year in which they turn 8 (Technical Regulation 2026, III.B).
- Under 10. Played with a green-dot ball, over two short sets to 4 games and, if needed, a 10-point match tie-break; every event has a consolation draw when there are at least four entries (Technical Regulation 2026, III.G.4).
- Heat. In alevín and under 10, no matches are played between 14:00 and 16:00 when the temperature is above 38 degrees (Technical Regulation 2026, III.G.5).
- Tournaments that cross the new year. If a tournament starts in December and ends in January, the points use the tournament's age category, and your own category is set by the end date (Ranking Regulation 2026, article 12).
- In-between age draws. Some tournaments run under 9, 11, 13, 15 or 17 draws. In national junior circuits those draws score with a coefficient of 1.25, while the standard categories (under 10, alevín, infantil, cadete and júnior) can qualify for 1.75 or 2.5 (Ranking Regulation 2026, national junior circuits).
What does the category have to do with the ranking?
Points won in a draw limited to one age group are multiplied by a coefficient: 0.15 for under 10, 0.20 for alevín, 0.35 for infantil, 0.65 for cadete and 0.75 for júnior; in an absoluto draw they count in full. On top of that, under-10 players only score in draws up to alevín, alevines up to infantil, and infantiles up to absoluto (Ranking Regulation 2026, article 12). The RFET ranking page explains the rest.
Watch the word: the national ranking also has "categories", but they are something else. 1st category is numbers 1 to 50, 2nd A is 51 to 150, 2nd B is 151 to 300, and 3rd, from 301, is split into groups. They depend on your ranking position, not your age.
When do you move up a category?
On 1 January, everyone at once. The RFET calls it "sporting age": the change of age applies on that day for the whole year. Don't confuse it with the federation licence, which runs from October to September: you renew your licence in the autumn, but your category changes in January.
Common questions
Does a player born in December play in a lower category?
No. The category is set by the age you turn in the calendar year, so everyone born in the same year is in the same category from 1 January, whether their birthday is in January or December.
Can I play in a category below mine?
No. The Technical Regulation's table only allows your own category and some older ones. The referee will not accept an entry from a player whose category does not allow them into that event.
How many events can I play in one tournament?
Three at most, and only two of them singles. You can play two singles events of different categories in the same tournament, for example cadete and júnior if you are a cadete.
What is the absoluto category?
It is the category without a junior age limit: by licence, players who turn 19 to 29 during the year. Cadetes, júniors and second-year infantiles can also enter its draws.
Are the categories the same in the Canary Islands?
Yes. The Canary Islands Tennis Federation issues the licences and refers to the RFET Licence Regulation, so the age categories are the same as in the rest of Spain.
Sources
- RFET, Reglamento de Licencias 2025-2026 (from October 2025), articles 1 and 4.4.
- RFET, Reglamento Técnico de Competición 2026, sections III.B and III.G.
- RFET, Reglamento de Clasificación 2026 (from January 2026), general principles and article 12.
- Federación Canaria de Tenis, licence prices and procedures and federation fees for 2025/2026.
Consulted on 4 October 2026.