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How do you get a tennis federation licence in the Canary Islands?

Reviewed on Valid for the 2026-2027 season

How to get or renew a tennis licence in the Canary Islands for 2026-2027: who needs one, types, cost, steps, insurance and injuries.

To register as a tennis player in the Canary Islands you apply for a federation licence (licencia federativa) online, on the Canary Islands Tennis Federation (FCT) form or from your iSQUAD account, or through a federation-affiliated club. The FCT issues it, the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) validates it, and it covers one season, October to September. The FCT announced on 20 September 2026 that renewals for 2026-2027 were open, and from 1 October the new licence is required for any federation competition.

Who needs a licence?

  • Anyone who wants to compete. You need it for tournaments and championships sanctioned by the FCT and the RFET, from island championships to the Canary Islands Championships and the Spanish Championships.
  • Anyone who wants a national ranking. The RFET only ranks players holding a validated licence for the current season, and the ranking is updated monthly. How it is worked out is on the page about the RFET ranking.

You can hold only one licence per season. Your age category (alevín, infantil, cadete, júnior and so on) is not a choice: it follows from the age you turn during the calendar year, as the page on tennis age categories in Spain explains. So you renew the licence in October, but your category can change on 1 January, while the licence is still running.

Tennis licence from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027, while the age category can change on 1 January
You renew the licence in October; your category can change in January.

Which licence do you need?

When you apply you make two choices: who you register through, and what the licence covers.

Through a club or independent:

Option What it is for
Through a club Taken out through an affiliated club. Lets you play team competition for that club.
Independent (independiente) No club. Fine for individual tournaments, but not for team competition. On the form it appears as "FCT independiente" or, for some islands, as independent for that island.

What it covers: to play tennis, you choose the licencia competitiva on the FCT form, with its tennis option. The same licence has options for pickleball, beach tennis and wheelchair tennis, and the form also offers coach and umpire licences, which are not for playing.

In October 2025 the RFET introduced a school licence (licencia escuela), valid only for the amateur circuit (Circuito de Aficionados). To move from it to official competition you apply to your regional federation for a standard licence, paying the difference in its fee plus the RFET validation fee.

What does the licence cost?

Each regional federation sets its own licence prices, and the price includes the share that goes to the RFET. For 2026-2027, the FCT form works out the amount as you fill in your details: date of birth, island and licence type.

Prices for 2024-2025, the last table the FCT published:

Licence Age 2024-2025 price
Over 18 (Mayores de 18 años) 18 and over €55
Under 18 (Menores de 18 años) 9 to 17 €39
First licence, under 18 (Mi primera licencia) 9 to 17 €30
First licence, under 9 (Mi primera licencia prebenjamín) Up to 8 €20

In 2024-2025, the age used for the price was the age turned in the calendar year of the application, whatever the date of birth.

On Gran Canaria, the island government (Cabildo) presented on 19 June 2026, through its sports institute, the Instituto Insular de Deportes (IID), a line of support to pay the compulsory sports insurance of federation members under 16 on the island, as reported by the FCT. The FCT and the IID explain how it applies to each licence. This and other support is on the page about grants and support for young tennis players in the Canaries, and where the licence fits in a year's spending on what a season costs.

How do you apply, step by step?

  1. Choose a route. The FCT accepts three: your iSQUAD account, the FCT application form, or your affiliated club.
  2. Fill in your details. The form asks for full name, date of birth, sex, Spanish ID (DNI) or passport, nationality, address, email, phone and island.
  3. Pick a club or go independent. If you will play team competition for a club, choose that club; if not, "FCT independiente" or, where it is listed, your island's independent option.
  4. Choose what it covers. To play tennis, the licencia competitiva for tennis.
  5. Pay and upload the receipt. The form shows the amount and asks for proof of your payment to the FCT, as a PDF or image under 2 MB. If you do not have the details for the payment, ask the FCT; if you apply through your club, ask the club how to pay.
  6. Wait for validation. The licence takes effect when the FCT issues it and, for the RFET, when it is validated on the RFET's platform. From then on it counts for tournaments and the ranking.

The form also asks you to choose whether or not you consent to the FCT using your image to publicise and promote tennis. You can say no. For a minor, the choice is made by whoever holds parental responsibility.

When does it need renewing?

Every season: the licence does not renew itself. According to the FCT, from 1 October the previous season's licence no longer counts for federation competitions. A licence taken out mid-season runs from validation until 30 September 2027.

What does the licence include?

  • Sports accident insurance, the compulsory cover set by Spain's Royal Decree 849/1993. It covers injuries from an accident while playing, not chronic or overuse conditions.
  • Competition: sanctioned tournaments, the Canary Islands individual and team championships, and national events.
  • Ranking: your results count towards the RFET national ranking.
  • Representative teams: you can represent the FCT or the RFET if selected.
  • Discounts on tickets for events such as the Davis Cup or the Billie Jean King Cup where the organisers allow it, plus sponsors' offers.
  • A licence on your phone through the E-Tenista app, which also shows the order of play and your ranking.

What should you do if you are injured playing?

The FCT asks you to follow its sports accident protocol. Care is given at the medical centres and by the doctors the insurer has approved.

  1. Call the insurer's 24-hour emergency line, 900 90 97 66, which tells you which approved centre to go to. If life is at risk, go to the nearest hospital first and call afterwards.
  2. Report the accident within seven days. Without that report there is no cover.
  3. Send the accident form from the FCT website and the medical reports to the insurer.
  4. Get authorisation before every non-urgent appointment, test or physiotherapy session, or the cost falls on you.
  5. Do not play while you are on medical leave for the injury, which lasts until you are signed fit. If you play, the insurer closes the claim and stops covering your treatment, and a new accident during that time is not covered either.

Common questions

Can you change club when renewing?

To change club, the FCT asks for a club change document signed by everyone involved and stamped by the clubs. For 2024-2025 the FCT also said that licences were released on 1 October, so you could change club at renewal without the old club's authorisation; for 2026-2027, check with the FCT. The limits a change places on team play and the Canary Championship are on the page about junior competition in the Canaries.

Can you play team tennis for a club in another Spanish region?

Only with an independent licence from the Canaries plus an RFET authorisation (habilitación). For junior categories the RFET grants it only when the player moves home, and place of study if in education, to that region, with documents to prove it.

Is a Canary Islands licence valid in the rest of Spain?

Yes. Once validated by the RFET, it covers official competitions across Spain. How players make that step is on the page about moving from island tournaments to national and international ones.

How can you check your licence is current?

In your iSQUAD account, in the E-Tenista app, or with the FCT's search for current licences, using your DNI or passport number.

Sources

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