Partnering with the Parkes Tennis Club, Dubbo's Paramount Club hosted the first in a series of tournaments run under the Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) banner, something that has only just been introduced into Australian tennis.

The new style sees players rated based on up to their past 30 matches, allowing them to play against another player based on their standard, rather than their age or sex as in other competitions.

Paramount Club coach Matt Edwards said to start with they had aimed the competition at higher rated players who had been missing out while unable to play due to COVID-19 restrictions.

"We had some of the best from the region with players from Gunnedah, Warren, Parkes and Dubbo over the weekend," he said.

"The beauty of the system is that it is purely standard based, so we had a 12-year-old junior playing against a 50-year-old experienced player.

"In another game we had a 14-year-old girl from Gunnedah playing against the top Dubbo men, and she competed really well against them.

"It really increased the pool of players you can play against, as well as letting the juniors play against the experienced players, and the experienced players playing against each other in some good competition.

Edwards said the new style was 'brilliant for Dubbo'.

"It's especially great for regional players because it makes the pool so much bigger for who you can play against. In the past we have struggled to get number for traditional tournaments sometimes, but now everyone is just pooled together.

"It will only grow, the great thing is that the more people that come and play, they can get rated, and then be placed in the draws.

Edwards said they were looking at doing it with the local competitions as well.

"If you are placed in the right draw, then you can get some really good tennis played."

The second tournament will be played in Parkes in the coming weeks, with Paramount to host the third tournament at the end of the month.