ii. Acceptance of the Wild Card does not result in the player exceeding her AER Wild Card Allotment or AER Tournament Allotment. 

## 4. Merited Increases 

Merited Increases are: (i) Tournaments that a player may play in addition to her AER Tournament Allotment (“Tournament Merited Increases”) and (ii) Wild Cards that a player may accept in addition to her AER Wild Card Allotment but that count toward her AER Tournament Allotment (“Wild Card Merited Increases”). A player who earns Wild Card Merited Increases may not exceed the calendar year WTA or Women’s ITF World Tennis Tour Wild Card maximums for singles or doubles. Subject to sub-Section b.ii(a) below, a player who earns both WTA 1000 Mandatory/Grand Slam Tournament Merited Increases and Pro Path Tournament Merited Increases may combine them but may not exceed four (4) total Tournament Merited Increases per birth year. 

A player must remain current with her Player Development requirements to qualify for Merited Increases. An eligible player’s use of Merited Increases is contingent upon her and her Support Team completing the requirements prior to these additional events. 

Merited Increases may be earned as follows: 

a. WTA 1000 Mandatory/Grand Slam Tournament Merited Increase 

i. A WTA 1000 Mandatory/Grand Slam Tournament Merited Increase is earned when a player 15-17 years of age has completed all of her Player Development requirements to-date and earned her way into the Main Draw or Qualifying of a WTA 1000 Mandatory Tournament or Grand Slam by a direct acceptance. 

ii. However, participation in a WTA 1000 Mandatory Tournament or a Grand Slam is not a Tournament Merited Increase and counts toward a player’s AER Tournament Allotment if the player is: 

(a) 14 years of age; 

(b) 15-17 years of age and was accepted by direct acceptance but has not completed her Player Development requirements prior to competing in the WTA 1000 Mandatory Tournament or Grand Slam; or 

(c) accepted by Wild Card. 

