ICO Nations Cup is an independent ICO competition for national teams from all over the world. The competition is played as an annual tournament, taking place on a weekend in autumn each year. Only seeded nations are the last years finalists, seeded as Nr. 1 and Nr. 2 at the Final tournament.
Clashes and matches
A national team consists of at least three players – 2 male players (open category, but not as a rule) and 1 female player (women’s category, but not as a rule) – and not more than five players (3 players + 2 reserves that can step in for either singles or doubles matches). A clash between two national teams constists of 6 matches – 4 singles and 2 doubles matches. Matches (2-winning sets) are played in the following playing order:
| Match Nr. | Category | Team 1 | vs. | Team 2 |
| 1 | singles | Male Player 1 | vs. | Male Player 2 |
| 2 | singles | Female Player | vs. | Female Player |
| 3 | singles | Male Player 2 | vs. | Male Player 1 |
| 4 | doubles | Male Player 2 / Female Player | vs. | Male Player 2 / Female Player |
| 5 | doubles | Male Player 1 / Female Player | vs. | Male Player 1 / Female Player |
| 6 | singles | Male Player 1 | vs. | Male Player 1 |
The winner of clash is the national team with more victories in first 6 matches (6:0, 5:1, 4:2) and receives 2 points, while the defeated team receives 0 points. In case of a tied clash (3:3) after 6 matches in a group clash, the clash is tied and both teams receive 1 point. In case of a tied clash (3:3) after 6 matches in an elimination clash, the winner is decided by better sets ratio. In case of equal sets ratio, the winner is decided by better points ratio. In case of equal points ratio, the winner is decided by draw.
In case of a two or more teams with the same number of points on first place at the end of a Regional (group) tournament, the winner is decided by:
- the result(s) in a clash between these teams;
- the ratio between won and lost matches during the whole tournament;
- the ratio between won and lost sets during the whole tournament;
- the ratio between won and lost points during the whole tournament.
ICO rankings points distribution
ICO rankings points are awarded to winners of all matches at ICO Nations Cup tournaments. Winners of all singles and doubles matches at ICO Nations Cup Final tournament receive 150 points per won match for their respective (open, women and doubles only) category. No points are awarded for a lost match.
| ICO Nations Cup | Won match | Lost match |
| Final tournament | 150 ICO rankings points | 0 ICO rankings points |