New to competitive tennis

Kristianne Bontempo | Towpath Tennis Contributor

You may be wondering why there's a sudden shift of excitement in the air at your club, why players are talking USTA teams, partners and uniforms, and of course wondering, "why am I not involved?" The good news about spring season being upon us so fast, is that it gets us thinking about whether we're ready to wet our toes in competitive tennis, because before we know it the 'king' of USTA seasons (summer) will be here and trust me, you're not going to want to miss any minute of it!

Towpath's 3.0 40 & Over team.

In case you need a little background, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the most notable tennis organization in the country for players that want to play competitive tennis. It's a long-tested, well-run, rule-implemented structure that players (not all the time, but most of the time) enjoy following so they can get out and play a fun, fair and competitive game of tennis. The USTA primarily follows the general rules of tennis, with many of it's own amendments for different scenarios and regions around the country. The summer season has gained the most notoriety because that's when most players are free to play thus why there are more teams. Plus, nice weather makes people want to get out and DO something! 

But here's where things come to a halt for most newbies. The hype of the new season usually gives way to the fear of what the word competition actually means with players asking themselves, "Am I ready for this?" The short answer is yes. The long answer is yes, you ARE ready! And in case you don't believe me, here's the 'unofficial' pre-requisite to playing on a USTA team:

• Can you serve? 

  

  3.5 Men's team finishing a match.

• Can you somewhat hold a rally?
• Do you know how to score?
• Do you want to exercise while having fun?
• Do you want something to do in your spare time?
• Can you play well with others (aka-not be a jerk on the court)?
• Do you want to get better at tennis fast?
• Do you want to meet new players and test your skills?
• Do you want to make friends?
• Do you like drama? (J/k! Contrary to common belief, not ALL teams are drama-filled.)

And to answer some of your lingering questions:  Yes, you can play at any age. Yes, you might get double bageled (lose 6-0, 6-0), and yes, you just might have a little bit of fun. Honestly, the best way for newbies to go into the USTA is to jump in with an open mind and a positive attitude--corny but true. Even at the 4.0 level, I still go in with this mantra. I might not win every match, but I'm going to do my best to come off the court laughing.

One of Towpath's many Mixed Doubles teams.

So, whether you're completely new to the scene or resurrecting your game, I highly recommend giving USTA play a shot. Even if you don't think your game is 'competition ready' (whatever that means), try to look at this experience as a way to meet new players, gain some confidence and add value to your game. 

Your next step is to talk with our desk staff, one of our pros or one of your tennis buddies and ask how to get involved, -OR- come down to watch one of our many spring combo/mixed teams over the weekend to get a taste of what the competition is really like. You might be so enticed to commit for a team right then and there, because we guarantee it won't be long before you join in on the fun!

Revamping the USTA rating system

Katelyn Caniford | Towpath Tennis Pro

      With the busy summer USTA season officially ending and fall season now in full swing, many players are in the process of getting their ratings set. Whether you’re a brand new player doing this for the first time or you’re returning from a long hiatus, in order to play on the USTA tennis leagues, a rating is needed. Unfortunately, anyone that’s had to endure this test has encountered first hand just how frustrating and sometimes inaccurate it can be.

       One of the biggest problems with the USTA rating system is their lack of detailed questions. The test begins with several yes or no fill-ins trying to categorize you anywhere from a world class player to a total beginner. The problems occur when you get deeper into these questions. For instance, back when I had to rate for the very first time, I had just committed to playing division II tennis. Long story short I got rated a 5.0. Now granted, I was a decent high school player, but no state champion deserving of a 5.0 rating. Not to mention I had just graduated high school and had never played USTA adult league tennis before.

       So why did they rate me as so? Was it solely because I was committing to play in college? The real question is, can the USTA really make a good evaluation of the type of player I am based on that one answer? No. There are many tennis players out there on college teams that couldn’t even compete with the average high school player!

       Another example is the classic story of a returning tennis player trying to get back into the USTA leagues. Take a former 5.0 college player who hasn’t touched a racquet in 20 years, has had two knee replacements, and isn’t nearly in as good of shape as she used to be. Should this player still be rated a 5.0? According to the rating system, if that was her last published rating, then yes. Even though the test doesn’t ask her when the last time she played was, or the injuries sustained (injury questions happen during the appeal process).

      Now obviously the USTA can’t come and watch everyone play who needs a rating (they tried it for years with people raters). So what’s the solution here? More detailed questions with a little more leeway. The yes or no questionnaire is fine and does cover a lot. A text box discussing dates and severity of injuries sustained or time off from playing would make a significant difference. Also, rather than a computer making an immediate decision, it would help if the USTA could review answers prior to giving out set ratings. This might not work for brand new players but it would be a good system for someone returning from a long break from the game. That way, they don’t even have to worry about going through the appeal process.

       It’s safe to say that the USTA doesn’t have the time or the man power to force groups of people to monitor their rating system-but they need to. They would save so much time having to sift through appeals if they would review the tests to begin with. Even just adding a few more text boxes so players can explain their history with the game would make a huge difference. 

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Find out what your rating is

Kristianne Bontempo | Towpath Tennis Employee | Legit Tennis Fanatic

In our last blog post, we mentioned USTA’s latest method for how to self-rate. To make your life easier, we’ve attached the link to their simple video tutorial in self-rating. http://tennislink.usta.com/Leagues/HelpTutorials/ab050000.html

However, while we don’t need to hold your hand throughout the actual process, we do want to help guide you in how to come up with your rating request. USTA has again made life easy by creating a rating chart, so we first advise you to compare your skills to the following:

(click link below for larger image)

http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/USTA_Import/USTA/dps/doc_13_7372.pdf 

Also check out the link below for a second chart that describes exactly what skills you would expect to possess for each kind of stroke per rating level.

http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/USTA_Import/dps/usta_master/sitecore_usta/USTA/Document%20Assets/2006/04/03/doc_13_12278.pdf

Be honest with yourself and your skill level. You're not doing anyone any favors by rating yourself lower for easy wins (which might not be fun and will win you bad looks from other players) or rating too high where you’re constantly getting crushed (also not fun or great for popularity). If you find yourself deciding between two ratings, our rule of thumb is to self-rate yourself at the lower rating if you are a woman (who tend to see themselves about a .5 level too high-an NTRP social status thing) but at the higher rating if you are a man (men tend to be more concerned with winning than social status). After a year of playing, the dynamic rating system will have churned out a new rating for you based on your match results, which in fact might move you up or down a level after all.

If you need to appeal, the USTA has actually made this an easy process. If you think you have a good reason (e.g., haven’t played in years, “played” for a college but by sitting on the bench, have restricted mobility of some sort), then you may have a shot to submit a written appeal. Be aware that just because you make an appeal does not mean you’ll get it. In fact, the odds are probably against it unless you truly have a good reason.

Lastly, if you’re still struggling on what to self-rate yourself, ask any of our teaching pros for assistance. They know the rating system all too well and can give you a valid opinion or can set up a lesson for an evaluation.

Good luck and happy playing!


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Does self-rating work?

Kristianne Bontempo | Towpath Tennis Employee | Legit Tennis Fanatic

Summer USTA season is right around the corner, and one of the questions we help to answer is what’s up with self-rating and does the system work. Many new USTA members struggle to understand the rating system, as do members that have been playing in the USTA for over 30 years! Unfortunately the system can seem quite complex, but the USTA tries its best to make the process as simple as possible…right.

Prior to the days of self-rating, the USTA used verifiers to rate players. This method definitely had its pros and cons. A good thing about a verifier was that they could review a player with a questionable rating during a match and quickly correct it. But one of the most common flaws was the short time a verifier would have to rate a player, sometimes within just a doubles group with 3 other players also being verified. So because I’m a slow starter, does that mean the verifier will rate me off of my shanks and rimmers, or because I’m just a pusher the verifier will not see that I win 99% of my matches? Thankfully to save on time, expenses, and other quarrels, the USTA developed a dynamic computer rating system where players are being continually rated based on their actual match scores (instead of how pretty or ugly our strokes are). However, without verifiers to place new players in a level, newcomers or former players returning to the league after a gap of time must self-rate according to USTA guidelines in order to register for a team.

USTA has you complete an online survey that determines 

your NTRP rating.

How this works is new or returning members that haven’t played in 3 years (2 if over 60 years old) who want to self-rate are subject to answering on the USTA website, a series of questions in all honesty and to the best of their ability about their tennis experience, and then consider what their own skill level should be according to the NTRP (National Tennis Rating Program) guidelines. How could this possibly be flawed? Well, sometimes players either overrate or underrate because they answer questions too literally, don’t interpret them quite correctly, or fail to provide certain information. We continue to see players underrating themselves especially because someone recruiting them told them to rate at that level for a stronger chance of winning with their teams, or older returning players being overrated just because they once upon a time played for a college team.  

This online rating system doesn’t always ask the right questions to uncover facts such as hardly playing while on a college team or that you were only an average high school player who walked onto a mediocre college team. Or what about the difference between a junior player ranked 50 in a very populated section vs. one with the same ranking in a remote section—should they be the same? The difference between a senior 3.5 player and an adult 3.5 might in reality be more like the difference between a male 3.5 and a female 3.5. And suppose you’re a really good singles player but a lousy doubles player—the NTRP system will treat you the same in both singles and doubles. The self-rating system simply does not account for these kinds of issues, they’re just considered the same. 

Sure there are consequences for those that underrate (or overrate). You have the occasional disqualifications here and there for being underrated, or you have some players who can’t find a team to take them because they’re overrated. There is also the issue of the spike of juniors (18 year olds not in college yet) self rating. The questions given can’t always gauge their skill level off of their smaller track record. This is why juniors can be a hot recruitment target since they are typically fast, hit harder, and can improve quickly (and we wonder why the 40 and over league was created-hmm). 

Self-rating can be a tricky business, but in our next blog post we will guide you in how to self-rate. We’re curious, how do you think the USTA should self-rate? Do you think the current system we have is working? Let’s hear your thoughts.  

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