Question about rating oneself

[soyizgood]

I have seen the NTRP ratings and I know I am at or above a 4.0. While I would like to think I am a 4.5 or on the verge of being a 4.5, I don't know if I should try to join leagues as a 4.0 or 4.5. I don't really play against tough opponents much, so I am uncertain if I am really a 4.5 or not. In the past 6 months, I went from an eastern to a semi-western forehand, adjusted grip on my 2h backhand to get more spin (I've noticed the change), I added in a slice serve while improving accuracy and speed of my topspin and flat serves, can actually hit a 1hbh in to change things up and have been working on adding in a slice bh (the fh slice works pretty well even from baseline).

I like my odds of doing okay in 4.0, but I am not sure how I'd fare against 4.5's. Should I play in leagues and tourneys as a 4.0 to get my feet wet or jump to 4.5 and just roll the dice?

 

[alan-n]

You should always join a league lower than you think what your self rating is if you've never played league tennis in that area. There are plenty of others that 'sand-bag' or players that will give you problems due to match ups.

If you think you are 4.0, join a 3.5 league and work your way up.

 

[cak]

If you think you are a 4.0, find a 4.0 team looking for people and play a few practice matches with them before self rating and signing up on USTA. If you are blowing away the court you need to restart the process with 4.5 team. If they are blowing you away you need to restart the process with a 3.5 team. Once you find a team you are even with, you can self rate and sign up for the team.

 

[tennis-n-sc]

Very good insight for you to observe from alan-n and cak.

 

[raiden031]

Pick the lower one. If you get blown away during matches, your team might take you out of the lineup so you won't get much playing time.

 

[kevhen]

Start at 4.0 so you have options of playing 4.0 or 4.5. If you start at 4.5 and get spanked, you will be stuck there for at least one year and maybe two.

The 4.5 guys I play with all played DIII and some of them were ranked as well so if you think you can hang with young guys who recently played DIII tennis then go for it. These guys get ALOT of balls back and with great placement and have very good wheels. They handle pace and different spins very well too.

The 4.0 guys are more of the old men who have lost a step but get alot of balls back and can crank up their forehands on occasion.

3.5s tend to be young guys who overhit and have shorter rallies but can make some good shots at times too.

 

[Lindros13]

I know a few people that play on both 4.0 and 4.5 teams. They play about half of the matches for each team. They are much more successful on the 4.0 team and they don't seem to win on the 4.5 team (but they don't get blown away either - primarily doubles). If you are going to play on both, you'll need to self rate yourself no higher than a 4.0.

If possible, just be a sub for the team once or twice before you commit to the full season. This is permitted provided it is before the final cutoff date where new players cannot be added to the team.

 

[kevhen]

Alot of people over estimate their match abilities so 3.5 or 4.0 would be better to start at than 4.5. I have met a number of kids who told me they were 4.5 and then I beat them 1 and 1 and conclude they are strong 3.5/weak 4.0s. One of these kids played on a state championship team but had never played adult leagues.

 

[LuckyR]

Anything is possible, but it would be the unusual 4.0 (even 3.5) who has played so little against known rated players that they wouldn't know their rating based on matchplay results.

 

[Joeyg]

a lot of people think they are 4.5's. Truthfully they aren't. Play at the 4.0 level and work up from there. I know that in the last two years with all of the sandbagging that leagues are much tougher now.

 

[beernutz]

I have played a number of high school age kids who overestimate their NTRP level. It is very difficult to accurately assess your level just from reading the NTRP guidelines. My nephew, who is a pretty good athelete (he made an SEC baseball team as a walkon catcher last year), played singles and doubles on his high school tennis team and won more than he lost.

After reading the NTRP guidelines, he told me he thought he was a strong 4.0 or weak 4.5, whereas, I am probably a better than average 3.5.

I beat him IIRC 3 and 3. We played again, and I again took two sets from him. That is just one anecdote, but it reflects that you have to actually play people who you know are at a particular NTRP level AND BEAT THEM before you should go around saying, "I'm an NTRP whatever."

 

[Cindysphinx]

Be careful not to overrate. I know a woman who overrated (3.0 instead of 2.5) and played exactly one doubles match before being totally benched. Now no team will take her, yet the computer won't drop her if she doesn't play some matches and lose. Maybe she could appeal?

Don't let this happen to you.

 

[kevhen]

She can still play tournaments if she is looking for a 2.5 rating. Seems like pretty bad captains if they won't take a 2.5 on a 3.0 team. 3.0s have good reasons to be snobbish elitist tennis players I guess!!!!!!?

 

[soyizgood]

Thanks for the advice. I entered into a tournament as a 4.0 that will play in 3 weeks in Los Angeles. I am trying to see if I can make the roster for any of 3 teams in the Beach Cities League. At this point, all I can do is continue to practice, workout, analyze my game, and work my @$$ off until I get that backhand slice to work. This week I spent $100 on a new racquet and accessories, $40 for USTA membership, and $30 to enter that tournament... and it's only Thursday! And I think I should have 1 or 2 racquets re-strung...sheesh! Tennis can be an expensive love, but there's no sport I like more.

 

[Cindysphinx]

She can still play tournaments if she is looking for a 2.5 rating. Seems like pretty bad captains if they won't take a 2.5 on a 3.0 team. 3.0s have good reasons to be snobbish elitist tennis players I guess!!!!!!?

*Ha!* Easy for you to say.

No way would I take a true 2.5 like this lady. The world is chock-a-block full of 3.0 players. I could fill two 3.0 teams with 3.0 players without breaking a sweat. There's no reason to take genuine 2.5s. Had I taken this player, *no one* would have wanted to play with her. Really, is it tennis if the player cannot get a serve to fall into the box so that you can't even play? No, it's . . . it's line dancing or something.

My 3.0 team last year had a bunch of 2.5s. We were 0-11, usually losing 0-5. Sorry, that doesn't make for a fun season.

But yes, she could play 3.0 tournaments and get double-bageled. That oughtta do it short of an appeal.

 

[Lindros13]

I talked with someone the other day and both him and his wife agree that they can spend ANY amount of money on their tennis, including equipment, lessons, court-time, leagues, etc. There's no limit when it comes to tennis. They would say, "Why not spend money on what you enjoy?"

So how's that for an enjoyable way to live?

I think their philosophy is great. And I've since convinced my wife that we should follow in their footsteps! (And it's usually me spending the money and not my wife!!!)

Glad you posted your decision. Have no regrets w/ the money - it's well spent.

 

[soyizgood]

I was ******* myself off today. I was making lots of silly errors in rallies with my friend. I acted like an ***. Maybe I'm going overboard on preparing for my first tournament.

With that said, I beat my friend and his partner in 2 v 1 doubles 6-2, 5-1. Then my friend and I played doubles against 2 so-so women and we won 6-2. Then I battled my friend and won 6-1. I still was not satisfied with my play as my topspin serve and BH slice were erratic. I think I also need to hit my 2hbh a bit earlier.

I'm determined to be at my best for that tournament. Even though I felt I did not perform great, the end results for today were actually good. Now I need to turn that frustration into constructive criticism and work to be consistent, not necessarily perfect.

 

[soyizgood]

I played in my first tournament as a 4.0. ABSOLUTE DISASTER! In the warm-ups, I severely twisted my left ankle. Then when we played, I did almost nothing right. I made at least 10 double faults, my forehand just couldn't do anything right, I lost at least 4 points at the net, my opponent's first serve gave me problems, and my confidence sank to where I had none. I lost 6-0 6-0.

The opponent told me if I had any confidence I would have given him a hard time. He liked my strokes and we rallied for a bit after this massacre. I used the rallies as a way to make a few modifications on my strokes. Just when I was stroking well, I twisted my ankle again.

My opponent has played in tournaments multiple times before, so he came in as more experienced and battle-tested. I concede he is better than me, but not 6-0 better. I gave him problems with my slice serve when it did work. I did get a few winners, but I handed him victory with all the UEs and DFs I piled up. True I was tense and a bit nerved before the match. But I pride myself on being competitive and I feel I failed. That injury did not help matters either. I'm injured, depressed, angry, and came away with more questions than answers regarding my type of game.

 

[forzainter]

I played in my first tournament as a 4.0. ABSOLUTE DISASTER! In the warm-ups, I severely twisted my left ankle. Then when we played, I did almost nothing right. I made at least 10 double faults, my forehand just couldn't do anything right, I lost at least 4 points at the net, my opponent's first serve gave me problems, and my confidence sank to where I had none. I lost 6-0 6-0.

The opponent told me if I had any confidence I would have given him a hard time. He liked my strokes and we rallied for a bit after this massacre. I used the rallies as a way to make a few modifications on my strokes. Just when I was stroking well, I twisted my ankle again.

My opponent has played in tournaments multiple times before, so he came in as more experience and battle-tested. I concede he is better than me, but not 6-0 better. I gave him problems with my slice serve when it did work. I did get a few winners, but I handed him victory with all the UEs and DFs I piled up. True I was tense and a bit nerved before the match. But I pride myself on being competitive and I feel I failed. That injury did not help matters either. I'm injured, depressed, angry, and came away with more questions than answers regarding my type of game.

just to let you know, roger federer lost his first ever competitive match in the juniors 6 - 0, 6 - 0, dont get down, so did i

 

[sapient007]

and bill gates never finished college.

 

[soyizgood]

just to let you know, roger federer lost his first ever competitive match in the juniors 6 - 0, 6 - 0, dont get down, so did i

I didn't know that. Thanks for the info. I'm debating whether to get drunk tonight or to analyze that match. I'm just in a down mood. I would go out and practice, but that ankle injury is painful. I would look into taking lessons, but they are expensive and besides I'm in a league that starts next Saturday.

I'm afraid I'm going to be experiencing a lot of frustration before I get better. I've always had confidence issues and/or put too much pressure on myself. I took a one hour bus ride to play in that tournament, practiced 4-6 days/week for the last 3 weeks (I usually practice 3 times a week), restrung/regripped the racquets, self-analyzed my game to death, and felt I had made some progress. End result: I played like garbage.

I do have phone numbers of some people I have rallied against. I could try to play with them more and less with my friend. I need to improve my backhand volley and not try to spin my forehand so much (killed me today). I don't know how to keep calm when things go wrong (the ankle injury, the low 1st serve % ---> everything going downhill).

I don't know if I'll even bother to play in another tournament next month. I can't really play any worse than today. But can I actually compete AND win???

 

[shindemac]

Too late now, but maybe you should have joined the 3.5 tourny. As I was reading this thread, I was thinking a disaster would happen. You're not battle-hardened yet.