You couldn't be more wrong.
Why I left league tennis.....and am happier for it..
- Thread starter stevenymets
- Start date
You couldn't be more wrong.
edathompson2
Rookie
Well, he could. But what's the point?
stevenymets
New User
Easy now.....which way are you leaning.....chocolate or vanilla? Your answer could decide the fate of the world.......
I've played league tennis almost 40 years now. USTA 4.0, USTA 4.5 and one year USTA 5.0 many decades ago. Also, play ALTA from B3 to AA3 men's and mixed. And, about a decade of singles on the Ultimate tennis league - 4.0 to 4.5. I still enjoy league play, Yes, you do get "those people". The ones that seem to make bad calls more frequently than occasionally missing a call, or the sandbaggers who are playing down 1 or 2 levels to win a cheap trophy and bragging rights, or the captains who stack line-ups, or the drama between teammates (I should be playing instead of so and so). But, I still find 90+% of the people are reasonable adults and the matches are still fun. I like competing as a team, playing new people and at new locations. I also like hanging around after a match and having a beverage and sandwich on a nice day. I actually love playing tennis in a league 90% of the time and that's enough to tolerate those people. God, I hope I am never one of those people.
stevenymets
New User
Ahhhh, excellent story. You would know better than I considering how long you have been playing league tennis. And I think you nailed it, many if not most of the people are great. With anything, there are a ton of different variables why someone would or wouldn't like it, or want to participate. The participant in question, the teammates, league organizers, the competition, logistics like match time or location, season of the year, etc, etc, etc. I would expect that the majority of participants are going to have majority positive experiences, and I would take your experience as very credible considering the length of time you have played.....bigger sample size and all. So, maybe as I get back to playing after recovering from my injuries I look at posts like yours and I go back and give it another try, I don't know. Ultimately, it was the USTA league cannibalization that did it for me, but maybe that isn't as bad anymore. Maybe local league coordinators are doing a better job of managing that now, maybe players have adjusted to all of the league options and are managing their schedules so team captains can more easily fill out their line-ups and cut down on forfeits. The only thing I can say for sure now, is that I enjoy playing, that my friends and I have fiercely competitive matches, and between that and a flight I was participating in, I was getting enough quality tennis without leagues, but times change and I may too.
tennis tom
Legend
Rocky-Road, with no hesitation--diversity rules--black and white together with a lot of nutz mixed in.
S&V-not_dead_yet
Talk Tennis Guru
RR isn't ice cream; it's a result of not having enough chocolate with a recently-discovered cache of marshmallows and nuts.
gino
Legend
Man you played college tennis, like myself, you have to learn to rest on your laurels (however small), because that generally makes for a happier existence. We aren't pro athletes, and the constant need to prove ourselves in an internal dialogue that propagates insecurity, fear, and hate for other plays. Not worth it. I made it to play NCAA college tennis and coached at that level. I have not joined one league since I left the college tennis scene, nor will I. If I want an injection of competitive tennis, I'll sign up for a men's open - trust me, it's healthier that way.
10SNE1ELSE
New User
An interesting fact is vanilla ice cream outsells all other flavors combined 4 to 1.
I use to play in and captain quite a bit of USTA. With all the various levels and league types, the overlap of playoffs and other leagues became a huge issue for being able to field a match. Not only had it become expensive, but the availability of courts at our small club lessened as a result. I am not clear what the benefits are for the club or its members.
By the way, a lot of us at our club use an app that automatically finds subs and creates pickup games. It's called Sub4me [ https://sub4.me ] and works well for us. I'm not sure if it's for everyone, but what is?
I use to play in and captain quite a bit of USTA. With all the various levels and league types, the overlap of playoffs and other leagues became a huge issue for being able to field a match. Not only had it become expensive, but the availability of courts at our small club lessened as a result. I am not clear what the benefits are for the club or its members.
By the way, a lot of us at our club use an app that automatically finds subs and creates pickup games. It's called Sub4me [ https://sub4.me ] and works well for us. I'm not sure if it's for everyone, but what is?
Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
As a recent USTA drop out, I have to say I don't miss it. It wasn't the factors OP identified. It was the pressure to practice to keep my skills up and be competitive and the bone crushing time commitment.
Admin fees per player per team are $21. Court fees are $21. That adds up.
League gets time consuming. Our matches are usually 9 pm on weeknights. By the time you drive there, play, drive home, shower and unwind enough to fall asleep it is after midnight.
Now I am playing in a social mixed group on saturdays and subbing in a ladies group on Sunday. I can skid into the parking lot 1 minute ahead of time. If playing isn't convenient, I can just get a sub.
I find I am playing better and having more fun. Can't argue with that.
Admin fees per player per team are $21. Court fees are $21. That adds up.
League gets time consuming. Our matches are usually 9 pm on weeknights. By the time you drive there, play, drive home, shower and unwind enough to fall asleep it is after midnight.
Now I am playing in a social mixed group on saturdays and subbing in a ladies group on Sunday. I can skid into the parking lot 1 minute ahead of time. If playing isn't convenient, I can just get a sub.
I find I am playing better and having more fun. Can't argue with that.
chatt_town
Hall of Fame
I started in 2003 playing tennis. I played baseball before that. Played both until I was about 41 or 42 and stopped baseball(which I thought would never happen). I went through all of what you are talking about. I got to a point where I just made up some simple rules for myself. I always ask captains who is on the team before committing. You after playing in the same area for years know who is a problem and who isn't. I just avoid the teams where people act a fool. My wife and I played with Alta A-1 and A-2 teams. We'd win most of our matches and when I say most we'd win 6 of 7 if we played each match. Rarely did we lose more than once in a season. Then we started getting calls where people wanted one of us to sit(mostly myself) while she played with some guy that was supposed to be these great players. Well...most of the times they would lose the matches....captains were too stupid to not try and play matches on paper but by chemistry. Even when I tell captains we aren't "doing any of that"....one still tried it. Now the word is out that we aren't having it.
We are not with a team where they understand. We have lost 2 matches in something like 12 matches. 1 per season...actually we lost one. We don't have to worry with the drama. Told the captain we'd make ourselves unavailable the minute he or the co-captain asked us do that. We had a captain here last winter asked us to again split up...told him no...he put us together in the 8.5 line and we won it. The truth is we went through so much hell for a few seasons where we are to the point where we don't most of the time even know who the other team is....we just show up and play our line. We could care less if the team is going to the playoffs. We played with one team where the team won something like 9 lines of 35. My wife and I won 6.lol It was more fun though than we had when we were with teams that won city at A-1 and A-2. I played with a team combo team that won state and sectionals last year. I again...could care less if we won or not. Those guys were fun to be around. I looked forward to after the matches. It was just icing on the cake to win. If I were you. I'd keep playing. Don't let a few fools run you out. Just get you a set of rules to play by and don't go away from them. Screw what everyone else thinks.
Enga
Hall of Fame
This is a guess, but there is a possibility that the league itself never dropped in quality. As someone who personally takes parts in many leagues, just not tennis ones, I feel like you were just on a better team before. You were playing on teams with friends who were also very good, by the sounds of it. Even if people tried to cheat your team, you guys still would have won or at least have had fun while trying. Now you play with random people against teams where cheating would actually work, and so it leaves a bigger impression.
You never want to be a middling in a league, jumping headfirst into teams with strangers. That's the grinding phase, you get better or end up quitting. I bet if you found a team as good as before, and also weren't injured, you'd still enjoy it.
You never want to be a middling in a league, jumping headfirst into teams with strangers. That's the grinding phase, you get better or end up quitting. I bet if you found a team as good as before, and also weren't injured, you'd still enjoy it.
Angle Queen
Professional
I too am a USTA Dropout...and happier for it. And, while there were several reasons, one of my main ones was the/is the politics, namely the way USTA-MidAtlantic shafted USTA-VA. Utter disgust in how all that shook down.
On the logistic side, the messing around with the age categories and compressed/overlapping seasons just made it all the much easier to walk away.
Play in a non-USTA league with ALTA-like team relegation for the grand total of $15 (incl balls!) for a 14-game season split over the Fall and Spring. The league itself has many levels ranging from, quite literally, our local pros on Mondays to the ladies who are lucky to hit the ball two or three times over the net on Thursday. You do not need to be a club member to start a team, nor do you need indoor access. There's no stacking (as playing in order of strength is required) and you can play singles, doubles or both.
I would, however, love for our club to have a ladder or more of a tree...where you could challenge anyone on the level above you.
I don't begrudge those who've stayed with USTA and I'm not ruling out a return; I'll just need to have a bit more flexibility in my time schedule and, well, my attitude towards the grande pooh-bahs in USTA.
On the logistic side, the messing around with the age categories and compressed/overlapping seasons just made it all the much easier to walk away.
Play in a non-USTA league with ALTA-like team relegation for the grand total of $15 (incl balls!) for a 14-game season split over the Fall and Spring. The league itself has many levels ranging from, quite literally, our local pros on Mondays to the ladies who are lucky to hit the ball two or three times over the net on Thursday. You do not need to be a club member to start a team, nor do you need indoor access. There's no stacking (as playing in order of strength is required) and you can play singles, doubles or both.
I would, however, love for our club to have a ladder or more of a tree...where you could challenge anyone on the level above you.
I don't begrudge those who've stayed with USTA and I'm not ruling out a return; I'll just need to have a bit more flexibility in my time schedule and, well, my attitude towards the grande pooh-bahs in USTA.
Ft.S
Semi-Pro
Would you mind explaining this? How do you go from cheating captains to competitive leagues to more tennis players? How does that relationship work?
bobbything
Rookie
During winter USTA, our fees everywhere are $20. It's a joke. I get that the clubs have to cover their costs, but I've always felt that should be built in to the cost of playing in the league, rather than passed through to the player. It's one of the reasons that I only play on an as-needed basis.
That and the fact nearly all of our matches are played on Saturday afternoons when I'd much rather be slamming domestic swill and watching college football.
tennis tom
Legend
I looked out at the courts this weekend, at the prime time matches, and didn't recognize a single player--no idea who was playing at or for MY club, that I pay a goodly amount of dues to. People brag about playing as mercenaries for 5 or 6 clubs and don't pay dues to any of them. If you're not on a team at a club you don't exist, don't play, and prime time is reserved for "elite social tennis"--those playas, who if they ever stick their head out and enter a real tournament, get their lunch handed to them on a STICK. The club owners go along with it--and people wonder why tennis is dying--after an hour of elite social tennis--the courts are empty and go begging, the club players don't stick around, not knowing when they will be allowed back onto their courts. I will play with ANYONE, a first time beginner, a jr., a 102 y.o., or a wheel-chair athlete. I'm not afraid of getting beaten by anyone, and looking bad at the bar. I just want to play as much as I can and then watch old tennis matches on TV.
stopped playing 2 years ago. I seem to have way more time, more funds, tons more fun playing people I like at reasonable court times.
Probably one of the best things I've done time wise.
Our matches were always 1pm or 2pm Sat or Sunday start because the club courts are booked for 9-11am start time. It honestly ruined so many weekends for us being in the middle of the day in the desert climate.
When sectionals or something came around it took away entire weekends.
Constantly was restringing before important matches, I never realized how time consuming and wasteful it was.
Now I play with friends that I like to play with at 9am (vs having to play with people I disliked at 2pm on a Sat/Sun, in the desert climate 2pm really sucks, dermatologist also strongly advised me not to play at these times for future health concerns ), I only restring when I break strings, club fees, usta fees (turned out I was spending hundreds on stringing per month), and my weekends are now mine.
It really felt like a 2nd job, also all the emails were just a nag, I feel for captains who have to email the other team captains, reschedules, drag their own team members to play, emailing the league coordinators.
Getting 1 or 3 other people you like to play with is pretty easy to schedule.
It didn't help that we had one of the worst league coordinators around. She never answered emails, every captain acknowledged this, implied there were more teams joining (they didn't so more than once we would play the same team ever other week, 3 team leagues are no fun, she allowed teams to reschedule all the time to the point one team still had 4 or 5 matches to go with 1 weekend to complete and there were sectionals implications where games/lines were important, at the end teams out of contention would forfeit a bunch of lines).
Probably one of the best things I've done time wise.
Our matches were always 1pm or 2pm Sat or Sunday start because the club courts are booked for 9-11am start time. It honestly ruined so many weekends for us being in the middle of the day in the desert climate.
When sectionals or something came around it took away entire weekends.
Constantly was restringing before important matches, I never realized how time consuming and wasteful it was.
Now I play with friends that I like to play with at 9am (vs having to play with people I disliked at 2pm on a Sat/Sun, in the desert climate 2pm really sucks, dermatologist also strongly advised me not to play at these times for future health concerns ), I only restring when I break strings, club fees, usta fees (turned out I was spending hundreds on stringing per month), and my weekends are now mine.
It really felt like a 2nd job, also all the emails were just a nag, I feel for captains who have to email the other team captains, reschedules, drag their own team members to play, emailing the league coordinators.
Getting 1 or 3 other people you like to play with is pretty easy to schedule.
It didn't help that we had one of the worst league coordinators around. She never answered emails, every captain acknowledged this, implied there were more teams joining (they didn't so more than once we would play the same team ever other week, 3 team leagues are no fun, she allowed teams to reschedule all the time to the point one team still had 4 or 5 matches to go with 1 weekend to complete and there were sectionals implications where games/lines were important, at the end teams out of contention would forfeit a bunch of lines).
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Moveforwardalways
Hall of Fame
Hundreds per month on stringing? How is that possible?
darkhorse
Semi-Pro
Ha, so I guess I'm also totally done with USTA leagues. The captain of the team I had been playing on suggested I sit out this season because of my availability halfway through the season (my hockey season starts probably a month into the Early Start season). I never play the winter season so I guess that's that.
I also tried One Doubles, wow that was a joke. Played 3 out of 5 matches before my partner quit, way too many matches not played as scheduled.
I also tried One Doubles, wow that was a joke. Played 3 out of 5 matches before my partner quit, way too many matches not played as scheduled.
darkhorse
Semi-Pro
I think the OP (and most of the responses) are specifically about USTA League play. In a lot of areas, USTA may be the only option, but if you live in or near a major city (or a city that just happens to be big into tennis) there are alternatives, and some find the alternatives to be much better.
ChaelAZ
G.O.A.T.
I had switched from a Prince Tour 18x20 racquet when I fell in love with the Wilson Burn 100S with its' open string pattern. Within the first few months I started seeing a trend of having to restring often, and it got to the point I had three racquets that I would pop strings on like ever 7-10 days. It is $15 per racquet to string, so $45 each time and It was at 2-4 times per month I had to do it. So $100+ per month is possible just for stringing. Add in balls and court fees each months and $100's is a reality.
stevenymets
New User
Yes!
It's interesting, everyone has different motivations, it's very individualized. I find our men's group far more competitive for me than league tennis. More importantly for me, I play tennis still to this day because I still want to improve! That is the fun, though I am older, can I still improve my serve, my backhand, my overhead, etc.
One look at the "strokes forum" tells you that many, many people are thinking similarly.
bobbything
Rookie
I like USTA merely for the level of competition. I also do enjoy, once per year, traveling with a team for sectionals. It is fun. But, it's fun in spite of the USTA. It seems that everything they touch turns to sh*t.
We have Tencap in our area and I actually much prefer it to USTA. Far more laid back. More accurate rating system. They will listen to suggestions and take votes on rules from the players. Also, it's written into the league rules that the host club has to provide beer for the visiting club—which is just awesome.
We have Tencap in our area and I actually much prefer it to USTA. Far more laid back. More accurate rating system. They will listen to suggestions and take votes on rules from the players. Also, it's written into the league rules that the host club has to provide beer for the visiting club—which is just awesome.
OrangePower
Legend
Completely agree. It's the team aspect that keeps me in USTA - I am part of a group similar to what you describe, which makes it a lot of fun.
We're all friends and play a lot together even outside of USTA. So it's enjoyable to be able to compete together as a team, and we get a lot of satisfaction from seeing others on the team win, not just ourselves, because over time we've helped each other improve and have all gotten better together as a group.
I do enjoy the individual competition as well, but I can easily arrange varied competitive matches for myself without USTA.
A self rate 5.0? Weird.
Actually computer rated.
You can't stay computer rated that long without playing.
Blade0324
Hall of Fame
This was an interesting post and thread reading through. I'd say to each their own but in general if you are just playing with friends, local hitting partners etc. and never playing a competitive league or tournament match then you likely are not really improving or getting the true sense of competition. I give in that USTA has done many things that have not made league play better and has even made it worse. That said there is no substitute for true and organized competition.
I play on about 5 leagues per year. Ours are all between May and September unless you advance to sectionals or nationals due to weather. I play about 5 times per week indoors in the colder months but no leagues and only a few tournaments. Costs, well that's another story. USTA annual $40, Leagues - about $35-50 per league for league fee then another $50-75 per team for team fees which includes court costs. I honestly don't mind paying it as I find it to be worth it for the fun and competition. If you have ever been on a really strong team that has been to sectionals or nationals you might realize just how much sense of team there can be. Anyway, just chiming in with some thoughts.
I play on about 5 leagues per year. Ours are all between May and September unless you advance to sectionals or nationals due to weather. I play about 5 times per week indoors in the colder months but no leagues and only a few tournaments. Costs, well that's another story. USTA annual $40, Leagues - about $35-50 per league for league fee then another $50-75 per team for team fees which includes court costs. I honestly don't mind paying it as I find it to be worth it for the fun and competition. If you have ever been on a really strong team that has been to sectionals or nationals you might realize just how much sense of team there can be. Anyway, just chiming in with some thoughts.
stevenymets
New User
What I find interesting is everyone's different experiences. No right or wrong answers here. The most improvement and most competitive tennis I have played is outside of leagues. I find leagues, and I mean this as a compliment, have a lot of people that are very good at winning, but their tennis games aren't to the same level as their skills in problem solving. (Yes, a generalization and any generalization should be looked at with skepticism, so doubt away.) What I mean by this is, you may have someone who can't hit a backhand/second serve/volley/etc. but they figure out how to work around this and still win. And all credit to them! This may still make for a competitive day on the court, but quite often the match can get ugly and it doesn't lend itself to improvement of one's physical tennis skills (though the mental skills required to win get a work out.). I think this really changes at around 5.0, pretty hard to be competitive at that level without at least being able to hit all the shots.
Brad Gilbert's book is aptly named, I used to watch him play and I don't recall thinking, "wow, that was a really high level match", I used to think, "wow, that guy Gilbert beat (whatever top ten player he was playing) by getting him out of his game and dragging him down to Gilbert's level, that was ugly!" Quite often I feel league tennis can be the same way.
Regarding a sense of team, and again, not saying my experience is the end all and be all, but having played organized soccer, baseball, basketball and volleyball, tennis, just by its very nature, because the whole team doesn't get scheduled for a match, feels less sense of a team than any other sport I have played. It isn't league tennis' fault per se, but when you have 16 people on a team, but only 8 or 6 people get scheduled for a match, you don't get to know everyone on the team. There has been times where I have not met everyone on the team by the end of the season. Matter of fact, I could argue you have even less of a sense of team in tennis because people are competing with others on the team for matches. In other sports, you sub in and out, so, in theory everyone should be there for every game, with tennis, only those scheduled show. And this holds true whether the team is going to sectionals or stinks. Matter of fact, infighting can be more intense on a good team, I have never not seen people's feathers get ruffled when they aren't scheduled for districts or sectionals. Understandably, people want to play the biggest matches. Another example of why our captains deserve our love.
tennis tom
Legend
All that's true--and then you have the team hangers-on, who come out of the woodwork when you start winning and tag along for the post-season travel and fine dining experiences--the elder statesmen of 3.5/4.0 league tennis. They give team pep talks, from their years of success gathering-up tine signs. I recall at the end of one of these speeches, one of the tactical the geniuses saying : "And if all else fails--CHEAT!"
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Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
On the question of whether former USTA players care about their rating . . .
I'm a 4.0C, but I got slaughtered this year, absolutely destroyed. Not competitive at all. I have since quit USTA and am happier playing socially for now (see many prior posts on this subject, so no reason to repeat).
I am actually concerned about my rating, even though I do not intend to play USTA in the near future.
If I remain a 4.0, I will not be able to get on any team. I would have to invest in lessons and practice to get back to the 4.0 level, and I do not see that happening. It is an open question whether I could get back to 4.0 no matter what I did -- I am 56, and it is hard to play enough to improve given joint troubles and injuries.
If I am dropped to 3.5, that would be perfect. I could continue to sit out, but when I returned I could surely get on a 3.5 team playing the way I am playing now.
I'm a 4.0C, but I got slaughtered this year, absolutely destroyed. Not competitive at all. I have since quit USTA and am happier playing socially for now (see many prior posts on this subject, so no reason to repeat).
I am actually concerned about my rating, even though I do not intend to play USTA in the near future.
If I remain a 4.0, I will not be able to get on any team. I would have to invest in lessons and practice to get back to the 4.0 level, and I do not see that happening. It is an open question whether I could get back to 4.0 no matter what I did -- I am 56, and it is hard to play enough to improve given joint troubles and injuries.
If I am dropped to 3.5, that would be perfect. I could continue to sit out, but when I returned I could surely get on a 3.5 team playing the way I am playing now.
ChaelAZ
G.O.A.T.
I was out with injuries for almost two years, but was playing 4.0 at the time when I stopped. Came back this season to my 3.5C rating, playing 3.5 level and it is a good place for me to get back in. Wasn't really interested in the rating as most the guys I play with and against have all been moved up and down between 3.5 and 4.0, or 4.0 and 4.5. As we have all gotten older, some years just don't go well and others do, so ratings are kinda just where you can play at a minimum. But again, we all know how competitive it can be.
That said, the 3.5 matches haven't been the pace I am used to or like that I got in 4.0, but still good matches to build the match mentality coming back. So will play a season here and if the results pan out I'll be up to 4.0 and still play with most the same guys. lol.
tennis tom
Legend
Read any of Dr. John E. Sarno's books for a new perspective on pain.
stevenymets
New User
This I would think is very personal.
I personally don't care about my rating. I haven't played USTA in years. I am coming back from a surgery and will start playing again in the next 6 weeks or so. As the OP, saying this might be shocking (I say this tongue and cheek), but my tennis journey may lead me back to league tennis if I have trouble finding enough opportunities to play outside of leagues. Either way, if I drop down a level, so be it, if I stay at my current level, that is fine too. I care only how I am playing as it relates to what I think my peak capabilities are. If I am playing to the level I think I should be, great, if not, I need to do some work.
Regarding finding a team to play on, at my current level the best teams in the league may not be interested because I am an unknown entity, but I always offer to go out for a hit with the team, or the team captain, and eventually I find a team this way. I may end up on one of the worst teams in the league, but that is ok, as long as there are good people on the team I don't mind losing a bit as long as I am having fun.
S&V-not_dead_yet
Talk Tennis Guru
If you got destroyed this year, that increases the likelihood of you being bumped down. What does tennisrecord say about your per-match performance. Getting destroyed should mean it should be low, perhaps even below 4.0. Or you could have schmke run a report for you.
And you could always appeal.
I guess the leagues in your area are too competitive... around here there's lots of USTA teams which have players playing up, not to mention players that are near the bottom of their rating category. There's usually one or two teams in each flight that are really trying to optimize and pick the best players, but on all the teams I've played on being reliable, showing up when you say you're going to, being a good sport are more likely to get you kept on the team rather than being good for your level.
OrangePower
Legend
My area is similar. There are usually around 10 teams in our flight. Maybe 3-4 of them are super competitive and will only take strong players. Then another few are middle of the road club teams and will take a few weaker players (but have to be club members). But then there are usually a couple of teams who are filled with weak players or people playing up, and who will take pretty much anyone who wants to play as long as they are not complete jerks.
So players at bottom of level have options... but they would need to play on a weak, losing team, and who wants to do that, right?!?
Ft.S
Semi-Pro
I have been a captain for little less than a year now in my area, and generally the teams I put together are not winning teams, we are somewhere middle to the bottom of the pack depending on leagues. As I get to know more and more players and establish relations with them, my teams are getting better as well, but it is tough to recruit players when other captains have been around for over five years within the USTA circles.
Generally I have three types of players in my teams: (1) newcomers to USTA who want to establish themselves and get noticed by other leading captains, (2) players that treat the USTA competition as a social engagement and want to play with their friends in a competitive setting, and (3) players that want to compete few times here and there without undue pressure of going to post-season, and do not have aspirations to move up.
There is something for everyone in USTA, and I really do like being the underdog
OrangePower
Legend
Completely agree, and sounds like you have a good thing going.There is something for everyone in USTA, and I really do like being the underdog
My snide remark was made at those weaker players who don't get invited to the strong teams but nevertheless have an over-inflated ego, and would rather not play at all than play on a team that they perceive as beneath them.
SouthernCourts
Semi-Pro
I love playing with my friends outside USTA, but if I quit league play, I would really miss the competitive aspect of it all. There's something about playing against strangers or relative strangers, and playing for your team, that just ups the ante for me.
Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
Wow.
This USTA-free life is pretty awesome.
I was invited to sub for a group of ladies who are about my age and level, many of whom are USTA drop-outs. It went well -- they invited me two more times. Then one of the ladies had a bike accident and will be out until next year, so I picked up her dates.
And now they want to know if I can play Monday nights also.
It's weird. I couldn't even win games in USTA this winter. Now I am playing less, but I am playing better.
This USTA-free life is pretty awesome.
I was invited to sub for a group of ladies who are about my age and level, many of whom are USTA drop-outs. It went well -- they invited me two more times. Then one of the ladies had a bike accident and will be out until next year, so I picked up her dates.
And now they want to know if I can play Monday nights also.
It's weird. I couldn't even win games in USTA this winter. Now I am playing less, but I am playing better.
S&V-not_dead_yet
Talk Tennis Guru
Wow.
This USTA-free life is pretty awesome.
I was invited to sub for a group of ladies who are about my age and level, many of whom are USTA drop-outs. It went well -- they invited me two more times. Then one of the ladies had a bike accident and will be out until next year, so I picked up her dates.
And now they want to know if I can play Monday nights also.
It's weird. I couldn't even win games in USTA this winter. Now I am playing less, but I am playing better.
I play more non-USTA than USTA tennis. Both are enjoyable for different reasons and usually involve different groups of people.
I can't say "I wish you'd come back" since I'm not on your team but you do seem like a good person to be around so maybe at least some of your former teammates are missing your presence.
I think I'm officially burned out from league tennis.
I was playing at districts today and it was a meaningless match as both of our teams were 0-2. We were having a good match and at 7-7 in the third set tiebreak my partner hits a ball a minimum 18 inches in and the opponent calls it out after she hit a weak floater return.
I didn't even have the motivation to even argue with her. I just don't understand cheating especially in a meaningless match.
I was playing at districts today and it was a meaningless match as both of our teams were 0-2. We were having a good match and at 7-7 in the third set tiebreak my partner hits a ball a minimum 18 inches in and the opponent calls it out after she hit a weak floater return.
I didn't even have the motivation to even argue with her. I just don't understand cheating especially in a meaningless match.
S&V-not_dead_yet
Talk Tennis Guru
Did her partner have a sheepish look on his face or wouldn't look you in the eye?
Of course.
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