Why do you play USTA League tennis?

[rooski]

Originally Posted by goober

Men in USTA league tennis are doing everything they can to get their ratings from going up so they can win and dominate. Among the favorite methods- bring in a ringer and self rate too low. Purposely lose matches that don't matter. Purposely lose games to make matches look close. Hide out in doubles and then show up play #1 singles in sectionals/regionals. Entering tournaments and losing matches at the end of the year so you don't get bumped in league. I mean it is not really that surprising that at any given level that league tennis is tougher than tournaments rated 4.5 and below. The surprising thing is that people actually think they have accomplished something even though they are pulling off all this garbage. In the end it is still recreational level tennis and basically nobody cares except a very small group of people that are deluding themselves. Sorry for the tangent

This is why I stopped playing league tennis. I miss the team aspect but I still practice with many of the guys anyway.

One other note...several people above are not really differentiating "tournaments". There is a HUGE difference between NTRP tournaments and USTA sectional age group tournaments. For example, most of the guys that regularly play USTA 40's sectional tournaments are probably 5.0 to 6.0 NTRP. No self rated crap...just mano y mano...may the best man win.

[North]

Originally Posted by goober

I think it has been pretty well established that women are constantly trying to get their computer ratings higher because they see it as some kind of validation of their tennis skills.

I have not found this to be true in my area. In my one and only season of USTA league play, I found just the opposite to be more generally true in womens USTA - sandbaggers galore. I simply don't bother with USTA play anymore because of that sort of nonsense and have subsequently met a lot of other women who also played only a season or two and then quit for the same reason.

[oldguysrule]

I find it interesting that 26 out of 39 voters are playing USTA TEAM tennis for individual reasons. I admit, when I first started, I did not fully understand the team concept and was playing for me and to meet other players. That soon changed. However, this seems to be a high percentage of players that place individual needs ahead of team needs. It might explain why some people are frustrated when teams employ strategies that promote a team win over individual needs.

[Cindysphinx]

Tennis, like swimming, is inherently an individual sport. If tennis can figure out a way that no one on the team wins unless the team wins, then the team principle will be more important.

Take a swimming relay event. If they gave gold medals to members of a swim relay team based on how well they swam their individual leg, you'd have something akin to a tennis team match.

Maybe USTA shouldn't count a player's win toward their rating unless the team also wins!

[JLyon]

The competition is great, but until USTA starts taking an aggressive approach to handling sandbaggers and not handing out appeals like candy then league tennis at the 4.5 and above level will never really flourish. When someone can go undefeated at local, state, and sectional level and remain at the same level due to appeal it makes a mockery of the system.
In every state/section there will always be a team that throws matches early in order to win it all at the end. It happens everywhere from Dallas-Little Rock-New York.
It is a pure and simple joke somtimes because the USTA does not care as long as they get their league fees.

[tennisphotog]

Agree with a lot of points here. We all seem frustrated with "sandbagging" at the 4.5 level which seems to exist due to the lack of true 5.0 teams. I am joining USTA for the first time after a long layoff. I always considered myself a true 4.5 and self-rate as such, but have been told by my new team coach to play 4.0 instead. After seeing the talent in my area (northern Virginia) there are so many true 5.0's playing 4.5 that, indeed, I see myself better fitting in as a 4.0. Guys coming off college teams are playing 4.5 - gimme a break. The system is broke. It is supposed to be competitive, that means ratings that actually mean something. Until the 4.5/5.0 problem is fixed, all lower levels are affected accordingly.
But, hey, it's just a game, and though some sad *******s actually let this crap run their lives, I will play for the fun, and if it's not, drop out. Why do people actually think their USTA team results actually matter. Is ESPN lining up at their door to put them on prime time?
No one is getting paid here!!! Just have fun. My two-cents.

[tennis-n-sc]

Having played team sports since I was about 8 years old (and I'm an old man now), there is something about being a part of team that can be very rewarding. I have been blessed in that the adult tennis teams I have been a part of, both men's and mixed, have typically bonded in a very short time. We are all generally very competitive and want to win, but the comradeship between the players transcends the individual needs and goals. I was at the Davis Cup this past weekend, and the Winston-Salem Journal did a story on James Blake that spoke volumes about team tennis. He relates that when he went through the loss of his father, his broken neck and fall in the rankings, he relied on the support of his family to get him through. He listed his family as his mother and brother, and then his Davis Cup team mates, his coach (he has had the same one since age 11), and his Davis Cup captain. You could tell by watching the members of this team that there was something special there. All of my team mates are friends, some my best friends. We all support each other and the team above ourselves. The only other organization I have ever felt this was the military. That's why I play USTA team tennis. And this would be what I would miss most.

[blakesq]

I don't think that the reason of "Pre-arranged competitive matches" is mutually exclusive to the team concept.

Blakesq

Originally Posted by oldguysrule

I find it interesting that 26 out of 39 voters are playing USTA TEAM tennis for individual reasons. I admit, when I first started, I did not fully understand the team concept and was playing for me and to meet other players. That soon changed. However, this seems to be a high percentage of players that place individual needs ahead of team needs. It might explain why some people are frustrated when teams employ strategies that promote a team win over individual needs.

[oldguysrule]

Originally Posted by tennis-n-sc

Having played team sports since I was about 8 years old (and I'm an old man now), there is something about being a part of team that can be very rewarding. I have been blessed in that the adult tennis teams I have been a part of, both men's and mixed, have typically bonded in a very short time. We are all generally very competitive and want to win, but the comradeship between the players transcends the individual needs and goals. I was at the Davis Cup this past weekend, and the Winston-Salem Journal did a story on James Blake that spoke volumes about team tennis. He relates that when he went through the loss of his father, his broken neck and fall in the rankings, he relied on the support of his family to get him through. He listed his family as his mother and brother, and then his Davis Cup team mates, his coach (he has had the same one since age 11), and his Davis Cup captain. You could tell by watching the members of this team that there was something special there. All of my team mates are friends, some my best friends. We all support each other and the team above ourselves. The only other organization I have ever felt this was the military. That's why I play USTA team tennis. And this would be what I would miss most.

I want to be on your team...

When you look at it like this, all of the sideline drama...sand-baggers, cheaters, jerks, etc. don't seem to be that big of an issue.

[oldguysrule]

Originally Posted by blakesq

I don't think that the reason of "Pre-arranged competitive matches" is mutually exclusive to the team concept.

Blakesq

I agree with you. It is one of my reasons for playing. But if that is your main reason for playing and you run up against a team that doesn't give you a competitive match because of their lineup strategy, then you may get frustrated.

[tennis-n-sc]

Originally Posted by oldguysrule

I want to be on your team...

When you look at it like this, all of the sideline drama...sand-baggers, cheaters, jerks, etc. don't seem to be that big of an issue.

Thanks, Oldguys. It is true, we seldom even talk about sandbagging, cheating, jerks, etc. I can't remember the last time anything like that came up. But that's not all I can't remember!!!

[vllockhart]

I thought I'd get to play in a match every week, which to me is the definition of a league. But I always run into this competition amongst the team to determine who is going to play. I think whoever joins the team should have a guaranteed number of matches. One thing people never seem to get is that if a player is weaker, he or she isn't going to get better sitting on the bench.


The captain of my team said that Saturday's practice will determine who plays the first match Wednesday. I have to try to cream my own teammate to get a match. I just don't agree with that at all. But, we'll see.