USTA tournaments

[spiritdragon]

i have yet to play a usta tournament and am not sure what type of tournament i should play in. i guess i'm about a 4.0 to 4.5 player but there aren't many tournaments near me that have ntrp tournaments. i've noticed that some of the tournaments will say 3.0 - 4.5. does this mean that all the people within that range will play against each other or that there will be separate brackets for each rating? one last thing i was wondering was what the level range for open tournaments were and whether or not i should try competing in them. Thanks in advance.

[chlsmo]

Originally Posted by spiritdragon

i have yet to play a usta tournament and am not sure what type of tournament i should play in. i guess i'm about a 4.0 to 4.5 player but there aren't many tournaments near me that have ntrp tournaments. i've noticed that some of the tournaments will say 3.0 - 4.5. does this mean that all the people within that range will play against each other or that there will be separate brackets for each rating? one last thing i was wondering was what the level range for open tournaments were and whether or not i should try competing in them. Thanks in advance.

I am by no means an expert but...

3.0 - 4.5 should mean that there will be separate divisions. 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, & 4.5. Have you played any USTA? If not, have you played anyone else who has? How did you do against them and what was their NTRP rating? I do not know your background in tennis so I won't really make any comments on what level you should play at.

Here in So. Cal. the opens are 5.0+. I am pretty sure that money attracts the better players 5.5+. I know that some 4.5's will play Opens and usually get killed. How long have you been playing tennis?

[rasajadad]

If you're having trouble getting NTRP events in your area, look up the age group events. A lot of people (including me) prefer them.

[spiritdragon]

Originally Posted by rasajadad

If you're having trouble getting NTRP events in your area, look up the age group events. A lot of people (including me) prefer them.

do u know what the level range for the age group events is? and also, there seems to be 18s and 20s but i am 19 so would i be able to participate in the 20s? thanks.

[spiritdragon]

Originally Posted by chlsmo

I am by no means an expert but...

3.0 - 4.5 should mean that there will be separate divisions. 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, & 4.5. Have you played any USTA? If not, have you played anyone else who has? How did you do against them and what was their NTRP rating? I do not know your background in tennis so I won't really make any comments on what level you should play at.

Here in So. Cal. the opens are 5.0+. I am pretty sure that money attracts the better players 5.5+. I know that some 4.5's will play Opens and usually get killed. How long have you been playing tennis?

I am not sure if the people I've played have ntrp ratings but i am confident from watching videos and looking at the self rate page that the players I play against range from 4.0 to 5.0.with the exception of the 4.5+ players the scores are usually kept really close.

I am in the Eastern Long Island region and if the open level is 5.0+ i guess i would probably get crushed in them, although i do enjoy the challenge.

[goober]

Originally Posted by spiritdragon

I am not sure if the people I've played have ntrp ratings but i am confident from watching videos and looking at the self rate page that the players I play against range from 4.0 to 5.0.with the exception of the 4.5+ players the scores are usually kept really close.

I am in the Eastern Long Island region and if the open level is 5.0+ i guess i would probably get crushed in them, although i do enjoy the challenge.

It really depends. In many open tourneys there are 4.0, 4.5 players that sign up. They don't usually go far but you definitely can run into 3.5-4.5 players in the first and sometimes even second rounds.

[IanRichardson]

spiritdragon,

If you look at the self rating stuff, I would find the one that reads close to what you are. For example if you sound like a 4.0 from the way it reads, I would play 3.5 in USTA tournaments because people sandbag like crazy in USTA tournaments.

As an example of this, at the club I used to play at we did non USTA leagues an d I played a 4.0 league. At my first USTA tournament I show up and most of the people who had beaten me at the club were playing in the 3.5 division.

A good rule of thumb is non usta play what you read, USTA drop yourself 1/2 a level to 1 level.

The best thing for you to do is play a tournament and see how the competition is in your area then go from there.

[goober]

Originally Posted by IanRichardson

spiritdragon,

If you look at the self rating stuff, I would find the one that reads close to what you are. For example if you sound like a 4.0 from the way it reads, I would play 3.5 in USTA tournaments because people sandbag like crazy in USTA tournaments.

As an example of this, at the club I used to play at we did non USTA leagues an d I played a 4.0 league. At my first USTA tournament I show up and most of the people who had beaten me at the club were playing in the 3.5 division.

.

Well you can look at it from the other perspective that most clubs leauges and players over rate themselves

Ratings are just a number. The mean nothing with out the context they are given. I have beaten some old guy that claimed he was 5.0 rated at his club. I have also lost to people with 4.0 USTA ratings that are teaching pros/former college players.

[IanRichardson]

Originally Posted by goober

Well you can look at it from the other perspective that most clubs leauges and players over rate themselves

Ratings are just a number. The mean nothing with out the context they are given. I have beaten some old guy that claimed he was 5.0 rated at his club. I have also lost to people with 4.0 USTA ratings that are teaching pros/former college players.

and that folks is why I say always play lower than what you read... if a teaching pro isnt at least a 5.0 there is a problem i think, and most people who played college tennis should be at least a 4.5 or better I believe, unless they played at a really bad school.

[spiritdragon]

thanks guys for all the responses but i would still like to know whether i would be able to participate in boys 18 or mens 20s since i am 19 years old and there doesnt seem to be mens 19s. i would also like to know what the level range is in age group tournaments. thanks!

[goober]

Originally Posted by spiritdragon

thanks guys for all the responses but i would still like to know whether i would be able to participate in boys 18 or mens 20s since i am 19 years old and there doesnt seem to be mens 19s. i would also like to know what the level range is in age group tournaments. thanks!

If you are 19 you can participate in NTRP or Opens. I am pretty sure you can't participate in juniors any more.

Age group events don't start until you are 30 and many tourneys will have 35 as the lowest age group. Age group tourneys are generally 4.5+ but there are quite a few 3.5s and 4.0s that sign up especially in the older age groups.

[chlsmo]

I would recommend that you play USTA 4.0 and see how it goes. How long have you been playing?

[spiritdragon]

Thanks for all the help guys!

Originally Posted by chlsmo

I would recommend that you play USTA 4.0 and see how it goes. How long have you been playing?

i've been playing seriously for around 4 years.

[spiritdragon]

lol, sry for all the questions but i got 1 more. on average, how far would u say that u guys travel to go to tournaments cuz all the tournaments i'm looking at seem pretty far, like an hour or so away. thanks.

[Midlife crisis]

My experience is that most tournaments have a 32 person draw, so if you were to get to the finals, you'd have to play five matches. This will usual be in three, four, or five different days so you don't want to be so far away that it's a chore (and expensive on gas) to drive two hours each day for three to five days.

Where I am, I find that more people under-rate for USTA league than for tournaments, and that for tournaments, there will be a number of players playing up. Consequently, there will be a number of 6-0, 6-1 matches early on, then the matches are more competitive for about the last eight.

Last, to echo some of the others, if you haven't played much competitive tennis, you'll most likely find you can't play nearly as wel in a match situation as you can casually rallying. I'd also say that you pick where you think you are based on the USTA rating guide and then go down one full level.

[spiritdragon]

Originally Posted by Midlife crisis

My experience is that most tournaments have a 32 person draw, so if you were to get to the finals, you'd have to play five matches. This will usual be in three, four, or five different days so you don't want to be so far away that it's a chore (and expensive on gas) to drive two hours each day for three to five days.

Where I am, I find that more people under-rate for USTA league than for tournaments, and that for tournaments, there will be a number of players playing up. Consequently, there will be a number of 6-0, 6-1 matches early on, then the matches are more competitive for about the last eight.

Last, to echo some of the others, if you haven't played much competitive tennis, you'll most likely find you can't play nearly as wel in a match situation as you can casually rallying. I'd also say that you pick where you think you are based on the USTA rating guide and then go down one full level.

Thanks for the advice! the thing that sux tho is that i can't find tournaments that are close to me that i am able to participate in. most of them are junior tournaments.

When i rated myself, i based it on my play during match play. when i practice with my friends we rally first and then play a set or 2 or if we have a bunch of people we usually play a few games and winner stays on since we usually only have one court available (shows how much my school sux. they took down the main courts in fall and have not even begun construction). however, i do understand your concern but i think that i would rather try playing a 4.0 tournament because i know that when i play against better people, i up my game and i think i will be able to gain more experience.

[Midlife crisis]

Originally Posted by spiritdragon

Thanks for the advice! the thing that sux tho is that i can't find tournaments that are close to me that i am able to participate in. most of them are junior tournaments.

When i rated myself, i based it on my play during match play. when i practice with my friends we rally first and then play a set or 2 or if we have a bunch of people we usually play a few games and winner stays on since we usually only have one court available (shows how much my school sux. they took down the main courts in fall and have not even begun construction). however, i do understand your concern but i think that i would rather try playing a 4.0 tournament because i know that when i play against better people, i up my game and i think i will be able to gain more experience.

Good luck!