what is WTT league tennis like?

[2ndServe]

Anybody play this?

[shissncg]

Yep, it's a lot of fun.

[shissncg]

I've played in the Hartford, CT and Cary, NC leagues. Played in regional qualifiers twice, and went to nationals once.

[dizzlmcwizzl]

i hate it .... I am playing this season because one of my good tennis buddies needed one more guy.

[jk175d]

I think it's great fun. If you enjoy singles, doubles, and mixed... I wouldn't see the point if say you only like singles.

I also think it's best if you have a smaller team, or at least just bring 2 or 3 guys and girls to each match so there isn't too much sitting around.

[Cindysphinx]

Originally Posted by dizzlmcwizzl

i hate it .... I am playing this season because one of my good tennis buddies needed one more guy.

May I ask why?

I am invited each year to join a WTT team, but I have always declined. I don't have very good reasons -- maybe you can give me some? I don't know, I just worry I will get out there and be severely overmatched. Or asked to play singles -- blech.

[KoaUka]

It's fun. You play service lets and substitutions are allowed. Sandbagging is welcome as they go by an "average ntrp" for the team.

We had this one guy on the team w/ a monster twist serve. Waited till time to serve for the match, then subbed him in. The other team didn't know what hit them...

[jk175d]

Originally Posted by KoaUka

It's fun. You play service lets and substitutions are allowed. Sandbagging is welcome as they go by an "average ntrp" for the team.

We had this one guy on the team w/ a monster twist serve. Waited till time to serve for the match, then subbed him in. The other team didn't know what hit them...

could you explain your "sandbagging is wlecome" statement? Not sure how or why one would sandbag in WTT.

[KoaUka]

It's just more casual/loose. Let's say your playing in the 4.5 division, you can have a couple 5.0's on the team as long as the "average" level is still 4.5.

[jk175d]

Originally Posted by KoaUka

It's just more casual/loose. Let's say your playing in the 4.5 division, you can have a couple 5.0's on the team as long as the "average" level is still 4.5.

it's the average of your top 2 males and top 2 females. So you can only have at most one 5.0 guy and girl in 4.5 division but then no one else above 4.0. or your average would be over 4.5

Again, I don't see any point in sandbagging in wtt since the object is to rack up as many games as you can. Almost every WTT league and tourney I've played in has come down to tiebreaks in the standings decided by games won/lost.

[dizzlmcwizzl]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

May I ask why?

I am invited each year to join a WTT team, but I have always declined. I don't have very good reasons -- maybe you can give me some? I don't know, I just worry I will get out there and be severely overmatched. Or asked to play singles -- blech.

We have a corporate WTT league which plays at the open level. What this means is HUGE disparities in levels. A couple teams have 2.5's and 3.0's. A couple teams play with 4.0's and a couple teams with 5.0's.

What I have found is that there is one competitive match per season ... when we play the other 4.0 team. Usually we are crushing or getting crushed. Not much fun.

also,

The league I am reluctantly playing in now is limited to a 4.0 average. So the teams are closer but not by much. There is still a real disparity in skill from the top to the bottom. Personally, I think no one cares about this league ... players got roped in by their buddies, they show up and carry on without any real interest in playing their best tennis.

Basically, if I want a competitive tennis match then I am going to compete and try hard. If I want social tennis, I am going to relax and screw around. I don't like the rules which encourage a social atmosphere but still require you to keep official score ...

[jk175d]

Originally Posted by dizzlmcwizzl

We have a corporate WTT league which plays at the open level. What this means is HUGE disparities in levels. A couple teams have 2.5's and 3.0's. A couple teams play with 4.0's and a couple teams with 5.0's.

What I have found is that there is one competitive match per season ... when we play the other 4.0 team. Usually we are crushing or getting crushed. Not much fun.

also,

The league I am reluctantly playing in now is limited to a 4.0 average. So the teams are closer but not by much. There is still a real disparity in skill from the top to the bottom. Personally, I think no one cares about this league ... players got roped in by their buddies, they show up and carry on without any real interest in playing their best tennis.

Basically, if I want a competitive tennis match then I am going to compete and try hard. If I want social tennis, I am going to relax and screw around. I don't like the rules which encourage a social atmosphere but still require you to keep official score ...

bah humbug!

[dizzlmcwizzl]

Originally Posted by jk175d

bah humbug!

I will admit that some people really like this format. I however, am not one of those people.

[Cindysphinx]

Hmmm.

I doubt I would enjoy WTT. I really do not like it at all when I am much weaker or much stronger than my opponent. Neither situation is fun for me. That USTA play tends to give me competitive matches is one of the biggest draws for me.

[SwankPeRFection]

Kinda blows. The rules are the same as corporate tennis. You don't play ads, you play lets, and on a let your partner can return the ball if it's short. Depending on alloted time and amount of courts/amount of players on a team, you usually only have time for one set... which can go by really quickly. If you're a player who likes to be out there and play 3 sets easily, you'll hate it.

[sureshs]

I have played WTT twice. Could never figure out the rules. It is like 5-3 is a win or something like that. We were constantly looking at the captain to find out if the set was over or not.

[jk175d]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Hmmm.

I doubt I would enjoy WTT. I really do not like it at all when I am much weaker or much stronger than my opponent. Neither situation is fun for me. That USTA play tends to give me competitive matches is one of the biggest draws for me.

I haven't found such a disparity in the leagues I've played in. I've played in 4.0 and 4.5 divisions and both were comparable to usta league play at those same levels.

[jk175d]

Originally Posted by SwankPeRFection

Kinda blows. The rules are the same as corporate tennis. You don't play ads, you play lets, and on a let your partner can return the ball if it's short. Depending on alloted time and amount of courts/amount of players on a team, you usually only have time for one set... which can go by really quickly. If you're a player who likes to be out there and play 3 sets easily, you'll hate it.

wtt rules call for a single 6 or 8 game set for each court depending on your league (the pros play 5 game sets), but remember you're playing doubles, singles, and mixed doubles all in one match so you can still wind up playing 3 sets.

A match is still about 2 hours of tennis, same as most usta matches.

[jk175d]

Originally Posted by dizzlmcwizzl

I will admit that some people really like this format. I however, am not one of those people.

Being a curmudgeon doesn't make you a bad person

[AR15]

The rules are too complicated. I just want to play tennis, not keep up with the weird rules format.