Tournaments in South California

Dwhit

New User
Me and my buddy are coming to California in June for a couple months, and are looking to play as much Tennis as possible. We're staying with relatives who happen to have a floodlit tennis court, and a local club called Upland Tennis Club nearby.

Our plan is to train for the first couple weeks and then enter some tournaments in the area, but other than Futures events which I'm presuming will be very strong in California, we haven't a clue of the tennis scene in California.

As we live in the UK, we've no idea regarding NTRP, but to help give you an idea of the level we play at we have a few clips uploaded below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn-F3QtwtII&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyzBmgXssg4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErvhYmK1frc&feature=related

The final video is definitely a better account of our playing standard's as the first two were taken at the end of a long hitting session, hence the poor quality.

What is the level below Futures?
Is there a tournament schedule on the net?
Will we be able to turn up and sign in like Futures or are the draws decided in advance?

Thanks for your help,

Dan
 

Dwhit

New User
Thanks for your help Ledor,

I've just had a look at the tournaments section, and I'm just wondering if you have to be born in the US to join the USTA membership? And on that note, to be eligible for the USTA National Open Hardcourt Championships for example, would you have to be from the US?

How strong are the Men's Open Singles?

Thanks in advance,

Dan
 

goober

Legend
Here's a rough conversion of LTA to NTRP

LTA NTRP
8.2 - 3.0
7.2 - 3.5
6.2 - 4.0
5.2 - 4.5
4.2 - 5.0
3.2 - 5.5
2.2 - 6.0


Open singles can have players of any level. Generally winners are in the 5.5 range. Bigger tournaments maybe in the 6.0 range.

I am pretty sure the USTA will gladly take your money and let you play tournaments. I know lots of nonUS citizens playing USTA while working for company or going to grad school here. :)
 
J

Julieta

Guest
Me and my buddy are coming to California in June for a couple months, and are looking to play as much Tennis as possible. We're staying with relatives who happen to have a floodlit tennis court, and a local club called Upland Tennis Club nearby.

Our plan is to train for the first couple weeks and then enter some tournaments in the area, but other than Futures events which I'm presuming will be very strong in California, we haven't a clue of the tennis scene in California.

As we live in the UK, we've no idea regarding NTRP, but to help give you an idea of the level we play at we have a few clips uploaded below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn-F3QtwtII&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyzBmgXssg4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErvhYmK1frc&feature=related

The final video is definitely a better account of our playing standard's as the first two were taken at the end of a long hitting session, hence the poor quality.

What is the level below Futures?
Is there a tournament schedule on the net?
Will we be able to turn up and sign in like Futures or are the draws decided in advance?

Thanks for your help,

Dan

You definitely dont need to be a citizen to play in US tournaments. I'd definitely try the open events - you can seach online for tournaments. For futures it is really a matter of signing in and seeing if there are spots in qualies, not that easy in So Cal where there are a lot of players. You would probably have better luck getting in to a Futures in the UK. However if there is one going on when you are there you might as well go for it.

There are a lot of So Cal players here on this board. I know of Granite Chief, 35ft6 and Onehandbh are good players along with many others who may be interested in meeting up and practicing. There is a thread somewhere for LA area players, you might try to find that. You could also try contacting the area colleges - there are several - to see if any players are around in the summer.
 

Dwhit

New User
You definitely dont need to be a citizen to play in US tournaments. I'd definitely try the open events - you can seach online for tournaments. For futures it is really a matter of signing in and seeing if there are spots in qualies, not that easy in So Cal where there are a lot of players. You would probably have better luck getting in to a Futures in the UK. However if there is one going on when you are there you might as well go for it.

There are a lot of So Cal players here on this board. I know of Granite Chief, 35ft6 and Onehandbh are good players along with many others who may be interested in meeting up and practicing. There is a thread somewhere for LA area players, you might try to find that. You could also try contacting the area colleges - there are several - to see if any players are around in the summer.

Thanks for all your help, do you play at all? The tournaments we're particularly interested in playing are the 'USTA National Open Hardcourt Championships' at Balboa Tennis club, the 'Calabasas Open' and the 'Claremont Pro Futures Pre Qualifying'. My aunt lives a 5min drive from Claremont club so this tournament would be ideal, but would we be likely to gain a place? And are players selected for tournaments based on NTRP for open tournaments? Because even if we have a USTA membership, surely we won't have any form of ranking or playing history.

Thanks for your help in advance,

Dan
 
J

Julieta

Guest
Thanks for all your help, do you play at all? The tournaments we're particularly interested in playing are the 'USTA National Open Hardcourt Championships' at Balboa Tennis club, the 'Calabasas Open' and the 'Claremont Pro Futures Pre Qualifying'. My aunt lives a 5min drive from Claremont club so this tournament would be ideal, but would we be likely to gain a place? And are players selected for tournaments based on NTRP for open tournaments? Because even if we have a USTA membership, surely we won't have any form of ranking or playing history.

Thanks for your help in advance,

Dan

I'm older now so I don't play the open stuff anymore. In the US, open tournaments do not require an NTRP so you do not have to worry about that. They will take anyone. if it is a tournament with a big draw then there is a risk you may not get in, so in that case you want to contact the tournament director and tell them your country ranking. If you have a high LTA ranking then give that but it also helps if you say something like "I'm top 20 in the UK" or whatever, then they might let you in. But usually the tournament directors want the money so they let people into the tournament. They want you to play. The other thing is that if your country ranking is high enough you may deserve a seed and there is no way for the directors to know that unless you tell them. Also if you have ITF ranking - you probably need to tell them.

The national open at Balboa will be tough but you should be able to get in that one. If you win you do get a WC into a futures. A friend of mine won one of those awhile ago and she did get a WC and actually a couple more just by asking the TD and mentioning that she won one of those events. So you want to try to do well there! They did a 128 draw last year with byes so there should be spots. Again, the NTRP doesn't really matter. Balboa is nice - you may not want to go back to the UK I am warning you now. The Claremont pre-qualifer I know nothing about but again, they want to make the cash so it is in their best interest to let you play. You do need an IPIN from the ITF to play Futures (but not pre-qualies such as the Claremont).

Do a search on the forum though or go to the travel section and see if you can find the SoCal players thread. These guys like Onehandbh and 35ft6, GraniteChief etc would be awesome practice partners.
 

Moz

Hall of Fame
Thanks for all your help, do you play at all? The tournaments we're particularly interested in playing are the 'USTA National Open Hardcourt Championships' at Balboa Tennis club, the 'Calabasas Open' and the 'Claremont Pro Futures Pre Qualifying'. My aunt lives a 5min drive from Claremont club so this tournament would be ideal, but would we be likely to gain a place? And are players selected for tournaments based on NTRP for open tournaments? Because even if we have a USTA membership, surely we won't have any form of ranking or playing history.

Thanks for your help in advance,

Dan

Hi Dan

I'm a 4.2 in the UK and the standard in the US open events down there will be very high. I played for quite a while in the D.C area and the bigger open events with prize money had lots of very high quality players - you won't run out of opponents that's for sure. There was never any problem getting in the draws - I've never been turned away as they have never filled.

If you can squeeze any smaller tournaments in I advise you to do so as the general level of play will probably be pretty strong there as well.

Enjoy it - the people over there are very friendly.

btw - Gianluca will be a 5.0 over there. I saw him play at the doubles at the Tunbridge Wells British Tour event last year.
 
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Dwhit

New User
I'm older now so I don't play the open stuff anymore. In the US, open tournaments do not require an NTRP so you do not have to worry about that. They will take anyone. if it is a tournament with a big draw then there is a risk you may not get in, so in that case you want to contact the tournament director and tell them your country ranking. If you have a high LTA ranking then give that but it also helps if you say something like "I'm top 20 in the UK" or whatever, then they might let you in. But usually the tournament directors want the money so they let people into the tournament. They want you to play. The other thing is that if your country ranking is high enough you may deserve a seed and there is no way for the directors to know that unless you tell them. Also if you have ITF ranking - you probably need to tell them.

The national open at Balboa will be tough but you should be able to get in that one. If you win you do get a WC into a futures. A friend of mine won one of those awhile ago and she did get a WC and actually a couple more just by asking the TD and mentioning that she won one of those events. So you want to try to do well there! They did a 128 draw last year with byes so there should be spots. Again, the NTRP doesn't really matter. Balboa is nice - you may not want to go back to the UK I am warning you now. The Claremont pre-qualifer I know nothing about but again, they want to make the cash so it is in their best interest to let you play. You do need an IPIN from the ITF to play Futures (but not pre-qualies such as the Claremont).

Do a search on the forum though or go to the travel section and see if you can find the SoCal players thread. These guys like Onehandbh and 35ft6, GraniteChief etc would be awesome practice partners.

Thanks Julieta, I'll give that a try! Do you think it's worth me trying to get a NTRP rating at all?

The Balboa Club looks very nice! I think i might cancel the return flight.
 

Dwhit

New User
Hi Dan

I'm a 4.2 in the UK and the standard in the US open events down there will be very high. I played for quite a while in the D.C area and the bigger open events with prize money had lots of very high quality players - you won't run out of opponents that's for sure. There was never any problem getting in the draws - I've never been turned away as they have never filled.

If you can squeeze any smaller tournaments in I advise you to do so as the general level of play will probably be pretty strong there as well.

Enjoy it - the people over there are very friendly.

btw - Gianluca will be a 5.0 over there. I saw him play at the doubles at the Tunbridge Wells British Tour event last year.

Hi Moz, thanks for the response.

How did the standard compare to Grade 3's in the UK? The Tunbridge Christmas Indoor for example? Did you play any of the public parks tournaments? I've found them when searching through the USTA schedule, but can't imagine how that works and what the standard is like?

Gianluca is playing big tennis at the moment, how do you think he'd get on in a typical open event from what you've seen?

Thanks,

Dan
 

blue12

Semi-Pro
No there is no point in getting a NTRP rating unless you want to play league tennis. Sounds like you are looking to play opens though. You can look at pretty much all USTA tournaments online and see what the requirements are. Most closed tournaments are just snobby clubs or championships that require a certain amount of points. Oh yeah most people self rate even for leagues these days!
 
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Dwhit

New User
No there is no point in getting a NTRP rating unless you want to play league tennis. Sounds like you are looking to play opens though. You can look at pretty much all USTA tournaments online and see what the requirements are. Most closed tournaments are just snobby clubs or championships that require a certain amount of points. Oh yeah most people self rate even for leagues these days!

Thanks for your help blue12, do you play and live in SoCal?
 

onehandbh

G.O.A.T.
Do a search on the forum though or go to the travel section and see if you can find the SoCal players thread. These guys like Onehandbh and 35ft6, GraniteChief etc would be awesome practice partners.

LOL, I don't know if I can call myself an awesome practice partner...
 

Moz

Hall of Fame
Hi Moz, thanks for the response.

How did the standard compare to Grade 3's in the UK? The Tunbridge Christmas Indoor for example? Did you play any of the public parks tournaments? I've found them when searching through the USTA schedule, but can't imagine how that works and what the standard is like?

Gianluca is playing big tennis at the moment, how do you think he'd get on in a typical open event from what you've seen?

Thanks,

Dan

I didn't play any of the public park tournaments so I'm not sure.

If you are looking at tournaments with wild cards or decent prize money the top players would be more like main draw British Tour tournaments - a fair bit stronger than the grade 3 you mentioned.

I was in a different section of the states without the depth of the California area. In a decent size draw he'd be doing really well to make the quarters. I say that purely because of the strength over there and the fact that he's not going to get seeded.

I look forward to hearing how it goes - good luck!

LOL, I don't know if I can call myself an awesome practice partner...

You'd better be as I don't think they are legal as drinking partners!
 

Dwhit

New User
I didn't play any of the public park tournaments so I'm not sure.

If you are looking at tournaments with wild cards or decent prize money the top players would be more like main draw British Tour tournaments - a fair bit stronger than the grade 3 you mentioned.

I was in a different section of the states without the depth of the California area. In a decent size draw he'd be doing really well to make the quarters. I say that purely because of the strength over there and the fact that he's not going to get seeded.

I look forward to hearing how it goes - good luck!



You'd better be as I don't think they are legal as drinking partners!

Thanks for the info Moz, we'll be seeing a bit of Mexico to make up for the drinking age in the US!
 

DNShade

Hall of Fame
Do you know of the Upland area? If so, ever played at Upland Tennis Club or Claremont Club? If you're not too far, it'd be great to meet up for a hit!

Upland is a little bit away. How long are you going to be in town for? Going to be here during IW? Not that far at all.

Or maybe you guys would like to make a little trip out this way (LA) and we can play at the LA tennis center at UCLA and who knows maybe be out there with Pete or Taylor Dent, Sam Q or some of the other guys we get out here depending on the day...
 
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luca85

New User
Upland is a little bit away. How long are you going to be in town for? Going to be here during IW? Not that far at all.

Or maybe you guys would like to make a little trip out this way (LA) and we can play at the LA tennis center at UCLA and who knows maybe be out there with Pete or Taylor Dent, Sam Q or some of the other guys we get out here depending on the day...

Hey, we are not gonna be there for IW, we're gonna be there in June.

It would be great to play with you at UCLA, would the offer still be available in June?
 

MomentumGT

Semi-Pro
Nice vids! Who's who in those videos? I think you guys will do well in the open division here in SoCal. As Moz said, the competition is pretty stiff out here but I think you guys will do fine. In the smaller open events you have a lot of Academy Juniors in the early rounds. Once you past them you will be playing against college players, or x-college players and or top ranked juniors. The later rounds would be guys trying to crack into the higher levels, generally speaking of course.

Upland TC is a nice place and I'm sure there will be a handful of teaching pros you can play some pick up sets with. I'm not that close to Upland, I'm in Riverside, but closer than LA. June isn't too far away, keep us posted and post tourney results as well. :)

-Jon
 

onehandbh

G.O.A.T.
Do you know of the Upland area? If so, ever played at Upland Tennis Club or Claremont Club? If you're not too far, it'd be great to meet up for a hit!

I've never played in Upland or Claremont, but it's about an hour East of
LA.
 

Dwhit

New User
Nice vids! Who's who in those videos? I think you guys will do well in the open division here in SoCal. As Moz said, the competition is pretty stiff out here but I think you guys will do fine. In the smaller open events you have a lot of Academy Juniors in the early rounds. Once you past them you will be playing against college players, or x-college players and or top ranked juniors. The later rounds would be guys trying to crack into the higher levels, generally speaking of course.

Upland TC is a nice place and I'm sure there will be a handful of teaching pros you can play some pick up sets with. I'm not that close to Upland, I'm in Riverside, but closer than LA. June isn't too far away, keep us posted and post tourney results as well. :)

-Jon

Thanks for the feedback mate, how far away is Riverside? I'm the one in the grey tshirt in the first two vid's, and my pal Gianluca (Luca85) is in the college recruitment video and the one in the cap when we're hitting in the first two.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the standard out in SoCal, even if we get blasted off the court, it should be a good experience! Will you be playing any of the tournies around June? We'll have to meet up and have a hit if you're around.

Thanks,

Dan
 

Dwhit

New User
Hey Californians, me and my buddy have arrived here in Upland and are travelling to San Diego tommorow for the USTA hardcourts at Balboa. Anyone playing or fancy a hit sometime this week?
 

MomentumGT

Semi-Pro
Good to hear you guys are here. You both are entered in the Balboa Tourney? How do you guys like Upland?

-Jon
 

Carlito

Semi-Pro
So you guys come to California and sign up for the hardest tournament possible. Good luck. You guys must be pretty good then.

For those that don't know Balboa is a NATIONAL tournament.

I used to play at Upland club. There are a lot of good players there. A bunch of them were training together there for Balboa. There is one clay court. Claremont club has better facilaties but the better players play at Upland.
 

Dwhit

New User
Upland's nice, but Balboa is head and shoulders above! Absolutely beautiful, too bad we both lost first round! I got to the third round of consolation draw, so it wasn't all bad!

We're back in Upland for the week if anyone fancies a hit? We're probably gonna come in to LA for a couple days so let us know.
 

subaru3169

Semi-Pro
i'm game to hit with you

you can msn me or email me through my profile

i know of a couple clean courts around unless you have some good locations
 
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