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But isn't that 500 a pretty large percentage of total successful appeal-downs? Found one of your posts (albeit a very old one) that said there were only about 1300 successful appeal-downs overall in one year.

This article stays that top-100 pros won 89% of their service games after being up 30-15, and 91% after being up 40-30. Pretty close.

That makes the rule change seem more significant to me. Players who got just got bumped up are probably the main group of players who would consider appealing down, because they don't want to leave their team to become a small fish in the next level. And it seems like this rule change would...

I think WTN's method could work fine for players who play a lot of matches against a variety of skill levels. You may lose two close sets in one match, but if you keep playing opponents around that level, chances are you will win some sets and it will even out eventually. The problem comes with...

It may be a baby step, but it's in the right direction. If someone played at Sectionals AND got bumped up, they were a star of their Sectionals team, which many players never get to experience - makes sense to keep them up and let others have a chance. When you say 10% of players getting...

It blows my mind when I see stories like this, because in my area the league coordinators would never let this happen. Anybody who wants to play gets on a team, especially at their actual level. I mean, there are several teams that roster guys playing up above their level, so an actual at-level...

My district is one that has seen increasing USTA league participation since I started playing about 7 years ago up to now, while many other districts around the country have a declined. I don't have great evidence for what's causing our increase, but here are a few observations in relation to...

Would be kinda cool to play a lineup where you have a 2.5 and a 4.5 playing on the same team in the same match. Let us know if you pull that off!

Easiest way would be to play it straight, e.g. for the 6.0-7.0-8.0 recruit a few each of 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 men and women and let them all stick to their "natural" levels. But if you wanted to get crazy you could also recruit 2.5s and/or 4.5s, and the 3.5 players on your team could play at any of the...

Sounds like you'll need to recruit participants from players who both play tennis and compete in Iron Man triathalons. If I played a 6-set singles match you'd need to carry me off the court.

The net (which includes netting, cord, cable, strap, band, posts) is different than a permanent fixture. They are sort of the opposite for ball and player touching rules: If the ball hits the net, the point is not over. If a player touches the net while the ball is in play, the point is over...

I think being in good physical / endurance shape and acclimating to heat are two different things that can be somewhat independent. There are plenty of examples of athletes in excellent physical shape who get crushed by overheating in extreme outdoor conditions they aren't used to. To get ready...

Have you ever seen someone get DQ-promoted during a rating year, but then get a C-rating back down to their pre-DQ level at the end of the same year? Seems theoretically possible, maybe more so now with mixed DQ's happening, but I wonder if USTA would prevent that possibility. If you get a 3rd...

If the low-rated behavior is obnoxious but no actual cheating or rule-breaking is involved, it would be hard to justify an official penalty or ban being enacted. I like the idea though. Instead of penalizing the low-rated teams, maybe reward the highest-rated teams. Give them an end-of-year...

Given that he admitted to touching the net, it was clearly the right call for you to take the point. The harder question is whether the "sour taste" of the exchange could have been avoided if you had gone about it differently. What if you had initially asked, "was that a legal shot?" That could...

UTR counts a 3rd set 10-point match tiebreak as 2 games, according to their FAQ.

I never argued against California producing more high-level tennis players than other states - they certainly do. A "5.0" player is a very specific category of player though - it is someone who has a 5.0 rating from USTA based on USTA-rated match results. If someone doesn't play rated USTA...

I enjoy seeking truth and understanding, but I also enjoy having fun. Both goals have worth. I come here for a bit of the former and a lot of the latter. Nutty thought experiments are fun to me - I don't think I'm alone. I'd also argue that the likelihood of two recently retired pros taking on...

Say you were a 4.5 or 5.0 USTA men's league captain with Sectionals / Nationals aspirations. You have a chance to have Querrey and Johnson on your team, but they had to a) play doubles together, and b) spot a 40-0 lead every game of every match. Would you take them on your team? I'm guessing...

I do think that using both the match score (who won) AND the total game score could potentially work better than using only the total game score. It might actually help deal with those who punt games on purpose when they know they can still win the match. But only rigorous testing would confirm...

Maybe I'm weird but I just don't think it's that hard. If I hit a shot that is still traveling toward my opponents then the point can't possibly be over yet, no matter what my opponents are saying to each other.

I don't think code #12 applies because it was not an "out call" - it was a communication to the doubles partner. Saying the word "out" after watching the ball land is an out call. Saying the word "out" while the ball is traveling toward your partner is a communication. As the opponent, I think...

Maybe look into volunteer opportunites for teaching kids. This might be a good place to start: https://www.ustafoundation.com/njtl_network/ Your drive to be a teacher and mentor is probably more important than the exact level of your tennis skills. Good luck!

How good do you have to be to become a coach? From your post it sounds like you are more than qualified to teach at least beginner / intermediate level. If your local club refuses to hire you, maybe find a way to offer lessons on your own at the local parks or something?

I thought the challengers looked solid - I was amazed how many returns they got back and some of them quite good returns. That's impressive even if S & S were holding back a bit. And some very good reaction volleys. Hard to tell for sure how well those guys would do in USTA 5.0 leagues - they...

If my shot lands and the opponent calls "out" at the appropriate time then it's usually pretty clear. If they hit the ball back then they should make the out call extra clear if it was close.

I don't really mind if my opponent says the word "out" to his partner while our shot is still in the air. It is clearly not an actual out call because the ball hasn't landed yet. I'm ignoring anything they say until I see my team's shot land and confirm that the opponents have stopped playing...

If he plays doubles with a partner who is playing up, then he could get very high match ratings if they have good results against strong opponents. The algorithm essentially gives him extra individual credit for winning with a weak partner.

Interesting. He mentioned the girl's first name, and there is a girl by that name from Socal who is near the top of the U14 rankings on UTR. If it's the right girl, she has a 9.68 UTR. I think that would be pretty close to the 5.0/5.5 border for men - so that was a very good opponent for the...

I'm getting Jon Belushi decathlete vibes