Nacho
Hall of Fame
But you KNOW I'm with you on how bogus it is to reduce doubles. That should be 2/3 sets, a point each match.
throwing gas on the fire....Amen to regular doubles
But you KNOW I'm with you on how bogus it is to reduce doubles. That should be 2/3 sets, a point each match.
The d3 rule at least gives it some value, even if it's 8 game pro sets. The d1 rule is terrible.throwing gas on the fire....Amen to regular doubles
Actually I think no-ad favors the receiver. In the sense that it makes it a bit easier to break serve.I think no ad scoring at all levels would be an interesting experiment-- might return the favor to the server a little bit in tight games.
Actually I think no-ad favors the receiver. In the sense that it makes it a bit easier to break serve.
Think of it this way: The server has the statistically advantage on each point that he is serving. At the ATP level for example, players win about 65% of points on their service. The returner can win some points here and there, but the more points that are needed to win the game, the more points the returner has to string together against the odds, and the harder it gets to break. Whereas fewer points needed makes breaks more achievable.
For example if you take it to the extreme and have a game be exactly one point, then we'd expect there to be many more breaks (about 35% of games would be breaks). At the other extreme, if you needed 10 points to win a game, breaks would be very rare.
I think juniors are going to want scoring and rules to be as close as possible with the pro game-currently is similar. Getting more juniors into the sport is more a matter of recruiting... I'm not seeing much efforts in most high schools or junior high schools to attract the better athletes to tennis. They seem content to take whatever students come their way. In the non-school centers, there are some efforts at recruiting, but there needs to be a change in thinking: maybe reaching out through the Y and through churches like approaches that have such success drawing new athletes to basketball and soccer and swimming.
USTA junior tournaments still play ads unless there is shortened scoring due to rain. For the higher level sectionals (level 1/1A//2) and I think for all the nationals, main draw matches are full 3rd with ads. Backdraw is 10 point tiebreak in lieu of full 3rd set. Now there are midlevel sectional tournaments that finish in 2 days that use 10 tiebreak for main draw matches too. Doubles are 8 game pro sets. The junior format is fairly close to the pro format for now. There are a few junior tournaments that use college scoring like the new Oracle junior series that starts this month. The issue with elite players is the tiebreak vs full 3rd-the better players like full 3rd as the match is a test of endurance and fitness as well as strategy. Sometimes tiebreakers come down to luck.
The biggest turnoff for recruiting younger kids into tennis is unlike any other sports, kids basically referee their own matches. 10 years olds who play a tournament or two and have to deal with some creative line callers decide they don't like the sport. The other turnoff is the cost compared to other sports. Most juniors start playing rec league in their swim/tennis neighborhoods along with soccer-usually just 1-2 hours of group lessons a week, fairly cheap with pro set matches on weekends for the younger ages. When their teams have made it to city final or state playoffs for junior team tennis, some try tournaments. The ones who like tournaments usually switch from taking a few hours a week in the neighborhood to training 2-5x 3+ hours a week at an academy, and the costs skyrocket.
The popularity of tennis as an adult rec sport somewhat limits the growth of junior tennis. We have 8 courts in our neighborhood but my son usually only hits at his academy or at friend's courts. He used to play on a junior challenge ladder as well as play high school tennis and USTA tournaments. However, courts are very hard to reserve on weeknights due to adult practice, and there is a two hour limit. My son goes to school half day so he could play and finish before 6pm, but on the ladder, there were players who didnt get home from school until after 4pm. If they had an hour drive to our courts, my son would have to reserve a court a week in advance. Sometime there would only be 1-2 spots available a week ahead unless he wanted to start a match at 9pm. The players were forced to play tiebreak 3rd to finish within time limits. Theoretically, junior players who wanted to save $ could drill 2 days a week and arrange matchplay the rest of the week. However, those juniors would have difficulty getting courts.
I wish more high school courts were open to the public-esp to juniors. When my son plays out-of-town tournaments, there are often local high school tennis courts players can use for practice. However in our area, most high school courts are locked. I dont think he can even use his own high school courts off season or on weekends.
kids basically referee their own matches
cost compared to other sports
The popularity of tennis as an adult rec sport somewhat limits the growth of junior tennis
I am on the fence on this topic.....I sense that this has gotten worse over time. I hate saying back in the day, but back in the day there were never ref's at the tournament. You learned to work things out, or the tournament director made the call on something. Most kids were honest, but you had a few that certainly bent the calls. It was few and far between. Now you can't go to an event without 4-5 USTA refs walking around. Seems a little overkill, and I can't decide in my mind if its a good or bad thing? I also always felt the cheaters weeded themselves out. I would be interested to hear if you think its that prolific that its out of control? I guess I always think of tennis as something that is based on honor, and the ref's everywhere open the door to push the boundaries. l
I agree most of the time kids should work it out, but it is a hot topic with junior parents of younger players on other sites. It would be expensive to add all those refs, and some dont pay attention even when they are on court. A different but similar issue is a young kid makes the right call, and then a bossier kid argues with the kid to try to get the kid to change it. Once kids are in the 16s or even 14s, they are not going to let anyone bully them into changing a correct call. When my son has played chaired matches, he sometimes has been too cautious on calls. After one close match, the ref told son afterwards, do you realize that you played 20 out balls? He probably would have won quicker without the ref on court as he would have trusted his own judgment and not played balls that were 6 inches out. All player will make some wrong calls and usually they will even out. Even with the refs in college, they will not overrule a call unless a player challenges. When my son was younger and complained about cheating, I would say afterwards, next time go find a ref, give yourself more margin on your shots, or try another sport. He wanted to play tennis so he mentally got over it. The kids who survive a few years of USTA tournaments usually are mentally stronger and more disciplined though I still see 18 years old bounce racquets and throw shoes.
The most interesting thing you said was that your son played so many out balls because the ref was standing there....I remember in the 12's or 14's having issues with some kids. Everyone knew who they were, and you just expected a few bad calls. We typically worked it out, but you have to have a think skin quick. I agree some kids will bully their way through. I always appreciate having my dad at the matches, and there were a few times he needed to step in because of other parents mores then the kids. Really sad how it is, but that sort of mental tennis at that age prepares you later on. I have seen 40yr olds act just as stupid in tournaments.
Another one that bugs me are the kids that ALWAYS whine even when they are blowing someone out... like one kid at a recent tournament was complaining to his dad the whole time about his grips and shanking a bunch of shots when he won 6-1 6-0. Grow up.
I had one youngin that decided to make a line call much tighter than any other on a potential lob to send a game to deuce(ITA summer, so D1 rules and I would've had a good shot), which he called out to clinch the set. I didn't say anything but I gave the clear one eyebrow raise, which is the most I'll usually do on a really shaky call. I still gave him advice on college tennis and such post match, so it wasn't really a big deal.
If tennis doesn't change, pickleball will take over.