Do you agree with these thoughts on UTR?

[texrunner]

I am thinking about downloading the UTR app and came across this while reading the reviews:

UTR is a dream for coaches, a nightmare for players

In years to come, UTR will be the leading cause for burnouts in tennis. In sports, the objective is to win, but not anymore. Kids are now sweating bullets every game they play because they‘re aware that every game they lose will impact their rating. This is terrible for the sport. Players are withdrawing from tournaments at an alarming rate just to avoid unfavorable UTR matchups.
On top of this, the algorithm is currently flawed. Players’ ratings across the board are dropping. This is mostly due to the fact that nearly all active players in the system are constantly improving, which makes it extremely difficult for anyone to move up.

I don't know about the part that says "players ratings...are dropping" but that's not the point of my post.

I have agree with whoever wrote this review that UTR is causing more stress for players than ever, and I will go so far as to say it's taken the joy out of some of the Junior players' tennis journey. My kid -thank God- doesn't obsess over her rating, but that said, she was very disappointed to see it went down after she had what she thought was a pretty good tournament a few weeks ago. She won a match against someone a little lower than she and it was close, but lost a close match against someone almost a point higher, which she thought would help her a lot. Nothing had fallen off her history, so she couldn't figure it out why she went down and neither could I. There are many other examples like that, where players go up when logically they should go down and vice versa. One player we know had one - just ONE - great tournament and went up over an entire point. It was literally like her UTR was calculated strictly from that tournament alone.

It's things like that I have a problem with, since there is no transparent understanding of the algorithm and no way to get anyone at UTR to explain these weird fluctuations. One tennis coach i know wrote on behalf of his player and got a nice reply from UTR saying they'd "check" and that they "take these inquiries seriously," but of course they never heard anything after that.

The fact is, kids are not playing certain tournaments if they know there is a chance they might play against a lower rated player.

Players will also withdraw from the the backdraw if it means playing lower rated players. At a tournament this summer I was waiting for my child and overheard a very depressing conversation. The players COACH (which i thought was significant since it wasn't a parent saying this) told a kid who had lost first round that continuing in the tournament would be a bad idea because they were going to play Player X and Player X's UTR is underrated and this kid didn't need to risk hurting his UTR.

Before anyone says "shame on the coach," I think UTR has created this climate, yet they never address it. It's like a Catch 22 - you don't want to duck matches because that's bad for a players mental and physical improvement, not to mention it just plain looks bad if it happens regularly.But, you don't want to risk messing up a rating, because it seems that that's all anyone cares about anymore.

I don't know what the answer is - I think i just wish UTR would address it, as it is very real and causes a lot of stress for college-bound juniors who worry a change in their rating could put them out of the running for a spot on a college team.

 

[SpringWater]

Only one answer as always in this sport - "let your racquet do the talking"

 

[texrunner]

i agree with you SpringWater, but when that happens and a player's rating drops for no apparent reason then what?
I'd like to say, "ignore the rating who cares," but the fact is the players care because coaches care.

 

[jcgatennismom]

I am thinking about downloading the UTR app and came across this while reading the reviews:

UTR is a dream for coaches, a nightmare for players

it is very real and causes a lot of stress for college-bound juniors who worry a change in their rating could put them out of the running for a spot on a college team.

Most coaches see UTR as a starting point. Smart recruits can spin their story. For example, a recruit may have a lower UTR because he wins in 3 sets vs 2 set. Here's the positive spin: Here's the Email Subject header: Jane/John Doe 8-4 in National 2/3 play this spring. Text: Coach, one of my strengths is my perseverance and fight. I am 10-2 in 3 set matches this year and 8-4 in national play vs 4 stars-blue chips . I am strategic and use the break between sets to figure out how to adjust my game. I utilize my mental toughness to manage the momentum changes. While I may have a slightly lower UTR than some of other players in my class, I pace myself because I want to reach the finals in either the main or back draw of the 64 or 128 draw tourneys I play. I may not go all out in the early rounds so I will have the endurance to be one of the last players remaining. I always play the back draw as I see every matchplay chance as an opportunity to win or learn-I uses losses as a fuel to get better.

UTR is just an approximation as it does not take into consideration surface, how many matches played per day (some jrs play 3 backdraw in one day-have to pace self), has limited crossplay between groups, does not include national play in many countries-just ITF and Tennis Europe, only includes 30 matches when juniors may play 30 in 3 months.

Some coaches may have a strict minimum UTR for recruitment, but many coaches value video and watching a player in person just as much or more than UTR. US players can also mention their TRN which includes 12 months of junior results and wins only-not # of games won. TRN is fairly accurate through fall of Sr year-not accurate afterwards-20-25% of top juniors will become unranked late in their senior year as they switch to adult tourneys or play less tourneys after commitment.

Below are real quotes from a college recruitement FB site with hundreds of coaches as members. I hope this encourages you that UTR is not the only item coaches care about. Focus on improvement not gaming the system. Determine your child's strengths and encourage them to tell their story-why they are a good fit for that team and detail their qualities beyond UTR and attach a great video preferably with well-fought points vs a higher ranked player. If a coach reduces your child to as single number, he/she is probably one you wouldnt want him/her to play for anyway.

Real Quotes-note coaches want passion
Utr is not very consistent, therefore its not that accurate. Its a nice ball park ranking system, thats all. Coaches know more than algorithms

UTR is not everything, I know a lot of players participating in international tournaments that has nothing to do with UTR

UTR is a tool not a recruiting strategy

UTRs are only numbers. Seeing someone play live is still the best.

I look back on matches over several years to see how they stack up against better players, players they should beat and those with similar UTRs. This gives you a very accurate idea as to their growth and true strength.

Utr is a good gauge however you still can't equate for a player's heart work ethic and if they don't have a major budget to travel play tournaments that will hurt them with a utr

The UTR is like the horse racing paper it's the betting line ... Does he or she run better on mud or dry ...winning streak and winning streak of opponent

It is helpful to college coaches like myself as it gives a general idea of the talent level. It is not always accurate and exact but can give a quick perspective on the level of play. In my opinion high school players are rated about a point higher then they should be… There is not enough crossover play between high school and college athletes except for the ITA summer circuit

I use UTR as is starting point for evaluation of talent. It is not the ultimate determining factor. I like to see video of players techniques and strokes as well as a personal one-on-one interview

Evaluating a team by their UTR isn't always the best way to go. I have recruiters tell me all of the time that "this player's UTR is not as high as it should be because she has been focused on academics or not playing UTR tournaments or only playing club events

My men’s team beat three teams with higher “team” UTR’s last season. It is a good baseline, but definitely not totally accurate.

The UTR is a very useful resource but just like rankings they are should not be the end all in recruiting. They are but possible gauges you use to decide whether you continue pursuing a recruit. The word passion does not show up any rating or ranking system

 

[andfor]

Said it before and will say it again, athletes who operate with a outcome oriented mindset versus those with a process oriented mindset often fail, choke more and burnout at a much higher rate. For those that don't understand what I'm talking about I suggest learning more about it fast. If you have a competitive athlete child, this guy is great! https://fearlesstennis.com/