Do you prefer age tourneys or NTRP ratings

[dgold44]

I do not like age tourneys as the mens 35 to 45 seems too loaded in 5.0 players.

That is why i am going to play some 4.0 or 4.5 events next year.


Here is Oregon every age tourney has the same several players and they all are good friends and all of them are strong 4.5 to strong 5.0 players.

Right now I have slightly injured my shoulder from over serving practice and do not feel very good or happy. Just a strain

 

[jls304]

I definitely prefer playing in my ntrp level vs age group. I play 4.0. I just don't think that age is a fair way to judge tennis skill. I'm in my mid 30's and I know guys in their 40's, 50's, and 60's who crush me. I know younger guys who I crush. Sure if you play a true 4.0 who happens to be in their 20's you might argue they have an advantage over a 4.0 in their 50's but some how the older guys seem to find a way to beat the young athletic guys. So I say play your level not your age group.

 

[dlk]

I agree. Level is more fair than age-group. Would rather play a 21 y/o 3.5 than a 50 y/o 4.5.

 

[dgold44]

The Drop shot is a deadly weapon against older guys. Learn it off both wings. I mostly drop shot from forehand side but its a shot I will use against an older or slower guy. I also drop shot from BH slice fake.

 

[dgold44]

Also short angles works well against older guys and heavy top spin shots.

 

[dgold44]

Dont feel its a cheap shot against a slow guy because he would do it to you !!! Dont feel that you are winning unfairly because this shot works against slow players.
On drop shot you go for short stroke and softness and feel.
You dont need heavy Federer Backspin.

 

[navigator]

Personally, I prefer age group tournaments. The criteria are 100% objective. In contrast, in 4.5 tournaments, for example, you generally have a sprinkling of 5.0 players (playing down because there's rarely a 5.0 option) as well as some 4.0s playing up.

Your age is your age. It's simple and straightforward. No BS.

I played a few seasons in a non-sanctioned "5.0" league. (I put the "5.0" in quotes because it's non-sanctioned and the average player was, realistically, at a 4.0+/4.5- level, with only a few true 5.0s.) But that was just to find folks to play with. Where tournaments are concerned I only play age group events (O45s in my case). Just my preference.

 

[NTRPolice]

I cant play in any "age" tournaments yet, but my answer depends on the level.

If it's 4.0 or below, then age.
If it's 4.5 or above, then level.

A 40 year old 4.5+ is going to be a "solid" player. A 40 year old 4.5 can still hang and play with a 20 year old 4.5.
When you're talking 4.0 and below, if I was a 3.5, 40 year old, I wouldnt want to play a 3.5, 20 year old. Or the other way around.

4.0 is like the middle ground... this guy could be "chop city" or basting the ball from anywhere, to anywhere on the court. You wont know until you play them. I watched a 7.0/8.0 mens match today, and the 4.0's playing in the 7.0 were not like the 4.0's playing in the 8.0. Not even close. When you start watching 9.0/10.0 the players look the same, regardless of age.

 

[navigator]

^^ This is exactly why I don't play NTRP events. 40-year old 4.5, 20-year old 4.0, 30-year old 3.5... what the hell... looks confusing. Apparently players of different ages can have the same rating but be at different levels? Ughh...Your age is your age is your age... it's all I have to know.

 

[dgold44]

The age events around here have too many strong 4.5 and 5.0 players.
I have beaten many lower 4.5 players but not strong.

 

[navigator]

When I started playing junior tennis back in the mid-70s, all we had was (1) the local club's tennis ladder, (2) open tournaments, and (3) age group tournaments. Age group stuff went up to the 18s and then started again at 35. Open was open. Everyone else just played folks on the tennis ladder and tried to move up it. I believe NTRP came along in the late-70s but didn't really pick up steam until the late-80s. I realize this is not causal, but I do find it interesting that as NTRP has become ubiquitous, interest in tennis has declined dramatically in popularity in the US. You could draw a graph for the years 1975 to 2015 and show NTRP players on one axis and the general popularity of tennis on the other and they'd be moving in opposite directions. Again, these may have nothing to do with each other, but it is interesting that the USTA's attempt to increase the popularity of tennis via NTRP has failed miserably. Perhaps the USTA should hire the folks who have marketed soccer to such popularity - from a base of practically zero - to help them work on tennis' popularity, because here in the US it's been a one-way street in the wrong direction for quite some time.