First tournament? I'm just winging it!

[GKnight]

I've been lurking around here lately, watching the US Open, and hitting some tennis balls with some old friends, and I realized that I haven't played a legitimate tennis match since high school.

Sadly, I live in the middle of nowhere (as far as tennis leagues, etc.), but I noticed on the USTA site that there's a NTRP 4.5 singles tournament going on in a town that's only 30 min away. So I basically signed up on a whim.

I played third singles at a small high school (I'm 22 now), but I changed my grip recently which has really stepped up my game. I youtubed some 4.5 matches and feel like I could stand a chance.

The matches are over the weekend, so I'll post what happens! Any tips or tricks for someone totally new to a USTA event? Or what to expect?

 

[gmatheis]

Tie your opponent's shoelaces together when he isn't looking.

That should give you an edge.

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

What to expect:

- Total nut jobs. I'm not kidding, you'll come across people who yells bloody murder after every single hit/miss.
- Line calls, just be aware of them. There are people who call bad line calls.
- Gamesmanship. Random pausing, "freezing" the returner by catching ball tosses, random breaks.
- Some people can get really nasty once they get into the heat of the moment.

But you'll also run into people who are there to have fun and compete with honor.

 

[Overdrive]

What to expect:

- Total nut jobs. I'm not kidding, you'll come across people who yells bloody murder after every single hit/miss.
- Line calls, just be aware of them. There are people who call bad line calls.
- Gamesmanship. Random pausing, "freezing" the returner by catching ball tosses, random breaks.
- Some people can get really nasty once they get into the heat of the moment.

But you'll also run into people who are there to have fun and compete with honor.

I almost forgot, can you call for two third-party members to be appeals judges if your opponent is hooking?

 

[dizzlmcwizzl]

While there are some nut jobs ... in a 4.5 tourney I suspect you will only run into cool people. I tend to see more eccentricities as you move down the rungs of the NTRP ladder.

I have found that winning at all costs becomes more important as you get further and further away from good tennis.

....


However, I will caution you about watching tennis on Youtube to assess your level. We all look bad on video ... some worse than others. Generally until you get to 5.0/5.5+ tennis, it does not look good.

I suspect that some of those 4.5 tennis videos you have watched are of players that would thump you in person. Be wary my friend, be wary.

 

[GKnight]

Alright, so I'll definitely won't be surprised if I run into a few hardos/oddballs on the courts. I actually LOVE playing people that show emotion, I feed off of it like a tennis vampire.

And yeah, I could very well be thumped, and I'll let you know if I do!

 

[North]

I almost forgot, can you call for two third-party members to be appeals judges if your opponent is hooking?

I play a lot of tournaments and have found most opponents to be OK. However, even the most decent people seem to get tighter on line calls at the end of a match not going their way - I think it is an emotional thing rather than deliberate cheating but it can get troublesome. And then there are, indeed, some people for whom the rules of the game & good sportsmanship are optional, at best.

But this is not League! It's a tournament so there are officials. You may have to keep calling them back if your opponent resumes cheating/bad line calls/gamesmanship as soon as the official leaves your court. That can make your match take a long time, so be mentally prepared for that - an unsportsmanlike (or "nut job") opponent will be counting on you not wanting the match to take so long and may taunt you for continuing to go get officials.

Just be reasonable - everyone misses calls here & there - but do not tolerate the BS that some people ooze. Smile, be friendly but firm (remember you are the grownup in dealing with poor sportsmanship), and thank the TD afterwards for the officials' help in making the tournament fair & doing a good job (assuming they have).

If you can have friends/supporters watching that sometimes helps keep poor opponent behavior at bay and is great for your morale. You will find that the worst behaving/cheating opponents often fall apart mentally when constantly "supervised" by the presence of officials you keep calling to the court.

As I said, though, most people are fine and I have met some good players that have become hitting partners and people to play competitively with. And, yes, as you move up in ability, the looniness (? is that a word lol?) seems to lessen.

 

[Mongolmike]

3rd singles at a small high school? The kids I see playing 2nd or 3rd singles on larger city area teams (a city with 6-8 public HS and 3 private HS) look to be 3.5s at best. Some of the first single kids might be 4.0s and certainly the 1st singles kids at the private schools are solid. This tourney should give you a good indicator of where you rank. Good luck, have fun.

 

[RetroSpin]

Don't worry, have fun. It's not the U. S. Open. I've played in lots of tournaments in the US and overseas and I can count the times on one hand I felt aggrieved by bad calls. It will happen at times, but you'll probably make your share of bad calls too, not intentionally , but just because sometimes you're not concetrating as hard as you should have been.

My advice would be to take it easy and not overhit in the first few games. If you're nervous and a bit rusty, it's easy to produce a ton of unforced errors and dig yourself a hole. If your opponent is hitting great shot after great shot, keep in mind that if they were really that good, they wouldn't be playing 4.5. They'll come back to earth eventually.

 

[tennis_ocd]

3rd singles at a small high school? The kids I see playing 2nd or 3rd singles on larger city area teams (a city with 6-8 public HS and 3 private HS) look to be 3.5s at best. Some of the first single kids might be 4.0s and certainly the 1st singles kids at the private schools are solid. This tourney should give you a good indicator of where you rank. Good luck, have fun.

I agree. I think you'll meet nice players but unless you had a very strong hs team, you are not going to be able to compete with a usta 4.5. Count on players being much better in person than they look on video....

 

[Cindysphinx]

Be brave. Meet people, see if they live near you, exchange contact information, be an all around good guy. Maybe you will wind up with a hitting partner.

 

[goober]

Hopefully there is a consolation draw just in case you lose in the first round. Personally I wouldn't sign up for a tourney without one, although it doesn't sound like you have a lot of choices.

 

[GKnight]

Ummm, according to the tournament's webpage, only THREE people signed up? Whaaaat.

Are these online only registrations? I kinda doubt it, because the draws are posted, and it's just the three of us....

 

[goober]

Ummm, according to the tournament's webpage, only THREE people signed up? Whaaaat.

Are these online only registrations? I kinda doubt it, because the draws are posted, and it's just the three of us....

Small town, small draw. Tournament draws seem to be down in bigger locales as well from what I have seen. Well at least you will get to play both of them since I assume they will do a round robin .

 

[sundaypunch]

I've been lurking around here lately, watching the US Open, and hitting some tennis balls with some old friends, and I realized that I haven't played a legitimate tennis match since high school.

Sadly, I live in the middle of nowhere (as far as tennis leagues, etc.), but I noticed on the USTA site that there's a NTRP 4.5 singles tournament going on in a town that's only 30 min away. So I basically signed up on a whim.

I played third singles at a small high school (I'm 22 now), but I changed my grip recently which has really stepped up my game. I youtubed some 4.5 matches and feel like I could stand a chance.

The matches are over the weekend, so I'll post what happens! Any tips or tricks for someone totally new to a USTA event? Or what to expect?

I think you may not realize how good a legitimate 4.5 is. They often don't have perfect strokes or look amazing on video (hence all the "that is 3.5 at best" comments when someone here posts one of these videos). That being said, the worst thing that can happen is that you will lose and learn exactly what you need to improve.

 

[Baxter]

When is the big event? I'd say the OP is in for a serious beat down if he hasn't played a match in years. Most USTA 4.5s I know play quite often, but I love the fact that he's just jumping right in. At the very least he could find some good hitting partners out of the experience.

 

[goran_ace]

You never know what you find in the draw. One guy might be another aspirational player who wnats to see what 4.5 is like and the other might be a would-be-5.0 player who plays 4.5 because there are no 5.0 events around. Just go in there and try your best!

 

[GKnight]

Set up a practice match with my old high school first singles teammate for today. I'm looking forward to the prep for tomorrow! I really need to work on increasing the power of my second serve.

 

[Chivo]

Set up a practice match with my old high school first singles teammate for today. I'm looking forward to the prep for tomorrow! I really need to work on increasing the power of my second serve.

Well...today was your big day!! How'd you do??

 

[GKnight]

I lost 6-4 6-1! To a pusher type player who just lightly returned shots back to me. The big detractors for me was that I had never played on clay (more like sand) before, which led to me misjudging bounces and sliding around. Also, playing hard against my first singles friend made my hand raw, and by the second set of the usta match I was blistered up.

I definitely enjoyed the experience, and the guy I played was very cool. He even admitted that my heavy strokes would've given him nightmares on hardcourt. So I'm glad to know I didn't bite off more than I can chew!

 

[lightthestorm]

I agree. I think you'll meet nice players but unless you had a very strong hs team, you are not going to be able to compete with a usta 4.5. Count on players being much better in person than they look on video....

A 4.0 at no. 1 singles? Those teams dont even make it out of the first round of the HS state tournament...