First USTA season

[JordanWinning]

I'm in the process of moving to northern San Diego from a smaller town that doesn't have much tennis. I've been looking forward to getting to play in a USTA league and in other competitive formats, but some of these threads have me nervous. It sounds like USTA has so much sandbagging that the ratings don't really mean much.
So, I guess my question is, are USTA leagues fun and competitive or not really?

I know sometimes it's just the bad stuff that people talk about, so it can seem out of proportion

 

[schmke]

In my experience, what you hear about here are the exceptions and by and large USTA League has fun and competitive matches. I would encourage you to give it a shot.

 

[Max G.]

Agreed. I've had a lot of fun and haven't encountered any of the issues people complain about, at least not enough to notice/care...

 

[kevrol]

95+% of people in USTA League are great. As others have said the extremes get a lot of talk here. Just know that there are captains and players that will do anything to win. It's still a good time.

 

[OnTheLine]

Ditto what others have said.

There is no point talking on a board about all of the nice people who follow the rules, play fair, give you great matches, etc. You don't create a thread about that. You create a thread about the anomalies and you might juice up the story to make it more interesting for the audience.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

I'm in the process of moving to northern San Diego from a smaller town that doesn't have much tennis. I've been looking forward to getting to play in a USTA league and in other competitive formats, but some of these threads have me nervous. It sounds like USTA has so much sandbagging that the ratings don't really mean much.
So, I guess my question is, are USTA leagues fun and competitive or not really?

I know sometimes it's just the bad stuff that people talk about, so it can seem out of proportion

I think it depends more on what type of person you are: I can't imagine league varies so much from region to region that person A in region X has a consistently, radically different experience than person B in region Y. I think if you switched both players' locations their experiences might not change. The one who enjoyed it will still enjoy it and the one who had bad experiences will continue having bad experiences.

Go in with an open mind and a positive outlook; you'll probably dramatically expand your tennis circle. There will be a few jerks but nothing's perfect, right?

 

[Max G.]

Here's one more perspective, now that I think about it:

If you focus on individual matches, you'll be fine. USTA league will get you across the net from a bunch of different people, you'll have fun trying to win against different styles. Some will be better and some will be worse, so you'll probably have some bad losses and some easy wins and some close matches, but over time it'll be a mix of all of them. Some will be jerks but most will be fine.

If you focus on the season-long competition seriously, then you're going to run head-first into all of the problems. Then you suddenly start getting angry when someone is "really" a 4.0 but is "sandbagging" at 3.5, or when captains "poach" players from other teams, or when something bumps your rating up or down when you don't want it to.

But if you're focusing on the matches in front of you, you'll have fun.

 

[NTRPolice]

You didnt punch him. You put out your fist, and he ran into it.

Live by that motto and you will do well, my young apprentice.

 

[OnTheLine]

The one who enjoyed it will still enjoy it and the one who had bad experiences will continue having bad experiences.

So true in all aspects of life. People who are miserable, are miserable no matter what and those that enjoy life, figure out how to enjoy life no matter what.

 

[CT-Topspin]

When I transitioned from lessons, clinics, and practice matches to competitive USTA play I went in wildly overestimating my skill level and was convinced I was a 3.5 at least (with no results to prove it). When I got trounced my first 3.0 singles match my initial impression was that the guy was sandbagging and I've held that belief until just recently.

The more you play the more you realize there are broad bands in each of the rating levels and so that might account for play discrepancy. There are matchups that will be antithetical to your game and convince you you shouldn't be playing tennis at all anymore or even the reverse (you trounce a player so bad you MUST have flipped that switch to the next level) but in the end the reality is there are some people that ride that line between levels more often than egregious sandbaggers.

In fact, the more I think about it now I don't think I've ever played anyone in my USTA league that flat out creamed me. It's possible you fall into a league with guys at the top of that NTRP rating and that will only be to your benefit as a developing player.

 

[QuadCam]

USTA League is fun and competitive.

I really enjoyed the league play early on when i was getting to play lots of new players. I had played the same guys at my club for a long time.

League play only becomes frustrating when you start worrying about your rating. When you are playing to try to go up a level, every match becomes stressful. You worry about who your Captain will partner you with. You worry about who you will play against. What if you underperform compared to the mysterious USTA algorithm? Etc....

The other area of frustration comes when you make it to sectionals a time or two. I've found that every since playing at sectionals, i want to play on teams that are likely to get to sectionals again.

It's like the more successful you are in league play, the less league play is just about just fun tennis.

 

[gmatheis]

I'm in the process of moving to northern San Diego from a smaller town that doesn't have much tennis. I've been looking forward to getting to play in a USTA league and in other competitive formats, but some of these threads have me nervous. It sounds like USTA has so much sandbagging that the ratings don't really mean much.
So, I guess my question is, are USTA leagues fun and competitive or not really?

I know sometimes it's just the bad stuff that people talk about, so it can seem out of proportion

I have almost always enjoyed my USTA league experience. Met a ton of nice people.

 

[OrangePower]

Like most have said, overall it's a good thing. You get competitive tennis and meet generally nice people. There will be one or two unpleasant characters but they are like < 5%. The vast majority are just there to play some good tennis and have fun.

As someone else said also, if you just focus on enjoying the regular season and having fun each match then you will have a good experience. If you get too caught up in ratings, playoffs, and all that other stuff, then it depends - some people love that part of it also, but for some people it introduces stress, tension and frustration, which kinda defeats the point of why we play.

The way I see it, any day I'm on the court healthy and playing is a good day. And USTA just gives you more opportunities to play plus a venue for meeting other like-minded players.

 

[dman72]

My experience has been mostly good. I've only had one guy who was a bit sketchy on line calls and fired balls back to the curtain in between points he pissed me off. I talked to him about the ball firing thing after I won, and he apologized..I don't think he realized how annoying what he was doing was and seemed like a good guy.

All the doubles matches I've had have been friendly. The 4.0 singles match I got crushed in last year was by an obvious sand bagger. This is more common at 18+. 40+ if you get sand baggers they are usually foreign imports.

Overall I've enjoyed the experience. It's a notch higher level of competition vs club leagues, which is a notch higher than park rec play. Anytime there is a written record of something, it means more. I'll continue to do it until it isn't fun.

 

[Ronaldo]

Play plenty of practice matches within your team and have fun. May find some really competitive players that can ruin a good match.

 

[WhiteOut]

I believe you'll have way more fun playing USTA than if you do not. I view it like this: If you don't try it, you'll wonder how it would have gone. If you do, you'll know...then you can decide to keep doing that or something else...

 

[Ronaldo]

I believe you'll have way more fun playing USTA than if you do not. I view it like this: If you don't try it, you'll wonder how it would have gone. If you do, you'll know...then you can decide to keep doing that or something else...

Meet plenty of folks. Still see a few from the 80s. They're in their 80s. Pickleball called them back.

 

[Unforced Terrors]

I'm in the process of moving to northern San Diego from a smaller town that doesn't have much tennis. I've been looking forward to getting to play in a USTA league and in other competitive formats, but some of these threads have me nervous. It sounds like USTA has so much sandbagging that the ratings don't really mean much.
So, I guess my question is, are USTA leagues fun and competitive or not really?

I know sometimes it's just the bad stuff that people talk about, so it can seem out of proportion

What NTRP are you?
San Diego is usually a weaker region than the other SoCal regions so you should be fine. Try to meet people at Balboa or Tierrasanta if that's not too far from you.
Avoid a certain 4.0 captain from Coronado. Guy is seriously a pain in the butt and his teammates know it too.

 

[JordanWinning]

What NTRP are you?
San Diego is usually a weaker region than the other SoCal regions so you should be fine. Try to meet people at Balboa or Tierrasanta if that's not too far from you.
Avoid a certain 4.0 captain from Coronado. Guy is seriously a pain in the butt and his teammates know it too.

I'm a 3.5 right now, but would very much like to improve beyond that. In my research, Balboa looked like an awesome place. I haven't heard of Tierrasanta so I'll be sure to check it out! Kit Carson park is only a few minutes away from my house (North County SD), and I got a chance to meet some people there and had a good time. They also have several teams based out of their so I imagine that will be my "home club" for lack of a better term.