Mixed Doubles Rosters

mpnv1990

Semi-Pro
Why are the roster sizes so large?!

Where I live, I rarely see rosters of 12 or less. 14 seems to be the average size.
 

schmke

Legend
In my area, it is usually availability. When you have both men and women and players of different levels where you have to get legal pairings, it takes a larger roster than an at-level same gender team.

For example, while Mixed is just three courts so six players, you can't fill the line-up with just any six players available, it has to be the right combination of genders and levels. If you have an 8.0 team and everyone is 4.0 it is easier, but when you have three each of 4.0 men/women and then two 4.5/3.5 men/women pairs and one 3.5/4.5 man/woman pair and just four women available for a match and only one of them is a 4.0, you can end up not being able to field three courts if you don't have just the right men available.
 

esgee48

G.O.A.T.
Yes BUT a captain with roster issues can elect to pair a 3.5M with the 4.0F. Or opposite ie 4.0M with a 3.5F is also a viable pairing. Just defaulting a court can create other issues.
 

schmke

Legend
Yes, but you can conjure up scenarios where that doesn't work. You your men available are your 4.5s and two 4.0s, and your women available are your 4.5 and three 4.0s.

To the OP's question, to guard against these scenarios you may need a larger roster, especially more 3.5s to give yourself the fallback option.
 

schmke

Legend
Also, in my area 18+ Mixed is an early start league and if players are bumped up at year-end, they have to play at the higher level at Sectionals. That can wreak havoc with line-ups so the teams that have playoff aspirations, meaning they may have players that could be bumped up, have to consider what the roster needs to be at Sectionals if some players are bumped up, leading to larger rosters.
 

mpnv1990

Semi-Pro
Also, in my area 18+ Mixed is an early start league and if players are bumped up at year-end, they have to play at the higher level at Sectionals. That can wreak havoc with line-ups so the teams that have playoff aspirations, meaning they may have players that could be bumped up, have to consider what the roster needs to be at Sectionals if some players are bumped up, leading to larger rosters.
Why are there early start leagues? Weather?
 
Because people play at multiple different levels at the same time and if you're on two contending teams, you can only play post-season for one.
 

schmke

Legend
Why are there early start leagues? Weather?
Yes, in some areas there are court constraints as play in the Fall/Winter/Spring is all indoors. Trying to fit all the leagues into the calendar year in these areas would be a huge challenge if not impossible.
 

mpnv1990

Semi-Pro
Yes, in some areas there are court constraints as play in the Fall/Winter/Spring is all indoors. Trying to fit all the leagues into the calendar year in these areas would be a huge challenge if not impossible.
Makes me happy to live in Las Vegas! We don’t have early start leagues.
 

time_fly

Hall of Fame
Why are there early start leagues? Weather?
That’s part of it. I also think the clubs like to be able to get people to pay for court time while the weather outside is still good enough for free tennis on outdoor courts. In my area of CT, USTA is practically year round if you are on good teams. Early Start leagues begin at the end of September and the last leagues of the year finish in July. Playoffs start in late spring and go into early September.
 

Moon Shooter

Hall of Fame
I think they have big rosters because they can. Having more players on your team means you can be sure you wont have to default especially if you make it to playoffs. In mixed you can choose from both genders and have a variety level combinations so captains have it easy.
The only reason not to have a large roster is if you have only a few matches. In my area we will often only have 6-8 matches total in our regular season. So if you want to give everyone at least 2 matches you can only have about 6 of each gender. So it is not unusual for teams from my area to default a court in regular or post season.
 
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