Some Questions: USTA League, USTA Flex Leagues and USTA Tournaments

[zenten]

I am interested in playing competitive tennis. I just registered for the USTA for the $42. I understand that I have 3 options within the USTA: USTA League, USTA Flex Leagues and USTA Tournaments. I have some question regarding these 3 options:

1.) Do I have to be a paying member for court time somewhere? For example, I live in Queens, NY and am very close to Flushing Meadows Corona. Do I need to join a tennis court system such as NYC Dept of Parks and Recreation? They have adult fees of now $200 per year. If I do need to have access to tennis courts, does this apply to all 3 options: USTA League, USTA Flex Leagues and USTA Tournaments?

2.) Does either USTA League or USTA Flex Leagues track ratings/rankings of individual players? I get the impression that USTA League is a team sport and USTA Flex Leagues in an individual sport.

3.) Does USTA Flex Leagues allow you to specify which parks/facilities you are paid members at? Also, do they allow you to specify certain hours of the day that you can play (not just certain days that you can play)?

4.) For USTA Tournaments, there appears to be an entry fee for each tournament. If the tournament is held at ABC Country Club, do I just pay the entry fee and then have access to the courts for the duration of the tournament?

Thans for any and all of your ideas!

 

[SweetH2O]

It varies by location, so check with clubs in your area. But here is how it generally works in most places. I'm not as familiar with USTA Flex leagues but I think I can give you correct info.

1. USTA membership alone doesn't grant you any court access. If you play USTA Flex you need to play at free courts or have access to paid courts on your own somehow. For League play your team must have access to "home courts", or in some areas USTA will help your team get court access for League play but you still have to pay extra for it. Access to courts is generally included in the fees you pay when you enter a tournament.

2. True, USTA League is a team sport and Flex is individual. Individual ratings based on your individual match results are calculated by USTA for League play. Flex leagues don't have any impact on your rating.

3. For Flex leagues, you generally tell them where your home courts are and they schedule you against opponents in the same area. I don't know if there are specific rules about what time of day, but if you are a guy then it's generally assumed you will play at night or on weekends. There are sometimes weekday women's leagues.

4. Entering tournaments gets you access to the courts for your tournament matches. It doesn't mean that you can hang out at the country club all weekend and have unlimited court time without being a member there.

 

[dlk]

It's nice to have a home club, but is not mandatory for USTA where I live. Some clubs require you be a member if you're on their team, but I've played at/for other clubs than where I was a current member. Also, you can be on an independent team, which has no club affiliation.