Update on my previous post about raising UTR ranking 8 to 12

[PhilippT]

Here’s the previous thread:

Thread 'Can a UTR8-9 player become a UTR 12-13?'
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/can-a-utr8-9-player-become-a-utr-12-13.741230/

I will start by saying, last year I told myself I would take tennis more seriously (specifically tournaments). I used to hate playing matches because I would crack and lose against weak opponents. Although I didn’t dedicate all my time to training. I do think I did well for my first year.

I managed to travel to some tournaments, and win 2! Unfortunately, life hit me hard this year with injuries and personal stuff which has slowed down my progression.

What helped me the most to improve my match play was having a plan and sticking to it. I used to get nervous on court. Now, I come onto the court and do not allow myself to make unforced errors. I was already athletic before, but I lost 20lbs of weight and got faster. Won my first open and a NTRP 5.0 tournament. I took a hiatus over the summer due to injuries and because I coach for a living, recovery took a long time.

I’m currently playing another tournament and in the semis. The next opponents are UTR 9 and 10 respectively.

I would say I still have a lot to work on, but the biggest was my consistency and physical shape. I don’t think I’ve reached the limit on either of the 2.

I guess, the biggest thing for me was matchplay experience. I had been so scared (due to losing too many first rounds) as a junior, I was scared to play again. But after winning some matches, I had become much more confident and eager to play more matches. I truly lacked matchplay experience. I just didn’t know what tools were required to win. I had them all along.

Looking forward to next year!

 

[Happi]

Good luck with your progress, and staying injury free.

 

[tendency]

Here’s the previous thread:

Thread 'Can a UTR8-9 player become a UTR 12-13?'
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/can-a-utr8-9-player-become-a-utr-12-13.741230/

I will start by saying, last year I told myself I would take tennis more seriously (specifically tournaments). I used to hate playing matches because I would crack and lose against weak opponents. Although I didn’t dedicate all my time to training. I do think I did well for my first year.

I managed to travel to some tournaments, and win 2! Unfortunately, life hit me hard this year with injuries and personal stuff which has slowed down my progression.

What helped me the most to improve my match play was having a plan and sticking to it. I used to get nervous on court. Now, I come onto the court and do not allow myself to make unforced errors. I was already athletic before, but I lost 20lbs of weight and got faster. Won my first open and a NTRP 5.0 tournament. I took a hiatus over the summer due to injuries and because I coach for a living, recovery took a long time.

I’m currently playing another tournament and in the semis. The next opponents are UTR 9 and 10 respectively.

I would say I still have a lot to work on, but the biggest was my consistency and physical shape. I don’t think I’ve reached the limit on either of the 2.

I guess, the biggest thing for me was matchplay experience. I had been so scared (due to losing too many first rounds) as a junior, I was scared to play again. But after winning some matches, I had become much more confident and eager to play more matches. I truly lacked matchplay experience. I just didn’t know what tools were required to win. I had them all along.

Looking forward to next year!

1) move to SoCal or Florida (if you're not there already..)
2) Find a good coach - someone who has played at the 13-14UTR level and understands that type of game - to honestly assess you. They should be able to give you a pretty good idea of how far you can go.

Good luck!

 

[Sngr]

Good luck! Curious why you say that in practice you are like 10-11 but in matches more like 8. What caused it? That is where i would focus. Is it routines that you need to work on to get confidence ?

 

[ChaelAZ]

Here’s the previous thread:

Thread 'Can a UTR8-9 player become a UTR 12-13?'
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/can-a-utr8-9-player-become-a-utr-12-13.741230/

I will start by saying, last year I told myself I would take tennis more seriously (specifically tournaments). I used to hate playing matches because I would crack and lose against weak opponents. Although I didn’t dedicate all my time to training. I do think I did well for my first year.

I managed to travel to some tournaments, and win 2! Unfortunately, life hit me hard this year with injuries and personal stuff which has slowed down my progression.

What helped me the most to improve my match play was having a plan and sticking to it. I used to get nervous on court. Now, I come onto the court and do not allow myself to make unforced errors. I was already athletic before, but I lost 20lbs of weight and got faster. Won my first open and a NTRP 5.0 tournament. I took a hiatus over the summer due to injuries and because I coach for a living, recovery took a long time.

I’m currently playing another tournament and in the semis. The next opponents are UTR 9 and 10 respectively.

I would say I still have a lot to work on, but the biggest was my consistency and physical shape. I don’t think I’ve reached the limit on either of the 2.

I guess, the biggest thing for me was matchplay experience. I had been so scared (due to losing too many first rounds) as a junior, I was scared to play again. But after winning some matches, I had become much more confident and eager to play more matches. I truly lacked matchplay experience. I just didn’t know what tools were required to win. I had them all along.

Looking forward to next year!

How much have those wins raised your UTR though? I think the only thought I had from your first thread is, yes an 8 can become a 12, but that would take a lot of dominant performances where you crush opponents to rise up quickly, or many years if you are winning but splitting sets or not dominating ranked players and holding them to 1 or 2 games in a set.

I like the ambition and drive. I have played with one of our juniors since he was like 8 years old, and he has garnered his now 10+ UTR over a LONG time of solid play to get his recruiting status.

All the best.

 

[Crocodile]

Going 8 to 12 UTR according to the description table is strong advanced local tournament player to a circuit player aiming for some points on the tour.
If you are a young guy in your early 20’s you might as well give it go and see how far you can get:
I think what is the hardest thing for many young players is sitting down and planning out the next 2 years right down to your monthly, weekly and daily schedule. You do this not just to protect yourself from injury but to make a time commitment to what you are trying to achieve. Lot of young guys I worked with who didn’t do this type of detailed planning ended up floating around going nowhere, so trust me, you have to do the planning work.
There are other things too, but this will do for now. Hope it helps.