USTA 2021 Adult Tournaments

[atatu]

Any comments on this ?

Adult Tennis Tournaments | National Tennis Leagues | USTA

The USTA offers adult tennis tournaments for every age and skill level, whether it be local community tennis or representing Team USA in a senior competition.

www.usta.com

 

[Jack the Hack]

Lots to unpack in that 30 minute video, but I actually welcome a lot of these changes!

I've felt that the USTA has allowed adult tournaments to whither and die over the past 10 years, virtually ignoring the promotion of these events and the rankings. So I'm glad to see that they've recognized this and are trying to revitalize it.

Here's a few things that I pulled out of the video:

• Starting in 2021, tournament naming conventions and levels have now been standardized across the country, with a points per round system that is consistent everywhere.
• There will now be 7 levels of tournaments, based on the duration of the events, from Level 1 Nationals (former Category 1) down to the Level 7 1 day local tournaments.
• Points per round has been more evenly distributed across levels so that the winner of a Level 4 Sectional tournament gets the same amount of points as the 4th place finisher at a Level 1 tournament. This is done to encourage more local/Sectional play.
• You no longer need to play a Level 1 (Category 1) National tournament in order to qualify for a National ranking. You just need to accumulate a minimum of 50 points to be included. You never need to leave your Section to get a national ranking, which is cool.
• Your ranking will be based on your best 6 results now (instead of 4).
• There will now be national ranking categories for Open and NTRP divisions as well as the age groups.
• NTRP divisions will now match USTA League divisions: 18+ (3.0-5.0), 40+ (3.0-4.5), and 55+ (3.0-4.5).
• The NTRP Level 1 Nationals will now be up to 7 day tournaments, similar to the way age group tournaments have been. No more wonky 3 day National tournament with Fast Four Format for NTRP. (And I wonder if they will have more Level 1 Nationals on different surfaces, like the age groups?)
• Tournament directors have many options in terms of the scoring format across all of the tournament levels. (I favor the regular best of three full sets, but that may not be the case in very many events anymore.)
• The Suspension Point System that has been used in the junior tournaments will now be adopted by adult tournaments as well to discourage bad behavior.
• You must be at least 18 years old to play in an NTRP tournament.
• NTRP tournament players will now be subject to the same ratings appeal and grievances procedures as the USTA League. (The video didn't say this, but the implication is that NTRP tournament results will count towards the Year End Ratings as well, which currently is not consistently applied across the country, but seems like it will be changing.)
• TennisLink will be fully replaced by the new USTA software by the beginning of 2021.

 

[Matthew ATX]

No mixed doubles at NTRP tournaments will ensure I don't play them anymore.

 

[atatu]

Lots to unpack in that 30 minute video, but I actually welcome a lot of these changes!

I've felt that the USTA has allowed adult tournaments to whither and die over the past 10 years, virtually ignoring the promotion of these events and the rankings. So I'm glad to see that they've recognized this and are trying to revitalize it.

Here's a few things that I pulled out of the video:

• Starting in 2021, tournament naming conventions and levels have now been standardized across the country, with a points per round system that is consistent everywhere.
• There will now be 7 levels of tournaments, based on the duration of the events, from Level 1 Nationals (former Category 1) down to the Level 7 1 day local tournaments.
• Points per round has been more evenly distributed across levels so that the winner of a Level 4 Sectional tournament gets the same amount of points as the 4th place finisher at a Level 1 tournament. This is done to encourage more local/Sectional play.
• You no longer need to play a Level 1 (Category 1) National tournament in order to qualify for a National ranking. You just need to accumulate a minimum of 50 points to be included. You never need to leave your Section to get a national ranking, which is cool.
• Your ranking will be based on your best 6 results now (instead of 4).
• There will now be national ranking categories for Open and NTRP divisions as well as the age groups.
• NTRP divisions will now match USTA League divisions: 18+ (3.0-5.0), 40+ (3.0-4.5), and 55+ (3.0-4.5).
• The NTRP Level 1 Nationals will now be up to 7 day tournaments, similar to the way age group tournaments have been. No more wonky 3 day National tournament with Fast Four Format for NTRP. (And I wonder if they will have more Level 1 Nationals on different surfaces, like the age groups?)
• Tournament directors have many options in terms of the scoring format across all of the tournament levels. (I favor the regular best of three full sets, but that may not be the case in very many events anymore.)
• The Suspension Point System that has been used in the junior tournaments will now be adopted by adult tournaments as well to discourage bad behavior.
• You must be at least 18 years old to play in an NTRP tournament.
• NTRP tournament players will now be subject to the same ratings appeal and grievances procedures as the USTA League. (The video didn't say this, but the implication is that NTRP tournament results will count towards the Year End Ratings as well, which currently is not consistently applied across the country, but seems like it will be changing.)
• TennisLink will be fully replaced by the new USTA software by the beginning of 2021.

Good summary !

 

[taydbear7]

NTRP divisions will now match USTA League divisions: 18+ (3.0-5.0), 40+ (3.0-4.5), and 55+ (3.0-4.5).

^^ I like this but.... our section is currently doing 50+. It hasn't been hit a big hit so I'm not sure if the 40+ will even make it. IMO everything will just be 18+

 

[atatu]

NTRP divisions will now match USTA League divisions: 18+ (3.0-5.0), 40+ (3.0-4.5), and 55+ (3.0-4.5).

^^ I like this but.... our section is currently doing 50+. It hasn't been hit a big hit so I'm not sure if the 40+ will even make it. IMO everything will just be 18+

I agree, nobody plays 4.5 50+, so it makes no sense to make it 55's ? Most 4.5 players who are 55 years old are going to be playing age group tournaments. Unless USTA is looking to kill age groups now.

 

[Idrayer]

One thing that I'm really happy to see here is that the local tournaments won't be single elimination. No more paying $50 to enter and then driving an hour each way to play for an hour and go home.

 

[Jack the Hack]

NTRP divisions will now match USTA League divisions: 18+ (3.0-5.0), 40+ (3.0-4.5), and 55+ (3.0-4.5).

^^ I like this but.... our section is currently doing 50+. It hasn't been hit a big hit so I'm not sure if the 40+ will even make it. IMO everything will just be 18+

I was thinking about this as well. It makes sense to match the tournament divisions with the USTA divisions. However, in reality, with the draws being so small for most 4.5 tournaments (and least in the section I play in), I don't know if having separate 18s 4.5, 40s 4.5, and 55s 4.5 divisions is going to work. Most of the 4.5 tournaments around here have draws of less than 10 players. I'd guess the average age distribution is something like 4 players under 40, 4 players between 40 and 54, and 2 players over 55. When that happens, I'm sure everyone would rather play in one draw with 10 players rather than the even smaller draws broken up. (In fact, 55+ would not even have a tournament in the scenario I just described.) On the other hand, maybe these changes will spark up the interest in tournaments again and draw sizes will increase.

One of the things that the video didn't discuss was swag and value for the entry dollar. I've been playing long enough where I remember tournament entry fees being around $20, and including full 2 out of 3 set matches, consolation rounds, a tournament t-shirt, and usually a player party or pizza feed of some sort. Unfortunately, tournament entry fees have gone up and up, but the scoring formats have gotten shorter, less tournaments have consolations, most rarely provide a t-shirt or any goodies, and player parties are scarce. Without a return of those extra incentives, I'm not sure people will be coming back. (How come the USTA does not look at what is happening at running and endurance events. All of those have entry fees similar to a tournament, but they all have shirts, goodie bags, and a party afterward + plenty of sponsors.)

 

[MaxTennis]

Lots to unpack in that 30 minute video, but I actually welcome a lot of these changes!

I've felt that the USTA has allowed adult tournaments to whither and die over the past 10 years, virtually ignoring the promotion of these events and the rankings. So I'm glad to see that they've recognized this and are trying to revitalize it.

Here's a few things that I pulled out of the video:

• Starting in 2021, tournament naming conventions and levels have now been standardized across the country, with a points per round system that is consistent everywhere.
• There will now be 7 levels of tournaments, based on the duration of the events, from Level 1 Nationals (former Category 1) down to the Level 7 1 day local tournaments.
• Points per round has been more evenly distributed across levels so that the winner of a Level 4 Sectional tournament gets the same amount of points as the 4th place finisher at a Level 1 tournament. This is done to encourage more local/Sectional play.
• You no longer need to play a Level 1 (Category 1) National tournament in order to qualify for a National ranking. You just need to accumulate a minimum of 50 points to be included. You never need to leave your Section to get a national ranking, which is cool.
• Your ranking will be based on your best 6 results now (instead of 4).
• There will now be national ranking categories for Open and NTRP divisions as well as the age groups.
• NTRP divisions will now match USTA League divisions: 18+ (3.0-5.0), 40+ (3.0-4.5), and 55+ (3.0-4.5).
• The NTRP Level 1 Nationals will now be up to 7 day tournaments, similar to the way age group tournaments have been. No more wonky 3 day National tournament with Fast Four Format for NTRP. (And I wonder if they will have more Level 1 Nationals on different surfaces, like the age groups?)
• Tournament directors have many options in terms of the scoring format across all of the tournament levels. (I favor the regular best of three full sets, but that may not be the case in very many events anymore.)
• The Suspension Point System that has been used in the junior tournaments will now be adopted by adult tournaments as well to discourage bad behavior.
• You must be at least 18 years old to play in an NTRP tournament.
• NTRP tournament players will now be subject to the same ratings appeal and grievances procedures as the USTA League. (The video didn't say this, but the implication is that NTRP tournament results will count towards the Year End Ratings as well, which currently is not consistently applied across the country, but seems like it will be changing.)
• TennisLink will be fully replaced by the new USTA software by the beginning of 2021.

All these changes seem to be great! I'm hoping the new USTA software includes player portals to track historic results like USTA NorCal. That's super cool.

 

[Jack the Hack]

I was looking back at how some of these changes would have effected two of my past scenarios:

• A few years ago, I lucked out by getting the #1 ranking in my age group in my Section (barely). The main reason for this was that I played all of the tournaments that fielded a draw that year, winning one tournament, making the final of another, winning the consolation draw at a Category 2 National held in our Section, and winning the consolations at our Sectional tournament. (None of the really good players in my age group played more than 2 of the tournaments that year and nobody won more than 1 tournament.) However, I didn't have the time that year to go to any of the National Category 1 tournaments. If I had, it looks like I would have had a National ranking somewhere inside the top 30 or so, which would have been nice. Dropping the Category 1 requirement for a national ranking addresses this.

• In a different year, I played the National Category 1 clay court championships for my age group (among other tournaments). I ended up getting a national ranking inside the top 50, and I was the 2nd highest ranked person from my Section in the national ranking list. However, I was only ranked 9th in the sectional rankings, and none of the people ranked ahead of me had national rankings at all. These new changes will fix that scenario and make the rankings more accurate.

 

[zipplock]

All these changes seem to be great! I'm hoping the new USTA software includes player portals to track historic results like USTA NorCal. That's super cool.

Maybe they will invest in a functional Android app???