usta league rant

[ichaseballs]

I think this will be my last year...
USTA doesn't care but here is why:

• small pool of players, with both dwindling # of players and teams. mostly older players that only way to have fun is win at all costs. (cheat, sandbag, "self-rated" players, etc...)
• grievance process is a joke, no way to deal with cheaters or assholes. tennis is built around sportsmanship. lose that, and you lose the soul of tennis.
• league coordinator is lazy and doesn't care. every captain seems to complain about the LC.

I did meet some great people via USTA that I will keep in touch with and play tennis with.
Having been a captain I tried recruiting most of my tennis friends. But most of them did not want to join USTA leagues.
Some USTA veterans I know have already left. Same story every time... basically it was not FUN for them anymore.
Many of them are in these large private groups with contract courts and have way more fun playing there.


What we need is to have the assholes/cheaters play each other, instead of being on the same team.
Also should have some type of sportsmanship rating for opponents post match.

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

Aha, there is a post match sportsmanship rating/review after pre-sectionals and sectionals post season play this year, I assume it will be for nationals too. It's more of a vote for the best sportsman of the opposing team instead of allowing for a negative review though.

USTA can be good and bad depending on location and league coordinator for sure, and players I guess. But if you can live somewhere in a mega tennis city like Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, LA, blah blah, there are cheaters, but the sheer mass of players and playing opportunities kind of takes care of that annoyance, when USTA is the only game in town, it is worse.

 

[johnmccabe]

As much as I hate cheaters and jerks, any sportsman rating system is too easily abused and manipulated

 

[ichaseballs]

As much as I hate cheaters and jerks, any sportsman rating system is too easily abused and manipulated

maybe but we seem to rate everything else these days...

 

[Purestriker]

I think this will be my last year...
USTA doesn't care but here is why:

• small pool of players, with both dwindling # of players and teams. mostly older players that only way to have fun is win at all costs. (cheat, sandbag, "self-rated" players, etc...)
• grievance process is a joke, no way to deal with cheaters or assholes. tennis is built around sportsmanship. lose that, and you lose the soul of tennis.
• league coordinator is lazy and doesn't care. every captain seems to complain about the LC.

I did meet some great people via USTA that I will keep in touch with and play tennis with.
Having been a captain I tried recruiting most of my tennis friends. But most of them did not want to join USTA leagues.
Some USTA veterans I know have already left. Same story every time... basically it was not FUN for them anymore.
Many of them are in these large private groups with contract courts and have way more fun playing there.


What we need is to have the assholes/cheaters play each other, instead of being on the same team.
Also should have some type of sportsmanship rating for opponents post match.

Depends on where you live. You should play in another area.

 

[TennisOTM]

Agree with others that league culture is highly variable from place to place. I think it's healthy in my area and the numbers show I'm not alone - league participation has been increasing here quite a bit.

The culture can even vary in the same place over time. I talked to one guy this year who said he quit USTA here like 15-20 years ago because he got tired of unpleasant opponents. Then he was convinced to join a team this year and found it a way better experience than he remembered.

I do think the people running the leagues can make a big difference, though it's probably not quite that simple.

 

[ichaseballs]

Depends on where you live. You should play in another area.

haha...

Q: so why did you move here?
A: for the USTA leagues!

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

haha...

Q: so why did you move here?
A: for the USTA leagues!

That would be funny, but just like everywhere in America the good usta leagues are in the cities everyone is moving to for other reasons, and the places that are the rust belt, cold, are losing population etc.,so I am pretty sure there will be other benefits to moving to a good usta league place if one did move.

 

[ichaseballs]

That would be funny, but just like everywhere in America the good usta leagues are in the cities everyone is moving to for other reasons, and the places that are the rust belt, cold, are losing population etc.,so I am pretty sure there will be other benefits to moving to a good usta league place if one did move.

For reference, what are the best sections for USTA league?
I don't know the exact names, but I imagine CA, GA, FL, AZ, TX are all strong.

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

For reference, what are the best sections for USTA league?
I don't know the exact names, but I imagine CA, GA, FL, AZ, TX are all strong.

That's tough to answer considering the issues you mentioned above, but if you are lumping everything into a section, TX is good for instance, but has cheating and cities not as good as others fo playing opportunities. Like for tennis Dallas/Houston just have a sheer mass of courts indoors and out that other cities don't have in TX, in GA, which is Southern, Atlanta is such an outlier compared to every other area of GA and frankly the entire country, but of course, there are super teams in these cities.

But certainly those places you mentioned are all strong for tennis in general. With CA and FL above them all slightly and probably ATL a tennis paradise for amateurs.

 

[Purestriker]

haha...

Q: so why did you move here?
A: for the USTA leagues!

Growing the game one move at a time.

 

[Purestriker]

For reference, what are the best sections for USTA league?
I don't know the exact names, but I imagine CA, GA, FL, AZ, TX are all strong.

Don't forget NC, NV and Utah. Honestly all of the Southern section is really strong.

 

[schmke]

For reference, what are the best sections for USTA league?
I don't know the exact names, but I imagine CA, GA, FL, AZ, TX are all strong.

It depends on your definition of "best". That could be anything from:

1. Most playing opportunities
2. Best competition
3. Most successful at Nationals
4. Highest participation
5. Highest participation per capita
6. ...

@FuzzyYellowBalls hit some high points, but there are other sections that rate well on some of the above criteria as well, or at least districts or areas within them that do.

When I've looked at #3 for example, Southern has been the strongest lately. The number of times making the semis from 2021 thru 2023:

Southern leads, but they are far and away the largest section so have more players to pull from and teams that win Sectionals are more battle tested and have to be very good to advance, so perhaps not a surprise.

I've also looked at raw participation before, this from a few years ago:

Southern far and away leads, but they cover 9 states and around 55 million people, so around 0.14% per capita. Some other sections are also just over 0.1% due to much smaller populations.

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

Don't forget NC, NV and Utah. Honestly all of the Southern section is really strong.

Truths, strong for good players, but to get away from USTA and kind of just have playing opportunities, I covered most of Salt Lake City in Utah when I visited and played threa nd I assume that is the largest tennis area/city in Utah and it hasn't got a lot of courts indoors.

Compare it to Dallas that has facilities with 20 ish indoors and 20 outdoors, where there are 3 PGA Superstores that each have their own full size tennis courts in the store to try out rackets in addition to smaller side courts with ball machines, tennis clubs upon tennis clubs, each Lifetime Fitness Gym will have indoor and outdoor tennis courts, it's just a different world.

Hundreds upon hundreds of 4.5 players, and plenty of 5.0, maybe thousands of 3.0-3.5. you could play a different player everyday for 5 years probably.

 

[Roforot]

It depends on the culture. There are a few people who are reputed to have given bad calls… the egregious ones are not invited back to teams because the captains dont want their reputation tarnished. And if the cheater is the captain, it seems that grievances do have an effect.

The other issues w sandbagging and diminishing player pool is hard to address. I see more new players in my league in California. But with more active tennis theres more scheming and ratings manipulation…

So I was the reverse situation going from playing w a group to joining USTa just to support my club and play w friends.

 

[TennisOTM]

Truths, strong for good players, but to get away from USTA and kind of just have playing opportunities, I covered most of Salt Lake City in Utah when I visited and played threa nd I assume that is the largest tennis area/city in Utah and it hasn't got a lot of courts indoors.

Compare it to Dallas that has facilities with 20 ish indoors and 20 outdoors, where there are 3 PGA Superstores that each have their own full size tennis courts in the store to try out rackets in addition to smaller side courts with ball machines, tennis clubs upon tennis clubs, each Lifetime Fitness Gym will have indoor and outdoor tennis courts, it's just a different world.

Hundreds upon hundreds of 4.5 players, and plenty of 5.0, maybe thousands of 3.0-3.5. you could play a different player everyday for 5 years probably.

Yeah the question of "best places to be a tennis player" and "best places to play USTA league" might have quite different answers

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

Yeah the question of "best places to be a tennis player" and "best places to play USTA league" might have quite different answers

Very true, very hard to figure it out,

In a mega tennis city you have plenty of teams to join, places to play, courts, like I'd never ever experienced a timed match because of courts being in high demand until I went outside Dallas etc. All kinds of side benefits, but the sandbagging will always exist, maybe a smaller city somewhere with 4 teams doesn't have sandbagging.

The most notorious small town I know that sandbags heavily is Jackson MS.

 

[Purestriker]

Very true, very hard to figure it out,

In a mega tennis city you have plenty of teams to join, places to play, courts, like I'd never ever experienced a timed match because of courts being in high demand until I went outside Dallas etc. All kinds of side benefits, but the sandbagging will always exist, maybe a smaller city somewhere with 4 teams doesn't have sandbagging.

The most notorious small town I know that sandbags heavily is Jackson MS.

Facts on Jackson!

 

[TennisOTM]

Southern far and away leads, but they cover 9 states and around 55 million people, so around 0.14% per capita. Some other sections are also just over 0.1% due to much smaller populations.

Interesting that the big tennis states California, Texas, and Florida look like they would score pretty poorly on the per-capita USTA participation stat, is that right? For example Texas and Intermountain sections had similar partipation numbers, but Texas has >30 million people while the Intermountain states combined have only about 16 million. Not sure if per-capita participation is that meaningful, but still interesting.

 

[omegaman66]

Obviously sandbagging is an issue, but I just can't understand it. My goal is to get rated as high as possible.

 

[travlerajm]

What we need is to have the assholes/cheaters play each other, instead of being on the same team.
Also should have some type of sportsmanship rating for opponents post match.

Brilliant idea. I will pass it on to my friend who is a usta rep and see if we can make it happen.

 

[travlerajm]

Truths, strong for good players, but to get away from USTA and kind of just have playing opportunities, I covered most of Salt Lake City in Utah when I visited and played threa nd I assume that is the largest tennis area/city in Utah and it hasn't got a lot of courts indoors.

Compare it to Dallas that has facilities with 20 ish indoors and 20 outdoors, where there are 3 PGA Superstores that each have their own full size tennis courts in the store to try out rackets in addition to smaller side courts with ball machines, tennis clubs upon tennis clubs, each Lifetime Fitness Gym will have indoor and outdoor tennis courts, it's just a different world.

Hundreds upon hundreds of 4.5 players, and plenty of 5.0, maybe thousands of 3.0-3.5. you could play a different player everyday for 5 years probably.

I need to make it to dallas soon. I like indoor test courts.

 

[dman72]

This is the worst year I've ever seen since being bumped from 3.5 in 2018. Self rated 3.5 guys playing on 4.0 teams, destroying our 3.75 tennisrecord rated 30 year old 4.0 singles players, 1 and 0. Teams with 4 3.5 self rates who are far better than their long time 4.0 partners. The number of teams has shrunk dramatically and it's no surprise why. I went to sectionals as a 3.5 and I just don't see why you'd play a whole season crushing people and having to tank just to do that.

 

[omegaman66]

reply to dman72

Self rating doesn't give you a actual rating. Just a category. So they should quickly move to a high rating and your rating will not be affected like you got beat by some with an artificially low number.

OK that is how it works in theory, right?

This is the worst year I've ever seen since being bumped from 3.5 in 2018. Self rated 3.5 guys playing on 4.0 teams, destroying our 3.75 tennisrecord rated 30 year old 4.0 singles players, 1 and 0. Teams with 4 3.5 self rates who are far better than their long time 4.0 partners. The number of teams has shrunk dramatically and it's no surprise why. I went to sectionals as a 3.5 and I just don't see why you'd play a whole season crushing people and having to tank just to do that.

Self rating doesn't give you a actual rating. Just a category. So they should quickly move to a high rating and your rating will not be affected like you got beat by some with an artificially low number.

OK that is how it works in theory, right?

I self rated myself and will be playing this fall. I may have overrated myself. I may have underrated myself. Will find out soon enough. It is possible they just didn't know their true rating.

 

[dman72]

reply to dman72

Self rating doesn't give you a actual rating. Just a category. So they should quickly move to a high rating and your rating will not be affected like you got beat by some with an artificially low number.

OK that is how it works in theory, right?

Self rating doesn't give you a actual rating. Just a category. So they should quickly move to a high rating and your rating will not be affected like you got beat by some with an artificially low number.

OK that is how it works in theory, right?

I self rated myself and will be playing this fall. I may have overrated myself. I may have underrated myself. Will find out soon enough. It is possible they just didn't know their true rating.

The captains have these kids come down to a court and have someone hit with them before adding them to a team. They are well aware that they are under-rated, and most of the kids are well aware of it as well. They have people self rate sometimes TWO levels below where they really should be. Then when they get disqualified or bumped, they are computer rated at that next level for the next season, still a level below where they should be, and can't be touched. A guy beating a solid 4.0 player 0 and 1 in a singles match cannot possibly have ever been a 3.5 in the time frame of signing up for that 4.0 team. No chance. The captain is blatantly cheating and the player is sandbagging. Most players who self rate themselves rate themselves TOO HIGH. A cocky kid who played in college is going to rate himself as a 3.5, the realm of chubby middle aged playground hacks? Nope, that's the captains doing after convincing them what the plan is. And when he has like 4 of these guys on the same team, it's not just a coincidence.

They are doing it because when you go to sectionals...most of the teams there are sandbaggers as well, and these captains goal is to get to sectionals by any means necessary. Having 4.0 and some 4.5 players self rate as 3.5 is the means to that end.

 

[cks]

Most players who self rate themselves rate themselves TOO HIGH.

agreed.

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

reply to dman72

Self rating doesn't give you a actual rating. Just a category. So they should quickly move to a high rating and your rating will not be affected like you got beat by some with an artificially low number.

OK that is how it works in theory, right?

Self rating doesn't give you a actual rating. Just a category. So they should quickly move to a high rating and your rating will not be affected like you got beat by some with an artificially low number.

OK that is how it works in theory, right?

I self rated myself and will be playing this fall. I may have overrated myself. I may have underrated myself. Will find out soon enough. It is possible they just didn't know their true rating.

Sheeeet, the time honored tradition of "this is my experience personally so must be how it is" on the forum. They know lol, they are gunning for awards, trust those of us who have seen it for decades

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

They are doing it because when you go to sectionals...most of the teams there are sandbaggers as well, and these captains goal is to get to sectionals by any means necessary. Having 4.0 and some 4.5 players self rate as 3.5 is the means to that end.

It is almost goofy enough to rename the sport Sectionals, Nationals, or Ratings Game instead of tennis. I've been listening to small talk at the courts lately and if it isn't generic non tennis pleasantries it's focused on "will i get bumped up, better watch my games", "yeah he self rated and we are trying to use him in combo" , "I hope I stay and don't get bumped" like nothing about real tennis. It's gotten little weird.

The joy isn't playing, striving, improving, competition , it's rating and recruiting and winning any level possible. Funny/sad.

 

[Creighton]

It is almost goofy enough to rename the sport Sectionals, Nationals, or Ratings Game instead of tennis. I've been listening to small talk at the courts lately and if it isn't generic non tennis pleasantries it's focused on "will i get bumped up, better watch my games", "yeah he self rated and we are trying to use him in combo" , "I hope I stay and don't get bumped" like nothing about real tennis. It's gotten little weird.

The joy isn't playing, striving, improving, competition , it's rating and recruiting and winning any level possible. Funny/sad.

The Southern sectionals thread got me nostalgic. So I looked back to 2021 the last time I played Southern sectionals at 3.5 The two ringers I played, one got bumped to 4.5 last year and no longer plays league. The other got bumped to 4.0 and hasn't played since 2021. One of the ringers from the other 3.5 flight who went to nationals that year is now competing at 4.5 sectionals this year.

I'm not sure how that "Fowkes style" recruiting is really growing the game.

 

[Roforot]

The Southern sectionals thread got me nostalgic. So I looked back to 2021 the last time I played Southern sectionals at 3.5 The two ringers I played, one got bumped to 4.5 last year and no longer plays league. The other got bumped to 4.0 and hasn't played since 2021. One of the ringers from the other 3.5 flight who went to nationals that year is now competing at 4.5 sectionals this year.

I'm not sure how that "Fowkes style" recruiting is really growing the game.

Are you still playing at 3.5 Or did you give up league play?

 

[Creighton]

Are you still playing at 3.5 Or did you give up league play?

I moved to a section that sandbags even more than Southern. Played one season at 4.0 and ran into a guy who got disqualified to 4.5 and got to appeal down to 3.5 after the season.

Last year I played on several teams but couldn’t quite make it to sectionals at 3.5. Then this year, I spent the league season deployed to the Middle East.

Undecided if I’m going to come back next year to league tennis. Luckily the city I’m in has a pretty healthy flex league. Might just play that going forward.

 

[TennisOTM]

They have people self rate sometimes TWO levels below where they really should be. Then when they get disqualified or bumped, they are computer rated at that next level for the next season, still a level below where they should be, and can't be touched. A guy beating a solid 4.0 player 0 and 1 in a singles match cannot possibly have ever been a 3.5 in the time frame of signing up for that 4.0 team. No chance. The captain is blatantly cheating and the player is sandbagging.

I don't understand how this strategy could be successful the way you describe it. If they are playing in 4.0 leagues and consistently crushing solid 4.0s, then it doesn't really matter if they self rated at 3.5 or 4.0 - they would be just as likely to get DQ'ed or bumped to 4.5 either way.

Also, if the cheating you are seeing is truly blatant, e.g. lying about college team experience, then isn't that's an easy case for a successful grievance?

 

[ttwarrior1]

getting there myself
We have majority 4.0 players and some should be 3.5 and some should be 4.5. So when we play. Its often lopsided.
Can you blame a mid range 4.0 to sandbag when playing a 4.0 that should be a 3.5

 

[Roforot]

I moved to a section that sandbags even more than Southern. Played one season at 4.0 and ran into a guy who got disqualified to 4.5 and got to appeal down to 3.5 after the season.

Last year I played on several teams but couldn’t quite make it to sectionals at 3.5. Then this year, I spent the league season deployed to the Middle East.

Undecided if I’m going to come back next year to league tennis. Luckily the city I’m in has a pretty healthy flex league. Might just play that going forward.

I wouldn’t play league if it wasn’t for friends.
Ive also been fortunate not to run into any drama like hooking or gamesmanship. The captains here do try and work together to get matches done rather than take defaults…

One other thing. I am actually fine w NOT going to sectionals… it’s good to win everything but it is a hassle getting everyone back together 3 months later to go to LA or Coachella. I guess people who haven’t been might feel they’re missing out.

 

[Connor35]

I've actually wondered why league play is so key in tennis.

Way more people play golf, and they just have a friends group who they play with every week.

Having done both leagues and just a WhatsApp group of similarly-skilled guys who take up 2-4 courts on any given Saturday at our club, the latter is way more relaxing and fun. Plus we just play as long as we like, don't have to leave after a 6-1, 6-2 match.

 

[Roforot]

How does golf do amateur tournaments? Is it based on if your handicap is between x and y, you play in the A group?
Is there any sort of bragging rights like being the best handicap 7 golfer in the city?

 

[GrassCourtFan]

I've actually wondered why league play is so key in tennis.

Way more people play golf, and they just have a friends group who they play with every week.

Having done both leagues and just a WhatsApp group of similarly-skilled guys who take up 2-4 courts on any given Saturday at our club, the latter is way more relaxing and fun. Plus we just play as long as we like, don't have to leave after a 6-1, 6-2 match.

I generally find that USTA leagues have a few differences from non-USTA more casual groups.

First, because usta leagues are usually the biggest ones around, you get more variety in your opponents. Some of the non-usta leagues or groups really start to feel like you’re playing the same guys every week. Maybe that doesn’t matter for like golf or something, but it matters for tennis.

Second, because it’s just a bit more competitive. Something about the advancing structure makes it feel like your match matters. Some people like that (but not everyone)

Add to that that it’s a team competition, people like being part of a team and trying to win together.

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

The Southern sectionals thread got me nostalgic. So I looked back to 2021 the last time I played Southern sectionals at 3.5 The two ringers I played, one got bumped to 4.5 last year and no longer plays league. The other got bumped to 4.0 and hasn't played since 2021. One of the ringers from the other 3.5 flight who went to nationals that year is now competing at 4.5 sectionals this year.

I'm not sure how that "Fowkes style" recruiting is really growing the game.

Was 2021 the covid season? Maybe not, but if it was, southern was nuts, simultaneous 4.0 and 4.5 participants as self rated 4.0s running the table in both levels in a few states lol.

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

I've actually wondered why league play is so key in tennis.

Way more people play golf, and they just have a friends group who they play with every week.

Having done both leagues and just a WhatsApp group of similarly-skilled guys who take up 2-4 courts on any given Saturday at our club, the latter is way more relaxing and fun. Plus we just play as long as we like, don't have to leave after a 6-1, 6-2 match.

It's mostly , like 90% normal players and captains, but that's not interesting to talk about, I like the extreme stories obviously.

 

[Hurting Elbow]

I think this will be my last year...
USTA doesn't care but here is why:

• small pool of players, with both dwindling # of players and teams. mostly older players that only way to have fun is win at all costs. (cheat, sandbag, "self-rated" players, etc...)
• grievance process is a joke, no way to deal with cheaters or assholes. tennis is built around sportsmanship. lose that, and you lose the soul of tennis.
• league coordinator is lazy and doesn't care. every captain seems to complain about the LC.

I did meet some great people via USTA that I will keep in touch with and play tennis with.
Having been a captain I tried recruiting most of my tennis friends. But most of them did not want to join USTA leagues.
Some USTA veterans I know have already left. Same story every time... basically it was not FUN for them anymore.
Many of them are in these large private groups with contract courts and have way more fun playing there.


What we need is to have the assholes/cheaters play each other, instead of being on the same team.
Also should have some type of sportsmanship rating for opponents post match.

As for the dwindling number of players the USTA should give a free year membership to any high school seniors that played including league fees and get them on a league. They are virtually nonexistent now so I doubt they will lose money. Then there's paddleball.

 

[Creighton]

Was 2021 the covid season? Maybe not, but if it was, southern was nuts, simultaneous 4.0 and 4.5 participants as self rated 4.0s running the table in both levels in a few states lol.

Yeah 2021 was the year everyone got a free 2020 to not impact bumps.

 

[Moon Shooter]

USTA not being fun is one thing. But suggesting the only thing unfun about it is cheaters and sandbaggers is very different.

The issues that make it less fun for men in my area has more to do with not having good flexible ways to put teams together. This year for 40 and over leagues we will need 9 players all over forty and all at the same level. 18 and over needs 8 players. Most of our teams only get about 13 players total and usually one or 2 end up having to drop out due to injury or other reasons. As a captain I’m getting people who live an hour north and an hour south of my town to even hit those numbers. It’s not that there aren’t many players in these rating levels it’s that they are not interested in usta for the reasons I explain.

Lack of flexibility means smaller areas can only easily put mixed doubles teams together. And usta with their separate rating system for men and women makes mixed less then optimal. Since smaller cities/towns can only do mixed and usta is so focused on the adult leagues it means the districts have to be geographically huge in hopes that the district can get at least two adult teams. That means quite a bit of travel for matches for the adult leagues.

Travel for match not only means wasted time, but time is money and so is gas. And then there is the cost. $44 per year plus 28 per team for what? The rating system? Court fees are not covered by those costs. The matches are not as competitive as you can get in social leagues. I do it for the tshirts but now that I have a few good tshirts from my teams I’m starting to wonder if I will keep doing this.

It sort of just runs its course. If there was more flexibility and we could have a few flights of teams within @ 30 minutes and it didn’t cost so much for nothing of value then I think it would be much more popular. Orthey could make the rating system great and something worth paying for.

I don’t mean to speak for everyone in my area but I doubt the main issue is cheaters.

 

[Moon Shooter]

As for the dwindling number of players the USTA should give a free year membership to any high school seniors that played including league fees and get them on a league. They are virtually nonexistent now so I doubt they will lose money. Then there's paddleball.

Usta has so much money from its monopoly on the pro game I have no idea why they are charging anyone 44 per year to simply play in their leagues over and above the 28per team fee. It’s unclear what people getting for that. Yes I know sometimes people get some sort of coupon but that does not apply year round.

 

[PK6]

I was accused scrutinized for being to competitive wanting to win instead of other people’s feelings-also gained over 60 pounds playing how the F—k does this happen???? By being stupid and dumb in going out with team after matches for drinks/food when i should’ve left right after match/foam rolled/stretched/showered relaxed for 29 minutes and gone right to bed instead. Team didn’t care about winning rather go out with other team after matches. How stupid!!! I’ve quit playing over 3 years as I got fed up/burnt out tired of losing and all the drama along with weight gain. I don’t miss it at all!!! USTA is a joke and I hope it burns in flames.

 

[cks]

Usta has so much money from its monopoly on the pro game I have no idea why they are charging anyone 44 per year to simply play in their leagues over and above the 28per team fee. It’s unclear what people getting for that. Yes I know sometimes people get some sort of coupon but that does not apply year round.

The last two (2) years, I used the $44 wilson.com discount code from USTA annual membership fee, which helps. I generally agree with your points. If not for USTA league, I would not be paying for the USTA membership.

 

[cks]

USTA is a joke and I hope it burns in flames.

I hope USTA league grows. I want teams to play against.

 

[PK6]

No way!! If I were you quit playing and diet/bodybuild and get into shape!!! USTA will get you fat!!! They are the devil!!

 

[cks]

USTA will get you fat!!! They are the devil!!

Haters are going to hate.

 

[PK6]

You know it!!! Seriously dont waste your time with USTA-it’s

 

[Roforot]

I was accused scrutinized for being to competitive wanting to win instead of other people’s feelings-also gained over 60 pounds playing how the F—k does this happen???? By being stupid and dumb in going out with team after matches for drinks/food when i should’ve left right after match/foam rolled/stretched/showered relaxed for 29 minutes and gone right to bed instead. Team didn’t care about winning rather go out with other team after matches. How stupid!!! I’ve quit playing over 3 years as I got fed up/burnt out tired of losing and all the drama along with weight gain. I don’t miss it at all!!! USTA is a joke and I hope it burns in flames.

You're definitely right in that you should foam roll/stretch recover... but even someone like me who doesn't socialize often, I enjoy the going out w the team after matches even if I don't eat or drink much. You must have really been going out and celbrating a lot to gain 60lbs; hope you can work it off!