USTA tournament confusion

[OverTheHill]

I am 53 and returning to tennis after 15 years off. Never played USTA before. After reviewing the USTA website and reading 100s of threads here at this forum, I am still confused about USTA tournaments.

The following USTA link (or some of the downloads on that page) talks about category I&II tournaments, sectionals, "Super Category tournaments", category maps, etc..

http://www.usta.com/sitecore/conten...aments/How_to_Obtain_AdultSenior_Ranking.aspx

Some of my questions:

- What exactly is a section? Category?

- Is there a link/book/blog I can go to that clearly discusses these different concepts?

- I assume there are many other USTA tournaments (found on tennislink) that aren't cat I&II?

- As I set personal tournament goals, why would I want to play in Cat I&II tournaments? Are these sort of like the grand slams for amateur USTA tournament players, and your goal (if you are serious in your play) is to win as many of these as possible (whereas all other tournaments that are not cat I&II are for tuneups or for fun, etc)?

- I also downloaded category maps from that USTA link. I live in Florida, which is its own category according to those maps. Can I enter tournaments outside of Florida?

- Do tournament players enter tournaments on different surface types, or do they typically specialize in just one?

- Can I enter only Category I&II tournaments and not play in other types of USTA tournaments, or must I first get a ranking by entering minor tournaments first?

Sorry for all these questions, but the USTA website desperately needs to be re-written so that the information is clearer, and most of the threads here seem to assume some amount of fore-knowledge. I truly appreciate any help in trying to educate me to the above issues. Thank you!

 

[ssgator80]

I'm sure someone will chime in about the different categories - I not real sure. I'm in Orlando and play a lot of USTA tournaments - within the past year cause I also had a long lay off from tennis. You can play Open, age group or NTRP tournaments. It just depends what your confortable with. I'm 47 and play mostly NTRP. Like you, I wasnt sure about what would be best. I actually went and watched play in a tournament to determine what NTRP. Go to the USTA Florida web site for a list of tournaments.

 

[blakesq]

The USTA site is pretty crapulent about explaining all those terms, I wish I knew the answers you are seeking.

I am 53 and returning to tennis after 15 years off. Never played USTA before. After reviewing the USTA website and reading 100s of threads here at this forum, I am still confused about USTA tournaments.

The following USTA link (or some of the downloads on that page) talks about category I&II tournaments, sectionals, "Super Category tournaments", category maps, etc..

http://www.usta.com/sitecore/conten...aments/How_to_Obtain_AdultSenior_Ranking.aspx

Some of my questions:

- What exactly is a section? Category?

- Is there a link/book/blog I can go to that clearly discusses these different concepts?

- I assume there are many other USTA tournaments (found on tennislink) that aren't cat I&II?

- As I set personal tournament goals, why would I want to play in Cat I&II tournaments? Are these sort of like the grand slams for amateur USTA tournament players, and your goal (if you are serious in your play) is to win as many of these as possible (whereas all other tournaments that are not cat I&II are for tuneups or for fun, etc)?

- I also downloaded category maps from that USTA link. I live in Florida, which is its own category according to those maps. Can I enter tournaments outside of Florida?

- Do tournament players enter tournaments on different surface types, or do they typically specialize in just one?

- Can I enter only Category I&II tournaments and not play in other types of USTA tournaments, or must I first get a ranking by entering minor tournaments first?

Sorry for all these questions, but the USTA website desperately needs to be re-written so that the information is clearer, and most of the threads here seem to assume some amount of fore-knowledge. I truly appreciate any help in trying to educate me to the above issues. Thank you!

 

[JRstriker12]

I googled "USTA category 1 tournament" and this is what I got in the second result:

http://www.usta.com/USTA/Global/Lea...Information/2009_AdultSenior_Regulations.aspx

Just a quick scan of the doc says that Cat. 1 tourneys are national championships.

Super Category 2 / Cat 2 are sectionally sanctioned tournaments. The the link has full definition.

- As for your other questions - why not call or e-mail your the USTA? Probably quicker than asking on this board.

 

[Dave Mc]

- What exactly is a section? Category?

Section is your state or group of states in which you compete for ranking.
Category denotes the significance of the tournament, and amount of ranking points awarded.

- I assume there are many other USTA tournaments (found on tennislink) that aren't cat I&II?

Yes, go to your usta section tournament schedule website to see all the smaller tournaments that are not national cat I & II.

- As I set personal tournament goals, why would I want to play in Cat I&II tournaments? Are these sort of like the grand slams for amateur USTA tournament players, and your goal (if you are serious in your play) is to win as many of these as possible (whereas all other tournaments that are not cat I&II are for tuneups or for fun, etc)?

Yes, the cat I tournaments are national championships, drawing the top seniors in the nation. Cat II tournaments are more regional in nature, but still draw top senior talent in the section, and some out-of-section players looking to improve their national senior ranking.

- I also downloaded category maps from that USTA link. I live in Florida, which is its own category according to those maps. Can I enter tournaments outside of Florida?

Yes, florida is its own section. You can just play inside florida if you only seek a florida section senior ranking. You should play usta cat I & II if you seek a national senior ranking.

- Do tournament players enter tournaments on different surface types, or do they typically specialize in just one?

Most sectionally/nationally ranked seniors play all surfaces to maximize their ranking, even though they may specialize in one particular surface.

- Can I enter only Category I&II tournaments and not play in other types of USTA tournaments, or must I first get a ranking by entering minor tournaments first?

You are allowed to enter the senior cat I & II anytime, but you may be shocked at how good the players are... some former ATP players, former NCAA D-I players, lots of teaching pros, and various NTRP 5.0 - 4.0 filling out the bottom. Its better to start with usta tournaments in your own section to see where you stand before leaping directly into the national cat I & II events.

 

[JoelDali]

For someone not computer savvy, the USTA site is a heap of garbage.

If I told my dad to enter a tournament in Idaho, I doubt he could figure it out straight from WWW.USTA.COM

Think about it...Challenge a non-tennis player to enter a 3.5 tournament in Idaho. See if they can figure it out within 5 minutes straight from www.usta.com

They will not.

This is WHY THE USTA web site SUCKS.

End of rant.

And now I give you happy tennis thoughts.... I had foot orgasms last night playing sick matches with the Oreo's, and I'm wearing them at work now, LOL. Not since I used to hold my BorgPro while watching cartoons in 1980 have I been so entralled by a tennis toy. I love my VaporsVI!!!

 

[Dave Mc]

Go to www.usta.com, select TennisLink in the menu, select Tournaments from the submenu, and you get the searchable schedule. Choose Florida section, month of October, and Men's 50 singles division, and click "Find It"..... presto.

http://tennislink.usta.com/tourname...neEntry=&DrawsSheets=&UserTime=Tue+Oct+6+2009