Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
My co-captain and I are putting together a new ladies 3.5 day team. One of the computer-rated 3.5s has a friend and recommended her for the team. The friend told us that she thought she was 4.0. Yeah, right, I thought. She's just looking at those meaningless USTA descriptions and thinking 4.0, but she's probably a 3.5. Our 3.5 player thought the same, and she plays with this new player all the time.
So we set up a practice match. New player and 3.5 team member versus Ms. Slice & Dice 3.5 computer-rated player and me. We played one set, which my partner and I won 7-5. I observed that new player has a reliable forehand, but very loopy with good topspin. Didn't see much of the backhand. Didn't do well at net or poach. Serve was unremarkable. Significant agility issues and conditioning issues. But hey, I figured she was not below a 3.5, but I considered 4.0 to be too high of a self-rating for her. I figured she could cut her teeth on Court Three, but she definitely wouldn't be our strongest player. She agreed to join the team and self-rate at 3.5.
She called me this afternoon during the process of self-rating. She said she had tried to self-rate before many years ago, and the computer wouldn't let her rate below 4.0 and her appeal was denied. As a result, she didn't get to join a team. She explained that she used to be on a Div. I college tennis team back in the day. I told her to answer all the questions honestly and we'd appeal if necessary. The computer rated her at 5.0!
Now what? If she's a 5.0, then I'm going to join the WTA tour tomorrow. No offense, but that is *way* off base. I don't know how long it has been since she played in college (gotta be 20+ years).
How do we go about getting this fixed?
So we set up a practice match. New player and 3.5 team member versus Ms. Slice & Dice 3.5 computer-rated player and me. We played one set, which my partner and I won 7-5. I observed that new player has a reliable forehand, but very loopy with good topspin. Didn't see much of the backhand. Didn't do well at net or poach. Serve was unremarkable. Significant agility issues and conditioning issues. But hey, I figured she was not below a 3.5, but I considered 4.0 to be too high of a self-rating for her. I figured she could cut her teeth on Court Three, but she definitely wouldn't be our strongest player. She agreed to join the team and self-rate at 3.5.
She called me this afternoon during the process of self-rating. She said she had tried to self-rate before many years ago, and the computer wouldn't let her rate below 4.0 and her appeal was denied. As a result, she didn't get to join a team. She explained that she used to be on a Div. I college tennis team back in the day. I told her to answer all the questions honestly and we'd appeal if necessary. The computer rated her at 5.0!
Now what? If she's a 5.0, then I'm going to join the WTA tour tomorrow. No offense, but that is *way* off base. I don't know how long it has been since she played in college (gotta be 20+ years).
How do we go about getting this fixed?
