Why does USTA have 2.5 league?

[robert]

I thought most of players should be in 3.0 after they starting playing tennis seriously for half year. The 2.5 league is very wired. I saw 3.0, 3.5 and even 4.0 in 2.5 leagues.

There are very few teams in 2.5 league also. Our area only has 2 2.5 teams for the season. And they just play each other 8 times. Winner went to National. Isn't it boring?

 

[SFrazeur]

Its popularity depends on the state/area and whether it is mens or womens. In my state womens 2.5 anything is the biggest followed by 3.0 and 3.5. For mens 2.5 is non existent. It begins at 3.0.

 

[Bdarb]

There's a 2.5 nationals? Just seems bizarre. It's like giving someone a racquet and putting them on a plane to play the best other people who were just handed a racquet.. Could you consistently stay at a 2.5 ntrp?

I apologize if that's an insulting question to someone.

 

[goober]

I don't have any problems with 2.5 leagues if there actually is a lot of players wanting to play in it in a particular area. I don't think there should be playoffs though for 2.5. You can take athletic person or just about anyone who is dedicated to practicing and have them easily get beyond 2.5 by the time nationals and sectionals come around. I watched a video of 2.5 nationals once. One team had all these 20-30 year old something players that were all ex-athletes. While they may have been not great technique-wise they were easily 3.5 based on athletic ability combined with 3.0 technique.

 

[OrangePower]

There's a 2.5 nationals? Just seems bizarre. It's like giving someone a racquet and putting them on a plane to play the best other people who were just handed a racquet.. Could you consistently stay at a 2.5 ntrp?

I apologize if that's an insulting question to someone.

True, but then I guess same (in spirit) could be said about any level other than Open

 

[struggle]

Gotta start somewhere.

Some of us are luckier than others in the "gifted" department.

No reason they shouldn't be able to have fun too (the lesser of US folks, skill-wise).

I love watching and cheering for all my friends no matter the level or painfulness to watch (at times).

Now Nationals seems kinda funny, but hey....if they pay the dues and the costs fit like they do for the rest then have at it.

 

[14OuncesStrung]

If you're not at least a 3.5, you shouldn't be playing in a league!!!!
DEATH TO MEDIOCRITY!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsMKOx6fumc

 

[Cindysphinx]

Hey now. Watch it.

I started playing league in 2005 as a 2.5. I had taken some low-quality group lessons, so I was nowhere near ready for 3.0. The women who were also 2.5 were there for a reason: brand new like me, very old, seriously overweight, and even physically disabled. Still, we had a league, we had a season, there were districts, sectionals, nationals.

I was bumped to 3.0 after that first season, but several of my teammates were not bumped up and had to do a second year at 2.5. There were a few DQs, as most people were self-rated and a few folks didn't understand just how weak you had to be to be a 2.5.

There were nine 2.5 teams in our league that year. Nine, can you believe it? We played around twice. It was fun.

In fact, I think it is a crying shame that 2.5 barely exists nowadays. The whole point of 2.5 is so that people don't feel intimidated by more experienced players and don't get blown out. The death of 2.5 league means more people have to play 3.0 when they don't belong, which is no fun for anyone.

I think USTA should push harder to revive 2.5 tennis.

 

[Rjtennis]

Why shouldn't there be a playoff? Anything that promotes the game to beginners is excellent in my eyes. People have to start somewhere. Most probably play a year at 2.5 and move up from there.

 

[Ronaldo]

Watched guys play with their off-hand. Turrible. 2.5 Maybe Switch hands when necessary, great plan

 

[djosbun]

Yesterday I did the 'self rate' questionnaire on the USTA website and it ranked me as a 2.5, probably because the only question that I answered "yes" to was "Have you played any recreational tennis?". I wasn't sure how to answer, so I said "yes". I've only played with my 11 year old, so can that even be considered 'recreational', if I hit the ball to my son and he misses it 80% of the time? I thought there would be one question about serving, but no. Unfortunately I can't find any adults to hit with in my area, so it's going to be hard to better myself.

Dave

 

[josofo]

Yesterday I did the 'self rate' questionnaire on the USTA website and it ranked me as a 2.5, probably because the only question that I answered "yes" to was "Have you played any recreational tennis?". I wasn't sure how to answer, so I said "yes". I've only played with my 11 year old, so can that even be considered 'recreational', if I hit the ball to my son and he misses it 80% of the time? I thought there would be one question about serving, but no. Unfortunately I can't find any adults to hit with in my area, so it's going to be hard to better myself.

Dave

a ball machine always wants to play.

 

[djosbun]

a ball machine always wants to play.

Agreed! The tennis club I was going to join unfortunately doesn't have any in working condition. Luckily for me I found a club closer to my house that is priced quite reasonably and also has multiple ball machines.

However, I was hoping to join a team but this club doesn't have a 2.5 or even a 3.0 men's division. Starts at 3.5, as does the doubles team.

Dave

 

[Cindysphinx]

Agreed! The tennis club I was going to join unfortunately doesn't have any in working condition. Luckily for me I found a club closer to my house that is priced quite reasonably and also has multiple ball machines.

However, I was hoping to join a team but this club doesn't have a 2.5 or even a 3.0 men's division. Starts at 3.5, as does the doubles team.

Dave

You'll need some time before you are ready for a team.

I would say you need some sort of serve you can get into the box under pressure. If you don't have anyone to hit with, you can create your own pressure.

Go out with your hopper (you do have a hopper full of old balls, right?). Hit serves and keep track of how many in a row you make. Say you get three in and then miss the next one. Start over with your count.

As your count gets higher, you will feel pressure to make the serve. If you can't make a decent number in a row, then you are not ready for league play.

In the meantime, join a beginner clinic. You will meet people who want to hit.

Hurry. If you get going, you can do some of this outdoor before the weather gets bad. That will save you money on indoor court fees, and you can put that money toward lessons.

 

[Ronaldo]

Agreed! The tennis club I was going to join unfortunately doesn't have any in working condition. Luckily for me I found a club closer to my house that is priced quite reasonably and also has multiple ball machines.

However, I was hoping to join a team but this club doesn't have a 2.5 or even a 3.0 men's division. Starts at 3.5, as does the doubles team.

Dave

Contact your district's league coordinator to inquire whether there are teams at your level. You may need to start your own team. Locally, a team was thumped at the 3.5 level, organized a 3.0 team and found other clubs interested in forming 3.0 teams. Got to Nationals.

 

[djosbun]

I did buy a bucket of 48 Penn balls, and I practice my serve about 3 times a week, serving between 100-150 balls. I've improved dramatically in the past week (only been practicing serves like this for 2.5 weeks). I've been watching lots of YouTube clips that give great insight on serving. I have come to the conclusion that i'll have to keep practicing for a few months, so my goal is to be good enough to enjoy playing on a team in Spring of 2014.

Here in Cincinnati there seems to be no USTA teams but we have our own Greater Cincinnati Indoor Tennis Association (GCITA), where the different tennis clubs play each other. This is what i'll be getting involved in.

Dave

 

[Cindysphinx]

I did buy a bucket of 48 Penn balls, and I practice my serve about 3 times a week, serving between 100-150 balls. I've improved dramatically in the past week (only been practicing serves like this for 2.5 weeks). I've been watching lots of YouTube clips that give great insight on serving. I have come to the conclusion that i'll have to keep practicing for a few months, so my goal is to be good enough to enjoy playing on a team in Spring of 2014.

Excellent!

Can I suggest that you take a couple of private lessons on serving? If you go out and develop bad habits, it will be very hard to undevelop them. Maybe do two 30-minute lessons on serving a month and practice diligently what you learn?

Also, take it from someone who started at the rock bottom. All those serves you hit out of a hopper are not the serves you will hit during a match. Serving during a match is a totally different animal. Score pressure. Partner pressure. Opponent standing there pressure. Opponent blasted your last serve pressure. You just double-faulted pressure.

Be sure to practice against a live person as much as you can.

And be sure to keep us posted on how your journey goes. I'm pulling for you!

 

[OrangePower]

Excellent!

Can I suggest that you take a couple of private lessons on serving? If you go out and develop bad habits, it will be very hard to undevelop them. Maybe do two 30-minute lessons on serving a month and practice diligently what you learn?

Also, take it from someone who started at the rock bottom. All those serves you hit out of a hopper are not the serves you will hit during a match. Serving during a match is a totally different animal. Score pressure. Partner pressure. Opponent standing there pressure. Opponent blasted your last serve pressure. You just double-faulted pressure.

Be sure to practice against a live person as much as you can.

And be sure to keep us posted on how your journey goes. I'm pulling for you!

All excellent advice.

A tip for when you practice with the hopper: Most people just serve a bunch of serves from one side and then a bunch from the other side. This is great for developing muscle memory but not realistic for when you start playing games, when you'll be switching between deuce and ad court every point and so less able to get into a rhythm. So it's worth doing a drill where you serve one serve at a time while alternating the side... keep tally of how many you can make in a row like that!

You'd be surprised how many people even at higher levels struggle when they have to step up to the line and make a single serve... e.g. if there was a break between a 1st serve fault and the 2nd serve attempt.

 

[djosbun]

Thanks Cindy and Orange! I appreciate the tips and kind words! I will be having my 2nd lesson next Saturday. Not sure of we'll cover serving at that point. I was serving to my 11 year old son but after nailing him with the ball twice (in the leg) he won't help me with my serves anymore.

Dave