Fiend at Court Unplugged
The new USTA tennis tournament consolidated framework provides tournament organizers with flexibility in how each event will be structured within certain constraints. Due to the variety of those options, I don’t think that anyone will be able to fully assess the impact of the coming changes on their personal playing situation until the details on each tournament is released.
For the next two days I will be describing the potential draw formats players might encounter across all levels of USTA tournaments. The first step was to create a matrix that more clearly illustrated the options available at each level. It is easier for me to note the difference between the various levels in that format.
As a word of caution, the table in this post aligns with what the USTA has published at this point in time. However, there has been some evolution since the original webinar announced the tournament structure in June. For example, the Level 1 Tournaments listed FICQ and FIC16 as potential formats which has been updated in the interim to “Feed-In Championships.” Additionally, “Round Robin (with or without playoff)” was originally listed as a draw option for Level 1, but has been removed in the current USTA table. Further evolution is a definite possibility.
Round Robin and Round Robin with Playoff
The Round Robin draw may be used at every Level. It is a non-elimination format in which there is a match between every player in the Round Robin group. The USTA resources page has a description of the Round Robin format that includes schedules for 3, 4, and 5 players.
If only three players enter a tournament event, the organizer has no choice other than to play that draw as a Round Robin. Tournaments almost universally go to a bracketed draw if there are four or more entries. I would prefer for a round robin to be required with only four entries. It is a better player experience and also eliminates the impacts of a “bad draw” where the strongest two players meet in the first round.
The reason 4 or more tournaments are almost universally bracketed is for the convenience of tournament organizers. A bracket of four players only requires 4 matches to be scheduled to fully play out the “First Match Consolation” format. As a contrast, a full Round Robin for the same number of players requires 6 matches to be scheduled.
The Round Robin with playoffs involves multiple Round Robin groupings that drive subsequent play. The Texas Adult Masters is run under that format with two groups of four playing a Round Robin and then the winners of each group competing in a follow-on match to determine the champion. The “NTRP National Championship” also uses that format, but all the players are slotted into separate follow on brackets based on order of finish in the Round Robin.
I am kind of shocked to see that Round Robin with Playoff is not an approved format for organizers of Level 1 tournaments. In fact, I would assert that Round Robin with Playoffs would drive increased participation at the Level 1 tournaments. The number of guaranteed matches that this format provides would tilt my own personal calculations on whether or not to play these events as discussed yesterday.
Remaining Formats Coming Tomorrow
The remaining draw formats will conclude tomorrow with the bracketed options that are available to tournament organizers. I have to confess that there are two formats on the list that are completely new to me. There is also one format that I was surprised isn’t included on the list.
- 2021 USTA Adult Tournaments Ranked Events, USTA Website Hosted Infographic, viewed 10/23/2020.
- “Non-Elimination Tournament Page“, USTA assets document, viewed 10/23/2020.
The Fiend at Court Unleashed series runs on this site every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Unleashed series topics cover a broad range of topics.
