Fiend at Court Unplugged
The USTA recently released the 2022 USTA League Regulations. Unlike in years past, there are some non-trivial changes in the document from the draft version circulated earlier in 2021. The most striking change is in the page formatting and layout. For reasons that defy my understanding, the final document is not a standard paper size. It is thin and narrow and not particularly friendly for printing or viewing on a mobile device.
Other cosmetic changes include some reordering of the material that greatly improves the flow of the document. Fortunately two posts previously written in anticipation of rule modifications based off the draft document remain valid.
That clears the field to talk about some minor changes to the NTRP system codified in the USTA League Regulations. However, this week we need to review a little history first. The remaining changes will come next week.
In 1971 the USTA created an educational advisory committee which quickly morphed into the Education and Research (E&R) office. The focus of E&R was expanding public participation in tennis. By far the most profound and lasting impact of the E&R office was development of the National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) system. The NTRP system was largely ignored by the USTA until adopted by League play. It is now virtually inseparable from USTA League Play.
That is how USTA League became the de facto overlords of the NTRP system. While NTRP is now used in tournament play, the adoption came much later. Most players are aware that NTRP tournament play is weighted significantly lower in the algorithms than league matches. My own speculation is that it is because USTA League Officials were concerned that players would use tournaments to tank matches to manage ratings.
In any case, a player who exclusively plays tournaments will receive a Tournament Exclusive (T) rating. It is not considered equivalent to a Computer (C) rating. Section 1.04F(1)c requires players with (T) ratings to self-rate (S) for league play. A footnote to the NTRP Dynamic Disqualification Table in the USTA League Regulations makes it clear that (T) rated players forced to self-rate for league play are subject to dynamic disqualification.
In other words, USTA Tournament play isn’t worth a hill of beans for USTA League purposes.
The USTA has recently added an NTRP Advisory Group under the Adult Tennis Leadership Council. That group is chartered as follows: “To advise, assist, work and collaborate with USTA National staff, the USTA network and overall tennis industry to support the NTRP Operations team with research, analysis, and cross functional perspectives. To ensure NTRP application aligns with and supports program goals.”
It is my hope that the NTRP Advisory Group is the first step in an effort to untangle and separate administration of the NTRP system to eliminate USTA League dominance. In the meantime, the USTA League Regulations will continue to be shaped primarily by the League Adult Council Committee. It is just the way it is structured.
Next Wednesday we will examine some minor changes to the NTRP System as reflected in the 2022 USTA League Regulations.
- USTA League Regulations, 2022, downloaded February 5, 2022.
- 2021 USTA Yearbook, downloaded February 5, 2022.
