Last week, I wrote about the new doubles selection criteria that were recently implemented for the 2025 USTA NTRP National Championships. As a short summary, player selection is now based on combined partner rankings rather than on an individual basis. In the interim, it occurred to me that there is an interesting scenario to explore in situations where a highly ranked established doubles team was split up when only one of the partners was bumped up an NTRP level. In fact, there is a team in my Texas tournament friend group that is a perfect case study for exploring that precise scenario.
Entries close for the 2025 18+ NTRP National Championships doubles tournament on February 16. That means that the National Standings List (NSL) published on February 12 will be the one that officially determines selections. While positions could theoretically change over the next couple of weeks, the remainder of this post is written using the current rankings list, which was published on January 22. From a practical standpoint, I don’t expect a lot to change between now and February 12.
Per the 18+ Women’s 4.5 doubles NSL at this time, my friends Crystal Fain and Kimberly Elliott are tied at 9th. In years past, that position would have pretty much guaranteed their selection into the NTRP National Championship tournament as one of the three Texas endorsements. They also would be in a great position for an at-large selection based on their NSL position, even if they weren’t in the top three teams for Texas.
Unfortunately for them, Kimberly got promoted to 5.0 for 2025. Per a new rule that started with the 2024 Championships, players may only compete at their current NTRP level. That makes Kimberly ineligible for the 4.5 division in this year’s tournament. Before the new combined ranking selection criteria were imposed for this year, Crystal would still have been selected based on her individual ranking. She could have played with any eligible player as a partner. However, this year, her selection depends on finding someone to play with who has a high enough ranking to achieve the probable acceptance threshold.
Filtering down the rankings list for Texas, I can confidently state that #1 Christy Vutam and #2 Teresa Merklin (me) will enter together as the top endorsed team from Texas. Beyond that, it is pure speculation, as some other Texas players who are high on the NSL have recently played with more than one highly ranked partner. However, there are combinations of entries that would likely prevent Crystal from getting the automatic Texas bid.
I still think Crystal is in a good position to get an at-large bid, but if she elects to go that route, she still must find a partner with more than just token ranking points. Additionally, there is no guarantee that everyone in Texas who is eligible and likely to be selected will enter. There are a lot of variables and moving parts.
I had the opportunity to speak directly to Crystal about this conundrum last weekend at the Texas Tri-Level Sectional Championships. One of my first questions was whether she was even aware of the new selection criteria. She was, but only because she reads this blog. We briefly talked through some potential scenarios, and while that gave me an idea about how she might be leaning, I will refrain from speculation on her final decision of how to approach this situation.
Basically, this new rule took Crystal from a guaranteed spot in the tournament to potentially scrambling for a spot paired with someone she hasn’t consistently been playing with. Her decision is even more difficult because there is very little calendar time to consider her options.
I am now even more convinced that quite a few players will be caught flat-footed by the combined change in the doubles NSL selection criteria. Anyone who chooses a partner assuming the old rules still apply may be in for a nasty surprise when selections are announced. Furthermore, anyone just becoming aware of the new rule who wishes to play with a particular partner who is low or absent from the NSL doesn’t have a lot of time to play catch up. There simply aren’t many tournaments between now and the entry deadlines for these events.
There are a smattering of other changes for the 2025 NTRP National Championships that I will examine over the next week or so. For now, my advice to players aiming for qualification is to carefully review all the USTA-published resources referenced below.
If there are any particular rules anyone would like me to break down in greater detail, drop me a comment, and I will do my best to accommodate.
- 2025 NTRP National Championships Selection Criteria, USTA web-published resource, undated and no version markings.
- 2025 NTRP National Championships FAQ, USTA web-published resource, undated and no version markings.
- 2025 NTRP National Championships Fact Sheet, USTA web-published resource, undated and no version markings.
- USTA About NTRP National Championships, USTA web page, viewer January 18, 2025.
