(Almost) Everybody Self-Rates

In this year of our Lord 2025, almost every active player in USTA League tennis first engaged with the NTRP system by going through the self-rating process. The only possible exceptions to that statement are a dwindling number of aging veterans who played in the bygone era when human raters assigned initial ratings for new players. It is a point worth reiterating: Everybody self-rates. And yet, the tennis community, as a collective whole, treats self-rated players to intense scrutiny and frequently outright hostility. It’s one of the most paradoxical and dysfunctional aspects of USTA League culture.

There’s a widespread reflexive assumption that new players who self-rate deliberately misrepresent their skill level to gain a competitive edge. However, it is an inescapable fact that all players must self-rate to start playing in USTA League. There is no alternative way to get started. Systematically regarding all new players as cheaters is an unacceptable attitude. However, that is what many people essentially do.

Inherent suspicion of self-rated players reflects more on the accusers than the accused. Show me a person who assumes everyone else self-rated in bad faith, and I will show you a person whose own self-rating (and likely those of their teammates) was probably similarly gamed. That mindset creates an atmosphere of mistrust, where every new player is treated as a cheater until the NTRP computer bestows a Computer rating. Even then, an NTRP promotion is often viewed as proof of initial malfeasance rather than a sign of remarkable improvement. Worse, any player who performs well but remains at their initial self-rating is seen as evidence of ratings management.

It’s not only unfair—it’s also profoundly unwelcoming.

While the USTA has published multiple variations of the guidelines and still clings to obsolete descriptions of player characteristics, I believe that the most profound influence on a player’s initial rating determination is the input of other players and captains. Given that factor, it is no wonder that many players enter the system by rating themselves at a level where they have a chance to be competitive. Mistakes are made in both directions. Some rate themselves too high, others too low. That’s not a scandal, but rather the inevitable byproduct of any self-assessment system. We can, and should, improve the accuracy of the criteria and the clarity of the process, but the assumption that every self-rated player is a sandbagger is both unfounded and corrosive.

This culture of suspicion sends a message to new players that everyone cheats. If that is true, then cheating has become the accepted way to play the game. We are living out a dangerous precedent. Labeling self-rated players as cheaters undermines the spirit of competition and corrupts the integrity of USTA League. It pushes many people away from a sport that is currently actively striving to attract more players.

It pains me to say this, but if USTA League culture can’t become more welcoming and accepting of new self-rated players, then perhaps the best solution is to revert back to human raters. That system had its flaws, but at least the frustration was directed at the process, not the player. We need to stop treating self-rated players like villains and start treating them like what they are: the newest highly valued members of our tennis community.