Basket Case: The Gift of Tennis for Easter
Easter falls on April 20 this year. That means there are three shopping weeks left if this is a gifting holiday for you. Easter isRead More
1 responseTennis Ratings Management: Junior Edition
Ratings management in competitive tennis is the practice of intentional performance modification to create an edge. One way that might be done is by players selectivelyRead More
Garbage In, Garbage Out
I spent the first 13 years of my career developing software for a major telecommunications company. The kids—er, I mean “early career professionals” — thatRead More
The Only Thing Worse than Rainouts in USTA League
I am wrapping up this “Unplugged” weekend with a semi-hot take. The only thing worse than rainouts in USTA League play is scheduling the makeups.Read More
The Game of Default Chicken
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, a rainout last Saturday allowed players from my team to sit down for a leisurely lunch. The conversation wasRead More
A Lovely Tennis Lunch
Last Saturday, one of my teams scheduled a lunch date with an injured teammate who will not be able to play with us this season.Read More
3 responsesReimagining NTRP Tournament Age Divisions
I was skeptical when the USTA first started offering NTRP age divisions in tournaments. My reservations were largely centered around two primary concerns. First, separatingRead More
Ranking Points When Divisions Are Combined
Yesterday, I wrote about how the USTA Texas tournament ranking system once incentivized participation in small tennis tournament divisions by awarding 1st and 2nd placeRead More
1 responseIt Takes Two to Tango (in a Tennis Tournament)
This weekend, I’m continuing to explore how USTA competition delivery mechanisms incentivize player behavior. In particular, I want to revisit something previously described in “HowRead More
For the Love of Competition
In yesterday’s post, I introduced the concept of tennis tournament “point-chasers,” who are players primarily motivated by the opportunity to accumulate ranking points in tournaments.Read More