A player approached me at a tournament I played last weekend to ask if it was true that the USTA had modified the selection criteria for NTRP Nationals. Somewhat embarrassingly, I had no idea. Despite my plans to play in the 18+ Women’s 4.5 Doubles division this year, I was unaware that the USTA had published new qualification rules. In the interim, I have corrected that oversight by coming up to speed on the changes for 2025.
My overarching take is that the USTA has been making good decisions as it continues to refine the rules surrounding the NTRP National Championships. That includes the painful and (somewhat) unpopular change in 2023 to require players to compete at their current NTRP level starting in 2024 rather than using year-end ratings and rankings. That departure from what was done in previous years put the event more in alignment with how tournaments should work. In the long run, that is an improvement. However, that rule change caught some players by surprise, which I think may happen with some of the updates this year.
Last January, the post “Understanding Automatic Qualification for the NTRP National Championships” lamented that the USTA had never published a quota list for Automatic Qualification (AQ) bids for each Section. That gap has been resolved within the 2025 NTRP National Championships Selection Criteria document. That resource now includes comprehensive information about how each Section fills its allocation.
Some Sections exclusively use AQ tournaments or send the winners of their Sectional Championships. A few Sections use a combination of AQ tournaments and slots awarded based on position on the National Standing List. (NSL) Other Sections award their AQ spots strictly off the rankings in the NSL. Regardless of the aggregate methods, any remaining spots will be awarded based on the NSL. That means it is important to understand the change in how that criteria is applied this year.
The statement of how the NSL criteria will be applied is short and direct.
For doubles the top combined NSL will be selected.
2025 NTRP National Championships Selection Criteria, 1.b.iv
For clarity, the selection criteria document provides a specific example. If Player A is ranked #1, Player B is Ranked #74, Player C is ranked #5, and Player D is ranked #10, then a team consisting of players C and D would have a combined NSL of #15 and be selected before players A and B who would have a combined NSL of #75. In other words, a highly ranked player can no longer expect to get into the tournament if they select a partner who hasn’t enjoyed much tournament success.
The 2025 NTRP National Championships Selection Criteria also stipulates that players using tournament ranking qualification must be on the last National Standings List before entries close to be selected. That might seem like common sense, but the way I interpret that stipulation is that if a player selects a doubles partner who has not played any tournaments, that player is not eligible. Thus, neither player will be selected.
I think this is a fabulous rule change for a couple of reasons. A National Championship Tournament is not supposed to be a social boondoggle. Rather, it is something that Sections and players should take seriously. That means that the AQ and NSL selection criteria should be structured to ensure that the strongest teams are selected. Theoretically, that should be the players with high rankings on the NSL. If strong players don’t appear on the NSL, then they need to play tournaments to prove they are deserving.
Additionally, advancing to the NTRP National Championships is supposed to be reward and recognition for competing well in tournaments. When players get to skip tournament play by being carried to the event by a buddy, that sends the wrong message about the importance of getting out there on the Adult tournament circuit and earning the bid.
I am guessing that a few players will be caught flat-footed by this change in the doubles NSL selection criteria. Anyone who selects a partner and enters assuming that 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. I went with the doubles selection criteria first as that seems to be the most urgent and impactful since it fundamentally changes how many players should approach partnership decisions for this tournament. 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.
I really like the combined ranking rule. That rewards the right things. I believe both partners needing to be on the NSL by the week the NTRP nationals tournament closes was also a rule last year. I remember talking to people about it because we have a few tournaments right before the deadline. Maybe that’s unique to sections using the NSL for qualification.