Tennis Roundup: February 21, 2022
The highest ranking ITF tennis official resigns, Novak Djokovic grants his first interview on his vaccination status, and Alex de Minaur denies paying for a fake Covid vaccine certificate.
Truly Incentivizing Players to Enter Tournaments
People respond to incentives that are placed before them. It is a part of human nature. Anyone who is intent on building participation in tennis tournaments should periodically invest time to brainstorm potential ways incentivize players to enter more tournaments. Today I am sharing the results from my own brainstorming session on this topic.
4 responsesPromoting Tournaments and Organizational Communication
There is a very simple thing that the USTA and the broader tennis industry organizations can do to build tournament participation: Notify prospective players about upcoming tournaments. It is an obvious statement yet it is something that isn’t being effectively done. That needs to change.
2 responsesEnter Tournaments Early, Enter Tournaments Often
One of the best way for individual tennis players to support tournament play is to enter tournaments. Paradoxically, I have heard players complain that no one entered a tournament that they themselves didn’t enter. I have even done the same thing myself. In addition to actually entering tournaments, players can maximize the chances that other players participate by throwing in their entry early. Timing matters. Waiting until the last minute to enter a tournament is almost the same thing as not entering at all when the goal is boosting participation.
2 responsesCitizen Ashe
Citizen Ashe is a recently released documentary about Arthur Ashe. The film traces the entire arc of Ashe’s life from early childhood all the way through to his death from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1992. I was surprised at how much detail the producers managed to pack into the movie with a relatively short runtime. It delivered new insight and perspectives while remaining entertaining for a wide range of audiences. Tennis history buffs, casual players, and even people who aren’t interested in tennis or civil rights at all will likely enjoy the movie.
60+ USTA Players Are More Appealing?
This is the final post in a series that examines new rules that appear in the 2022 USTA League Regulations. This year there are changes in the automatic appeal process that is applicable to players who are 60 and over.
I Love It When a Plan Comes Together
Last week I wrote about how I was using a Post-Match Evaluation Worksheet as a part of maintaining a Player Development Journal in 2022. That post framed out the initial use of the worksheet during and after my first “real” match of 2022. In strange twist of fate, I wound up playing against the same exact doubles team the following weekend. I was playing with a different partner this time around, but the quick rematch still provided valuable and immediate feedback on the impact.
Tennis Roundup: February 14, 2022
Women finally achieve equality with the men at Wimbledon. In 2022, fans will pay the same ticket price for both the men’s and women’s finals.
Leagues without Nationals
When the USTA first formalized NTRP based league play, the organization simultaneously self-imposed a requirement to conduct a series of National Championships. It has been an implicit part of the system from inception. That is probably why people look at me like I am crazy anytime I suggest that USTA Leagues would do just fine without National Championships. There is a pervasive belief that if the USTA eliminated League Nationals that participation would plummet. I’m not so sure.
3 responsesMovin’ On Up: What USTA Tournaments Can Learn from League Play
The USTA League Move-Up/Split-Up rule was put into place to keep the same teams from advancing to the National Championships in consecutive years. Usually I perceive that league play and the associated regulations are depressive influences on tournament culture. Today is a rare exception. It is quite possible that tournaments can appropriate a thing or two from league regulations to improve the overall ecosystem.
2 responses