Fiend at Court Unplugged
Throughout my musing on the new USTA tournament structure coming in 2021, people keep whispering to me that the changes are going to be really good for driving increased participation in Senior tennis. I have been struggling to understand the logic behind that expectation. Until yesterday. When I started bouncing the new 7 tier National points schedule across various playing scenarios, I had an epiphany. There is a chance the new system will be fabulous for Senior tennis.
Yesterday I wrote about how challenging it can be for players in areas that do not have a lot of existing Senior National level tournaments to commit to entering a significant number of those events. The simple fact of the matter is that to play a meaningful amount of Senior tennis, travel is required. That travel is expensive in terms of both time and money. At the same time, from a practical standpoint, Senior Women’s tennis only exists at the national level. Participation at the Sectional age group level is close to nonexistent.
As a point of reference, I am currently the top ranked Women’s 50+ player in Texas. I am also #1 in Women’s 35+. Don’t congratulate me. I reached that point by playing one match. It was against the player who is currently ranked first on the Women’s 65+. The match occurred at the Metroplex Senior Major Zone tournament. The draw was supposed to be a three player round robin, but the 35+ player withdrew after the draw was made. That is why I also picked up rankings points in that age division.
In 2020, there were four senior Major Zone tournaments scheduled in Texas. Two were cancelled due to COVID-19. The fourth Major Zone in Houston did not have a Women’s Senior Age group draw make. At that same tournament, the Men’s entries were consolidated into a single 50+ draw.
2020 might not be the most representative year for Senior adult tennis participation due to the pandemic. However, the number of entries in the Senior Age Group divisions is consistent with a declining trend in participation at all levels.
Under the new points structure, I am anticipating that the tournaments which were previously known as “Major Zones” will slot in as Level 4 tournaments. The winner of a Level 4 tournament will receive 1500 national rankings points. That is the same number of points that the player that comes in fourth at a National Level 1 tournament under the same schedule.
I have twice played in the 5th/6th consolation finals of a Category 1 tournament, the National Clay Court Championships. I have won the Metroplex Senior Zone at least twice. At current rates of participation, there is no comparison between the level of performance it takes to reach that point at the National Level 1 (nee Cat 1) tournaments and the Sectional Senior Major Zones.
The addition of serious National rankings points at the Sectional and lower levels will have a seismic impact on overall National Rankings. When the points become very accessible at the lower levels, more players should be enticed to play those events.
Additionally, since the ranking considers the “best six” tournaments, the players who are focused on toping the rankings will be compelled to play Sectional level events. Those entries should attract other highly competitive players.
The new structure may be the lynch pin that is the catalyst for the recovery of Senior tennis participation back to the point of critical mass. I really believe that there is a chance.
- USTA 2021 National Adult Tournament Calendar, USTA website hosted document, date stamped 10/23/2020, viewed 10/30/2020.
- “2021 Adult Tournament Changes: Indoor Level 1 (gold ball) Nationals are Eliminated,” Carolyn Nichols, The Senior Tennis Blog, September 21, 2020.
