Intersectionals is a tournament between teams formed by each USTA Section. The divisions of that tournament are defined by age divisions rather than NTRP levels. Yesterday we examined the USTA sanctioning regulations for this event. Today we are taking a little closer look at the history.
I was initially startled to learn that there are some pretty significant variations between the structure of the separate Women’s and Men’s Intersectional tournaments. In retrospect, I don’t know why I was surprised. The Women and the Men have historically kind of done their own thing. The recent cooperation and collaboration between the advocacy groups for both demographics is a relatively recent development.
The variation was obviously apparent in the sanctioning information described yesterday. For Women, Intersectional divisions include 35s, 45s, 55s, 65s, 75s, 80s, and 85s. The Men, on the other hand, have significantly fewer age divisions which start later and taper out earlier. 55s, 60s, 65s, 70s, and 75s were conducted in 2022.
Women’s Intersectionals holds a separate team bracket for each age division. There is also some variation in the competition between those age divisions. 35s through 65s play 3 lines of singles and two lines of doubles. 75s play 2 lines of singles and 2 lines of doubles. The 80s and 85s divisions play one line of singles and 2 lines of doubles.
Men’s Intersectionals competes with unified teams of players from all sanctioned divisions. Overall, 10 doubles and 15 singles are played in each round for a total of 25 matches. The winning team wins is the winner of the majority of the matches. I am sure that this creates a really different vibe than the women’s version of this event.
How Intersectionals was Born… for the Women
Before there was a unified Intersectionals, there were scattered team cup competitions for various age groups. In fact, many of those cup competitions are still conducted. The visionary leader that recognized that a unified event would transcend the impact of all of these separate scattered events is Carol Wood. The former NSWTA (now NWTO) president was inspired by her own participation in the Pauline Betz Addie Cup, a tournament that began in 1981. That event included participation between four USTA Sections.
Wood reached out to the organizers of the Sears Cup, which was similar to the Pauline Betz Addie Cup but was comprised of different teams. The idea was that each Section would field a team in a variety of different age brackets, all competing for Sectional superiority. Intersectionals was created out of that engagement.
In September of 1987, the first Intersectionals was conducted in Virginia Beach. That first event only included Women’s 35 and 45 divisions and featured 123 players from 11 USTA Sections. Intersectionals has since expanded to its present state.
Scattered Challenge Cups
I am enamored with the idea of team format “Challenge Cups” between adjacent USTA Sections. I think that it is a tremendous mechanism for enticing high-performing players back into the game. I have always known that these things existed. However, it is (or maybe once was) a bigger deal in some parts of the country than I had previously imagined.
Here is an almost verbatim list of various Challenge Cup competitions scraped off a summary published by the Eastern section:
- Church Cup. Established in 1918, a men’s open competition between Eastern, Middle States, Mid-Atlantic and New England, traditionally held on grass. The format is 3 singles and 3 doubles.
- Sears Cup. Established in 1927 by two great women players, Hazel Wightman and Eleanor Sears. Wightman Cup became a competition between the US and Great Britain. Mrs. Sears lent her name to the women’s open competition between Eastern, Middle States, Mid-Atlantic and New England
- Addie Cup. Established in 1981 and named after former Wimbledon champion, Pauline Betz Addie. This is a women’s age 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s championship event between New England, Eastern, Middle States and Mid-Atlantic. The 40s and 50s play 4 singles and 2 doubles, while the 60s and 70s play 2 singles and 1 doubles.
- Atlantic Coast Cup. 45s, 55s, 65s and 75s, each is a separate men’s event played between New England, Eastern, Middle States and Mid-Atlantic.
- Friendship Cup. An annual event consisting of men’s 45s, 55s, 65s and 75s and women’s 40s, 50s, 55s, 65s and 70s, singles and doubles – U.S. vs. Canada. Host sites alternate each year.
- Talbert Cup. An annual event established in 1986 named in the memory of the nine-time Grand Slam Champion, Bill Talbert. The Talbert Cup pits men ages 35 and over from the USTA Sections of New England, Eastern, Mid-Atlantic and Middle States in round-robin competition.
- Senior Thurston Cup. An annual open event consisting of four New England areas: North, South, Central and Boston. The format is 5 doubles positions.
Last July, I wrote a post that was a (wild idea? proposal?) for “The Texas Cup.” Essentially the concept is an Intrasectional team-based competition for the Texas Section. The idea was modeled after an annual event conducted by the Southern Section. That Intrasecional event was called the “Southern Senior Cup” for many years, but was recently renamed to the “Callen Cup” in memory of a long-serving executive director of that Section.
I still think it’s an idea worth pursuing. I am seriously considering trying to conduct some sort of Cup Competition between Oklahoma and North Central Texas. The Merklin Cup may become a thing someday. Wichita Falls has enough courts right on the border to make it happen.
(I Don’t Know…) How Intersectionals was Born… for the Men
Men’s Intersectionals is called the Keith Donoff Challenge Cup. Donoff was a USTA Nationally Ranked Top 10 Tennis Player and member of the Dayton Tennis Commission Hall of Fame who died at the age of 54 in 2008. It is obvious that the men’s Intersectional Event was named after Donoff shortly after his death. More details on the history and evolution of the event have eluded me.
The men’s news articles typically center on who played and which Section won. From what I gather, Southern almost always walks away as the Keith Donoff Challenge Cup Champions.
Change is apparently afoot. NSMTA president Steve Duffel has informed the advocacy group’s members that significant changes will be coming to the Keith Donoff Challenge Cup in 2023.
Tomorrow
This weekend’s post on Intersectionals will conclude tomorrow with a sampling of how various USTA Sections select players for the event. This post will also share the story of how my first-ever selection to the event completely transformed my tennis life.
P.S. Tennis Advocacy Groups
This post has the acronyms of a couple of tennis advocacy groups interspersed throughout. I am a member of both organizations and strongly urge other Adult tennis players to join one or both of these groups. Our voice is stronger when we work together. Unified advocacy for senior tennis is desperately needed.
The National Women’s Tennis Organization (NWTO) was formerly known as the National Senior Women’s Tennis Association (NSWTA). The NWTO is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization of tennis advocates who strive to raise the standards of age-level match play, fitness, and sportsmanship in both individual and team competition. The organization works closely with the USTA to support senior tennis in the United States.
The National Senior Men’s Tennis Association (NSMTA) is also a 501(c)(3)non-profit organization. It was founded to foster tennis competition among senior men, ages 30 through 100+, on a nationwide basis. Objectives include increasing interest, raising awareness, and improving the quality of senior events. The NSMTA also supports other organizations serving underprivileged children and seniors in the tennis community. They also provide input to the USTA in support of senior men’s tennis.
- 2022 USTA National Women’s Intersection Team Championship presented by Baptist Health, USTA Tournament Official Site.
- Southern retains Keith Donoff Challenge Cup, USTA Southern News release, November 14, 2022.
- USTA Intersectionals Celebrates 30 Years of Tennis, Erin Maher, USTA News Release, November 16, 2017.
- New England Cup and Sectional Teams, Undated USTA Eastern Section Resource Page, viewed November 18, 2022.
- National Men’s Senior Tennis Association President’s Points, Steve Duffel, October 2022.
- Southwest Intersectionals Selection Information, USTA News Release, March 6, 2019.
- Play Tennis: Adult National Tournaments, USTA Informational Page, viewed November 16, 2022.
- F. Keith Donoff Obituary, legacy.com, viewed November 18, 2022.
