Late last September, I launched a three-part series of posts analyzing the probable impacts of a decision made by the organizers of the Texas Adult Masters 18+ tournament. In short, the traditional format of that event was ditched in favor of a Compass draw. This weekend I am revisiting the speculation and predictions I made in those posts to bring full closure to that topic. It’s an appropriate start to a weekend that kicks off on a Friday the 13th.
The questions and inquiries that sparked the original posts were regarding a statement from the tournament organizers about how rankings points would be allocated in the Compass Draw format.
Format: Compass Draw – Points will be allocated according to final standings on the Compass Draw (1st thru 8th place) 1st pl: 1,500; 2nd: 1,050; 3rd: 900; 4th: 750; 5th: 120; 6th: 60; 7th: 60; 8th: 0
Excerpt from Level 4 Closed: Simply the BEST – 2022 Austin Subaru Texas Adult Masters Championships
The primary question that I was fielding prior to the tournament was whether this points allocation was correct per the USTA Adult Tournaments Ranking System. For a full 8-competitor draw with no byes, it is. Indeed I verified that the USTA rankings software was already performing calculations correctly for full 8-person Compass draws in previous events that used that format.
Prior to the Texas Masters last year, we also knew that people were not (incorrectly) receiving rankings points for first-round byes in the Compass format. However, I was relatively certain that there would be deviations from the Order of Finish based rankings points claimed by the tournament organizers per the excerpt quoted above.
In fact, this weekend I didn’t have to look hard at all to find an example that illustrates the disconnect. The Men’s 3.0 doubles draw only had 6 entries. Consequently, there were two byes. This actually dispelled my speculation that the USTA software might not allow a 6-competitor Compass draw. I was previously unable to locate an example of a 6-competitor Compass draw being conducted prior to the Texas Masters. Now we know that the USTA software does allow that configuration.
Additionally, the team that was seeded second in that same Men’s 3.0 doubles draw lost their second-round semi-final match. That same team also lost the subsequent 3rd-4th playoff match. In other words, they finished 4th in the tournament even though they failed to win a match.
According to the statement published in advance of the event by the organizers, 4th place was to receive 750 points for the performance. These players’ ranking history calculations reveal that they each only received 15 participation points since they failed to win a match. That calculation is correct per the USTA Adult Tournaments Ranking System.
In that same draw, the 5th-seeded team won the sole back draw match to finish 5th overall in that event. That team received 60 Rankings points (plus 15 participation) points rather than the 120 that the tournament organizers promised in advance. The reason for the disparity is the cascading effect of the bye into the back draw that reduces the opportunity to win ranking points. Once again the calculation of rankings points awarded is correct per the USTA Adult Tournaments Ranking System.
One of my original posts also made the following speculative assertion.
I believe that there is a chance that a player at the Texas Masters who receives a bye in the first round may only receive “consolation” points for winning the 3rd-4th playoff match.
Excerpt from “All Points on the Compass“, October 1, 2022.
Essentially that statement boiled down to uncertainty over whether the USTA rankings software was treating the 3rd-4th playoff match as a consolation or main draw match. In the Women’s Open draw at the Texas Master’s this year, the winner of the 3rd place match had received a first-round bye before losing in the semi-finals. That player received 900 points for winning that playoff match.
With the understanding that the 3rd-4th playoff match is regarded as the main draw, the calculation of rankings points awarded is correct per the USTA Adult Tournaments Ranking System.
Finishing Shots
For Compass draws that contained byes, all players did not receive rankings points per the schedule published by the tournament organizers. However, the USTA tournament software performed the points calculations correctly, at least based on my limited spot-checking of this tournament.
The fundamental disconnect is that the Master’s organizers were using an Order of Finish framework when trying to communicate rankings points that are actually awarded by a Points Per Round system. Understanding the distinction between these two approaches is essential for correctly articulating how rankings points are earned.
I still have a few more observations about the rankings points at the Masters that will continue through this weekend.
- Level 4 Closed: Simply the BEST – 2022 Austin Subaru Texas Adult Masters Championships, Capatal Area Tennis Association Website, viewed September 26, 2022.
- USTA Adult Tournaments Ranking System, USTA Resource, as of February 1, 2022, downloaded September 30, 2022.
For the sake of posterity, these were three original posts on this topic:
- Tradition Ain’t What it Used to Be, September 30, 2022.
- All Points on the Compass, October 1, 2022
- When the Compass Points at FICQ, October 2, 2022
