I genuinely thought last weekend’s posts breaking down new rules for player selection at the forthcoming 2024 NTRP National Championships would put the topic to rest for a couple of months. I was wrong. Those posts elicited some comments and questions that illuminated a few loose ends to tidy up. I am trying to knock all that off this weekend so I can return to other topics. Hope springs eternal.
Last weekend, I unintentionally glossed over a slight disparity in the window between the registration deadlines and the start of competition for the Singles and Doubles events at this year’s tournaments. For the Singles, there are five weeks plus one day between the entry deadline and the opening day of play. Selection is based on the 12-month rolling National Standings List (NSL) that comes out a single day before the entry deadline for players who do not already have an Automatic Qualification (AQ) billet from winning a qualification tournament.
The Doubles events have a little more time. The entry deadline is set back four extra days from the Singles timelines. That allows more lead time between the publication of the NSL used for selection into those events as well as a few extra days for tournament administration on the other end. It is likely an intentional decision by the USTA as it will take more time for tournament organizers and Sectional coordinators to reconcile the accounting on AQ spots for each Section. It is fair to anticipate that publishing the selection list for the doubles will take longer than for Singles where that exercise is less complex.
In my original post last weekend, I highlighted a real situation in 2024 where players from different Sections who did not know each other previously were paired together at an Automatic Qualification (AQ) tournament, earning one of Southern’s “Golden Tickets” to the NTRP National Championships. They have no intention of playing together at Nationals. It isn’t clear which of the two players “owns” the endorsement. If both are entitled to play at the National Championships off winning that tournament, it is a backdoor way to increase the number of AQ spots into the tournament.
Logically, it could be argued in that case that the player from the hosting Section should have priority for the AQ spot. Unfortunately, if two players from the same section won a qualification event together and did not want to team up at Nationals, that would leave who owned the golden ticket less clear. That is only a problem if divisions at the NTRP National Championships start to regularly fill up to the maximum draw size. It might be a good idea for the USTA to create something that resembles an NTRP “divorce court” for doubles billets. If they have thought about how to handle it, nothing has been published to date.
It is a well-established fact that a player who earns a “golden ticket” may choose an eligible partner from another Section. If they do so, the entry should only count against the granting Section’s endorsement quota. It is up to the Sectional coordinators to match up players with their endorsements. It matters because of the quota system I wrote about last weekend.
As another illustrative scenario, consider the possibility of two players who independently won an AQ “Golden Ticket” from different Sections who decide to team up. The ideal situation would be for the two Sections to negotiate and agree on who gets the spot. That is preferable to a coin toss, as one Section might have a surplus of eligible players in that division while the other doesn’t actually have an alternative eligible team to send. It doesn’t seem right to dock a spot off a Section’s quota just because one of its players decided to pair up with a player from outside their Section.
As a likely attempt at simplification, the tournament information pages seem to impose a requirement that all players must have registered before the entry deadline and completed partner selection. My interpretation of how it is worded is that if only one partner enters, the team will not be selected. This apparently isn’t going to be a tournament where the director will find partners for players. There is a chance that some players will not read that fine print and get caught up in that.
It was wise for the USTA to allow those extra administrative days for the Doubles divisions. Player selection will require lengthy reconciliation and manual coordination between the Sections. The players chosen off the NSL standings will certainly be impacted by how the AQ billets are ultimately allocated.
The USTA Rankings Page has a mechanism for viewing previous NSL versions, but I recommend that players on the bubble download a reference copy just in case. If you are directly or indirectly impacted by a situation where the resolution of AQ billets could impact selection for your Section, it is a good idea to reach out to your Section coordinator in advance. They need to be primed to advocate to preserve the full complement of golden tickets for your Section.
As I observed last weekend, there is a chance that errors will be made and that people who should have been accepted into the tournament will not get in. It is equally probable that some players who don’t get in will incorrectly perceive injustice. I don’t envy the task.
The USTA will probably need those extra days to ensure the selection list is correct for the Doubles.
