As I have touched on this in previous posts, there is a vibrant community that plays adult USTA tennis tournaments in Texas. We have a culture and opportunity that the majority of the other USTA sections do not have. This was driven home to me when I participated in the the individual NTRP nationals a few years ago.
Players have to earn the opportunity to play in the NTRP National Championships. Each USTA can send a limited number of players to the event. This is called the “endorsement” process.
I was stunned at the number of players in my draw who had played only a single tournament to qualify for their sectional endorsement. In fact, in many of those cases, the tournament they played was created for the sole purpose of determining who would play NTRP nationals. Additionally, many of the qualifying draw sizes would be considered to be minuscule if the event had been held in my home section.
After one of my matches, my opponents revealed that she was aware that I had skipped playing in the Texas Sectional Championships that preceded NTRP nationals that year. She was questioning how I had even received my endorsement. My answer of “all the other tournaments” was a completely foreign concept to her.
It is interesting to stop and consider why there are abundant opportunities to play adult tennis tournaments in Texas and not some of the other sections. I do not harbor the illusion that I have all the answers. Nevertheless, I enjoy the fascinating thought exercise.
In physics, critical mass is the smallest amount of material needed for a chain reaction. The concept of critical mass is a useful analogy for participation in tennis tournaments. Enough players have to enter an event in order for it to be held. Additionally, players typically will not enter tournaments if they assume or are concerned that the draw might not make.
I am extremely conscious of critical mass because I teeter on the edge between two NTRP ratings. When I am 4.5, I can easily find tournaments where the draw for my divisions will make. At 5.0… I am very appreciative of the small band of committed tournament players in my section. At my current rating, if one or two of that core group drops out, there is a danger that the critical mass required to have a draw will be lost.
As someone who is sensitized to how precarious critical mass is in some divisions at the moment, I am extremely worried that the COVID-19 crisis might drop participation below the levels of viability at some NTRP levels. In physics, once critical mass is lost, it is extremely challenging to get it back. It is much the same with tennis.
I suspect that the reason why there are a lot of tournaments to play in my section and not in others is a chicken and egg scenario centered on critical mass. Which comes first: Organizations willing to host tennis tournaments or players that would reliably play in those events
Tomorrow I plan to start examining why some tennis players are motivated to play tournaments in the first place.
