One of the recurring themes on this site is the less-than-sportsmanlike behavior that frequently emerges during USTA League play. Today, I am sharing an experience that is the opposite of that. A couple of weeks ago, at the USTA League 40+ Sectional Championships in Texas. I played an absolutely delightful match that exemplifies everything that USTA League Play should be.
It was the final match of the initial round-robin stage, with advancement on the line for both my Fort Worth team and our Houston opponents. In other words, the stakes were fairly high on both sides of the net. It is the kind of situation where passions can become inflamed.
As an example of the types of things that can occur, when a close ball is played as good in practice matches, it is frequently followed by the observation that the same generosity shouldn’t ever be expected at Sectionals. It is a universally funny truth that captures the nature of USTA League matches when the stakes are high.
To be clear, during our match at 40+ Sectionals, close line calls were made. Absolutely no one played any out balls during the course of play. However, there was zero drama, even over the closest of calls. That is borderline shocking in an extremely tight match. As an exacerbating factor, It was also played under no ad scoring due to the excessive rain over the weekend. Under the circumstances, it was an extraordinarily convivial match.
But that’s not all.
It was brutally hot and humid, and the court we were playing on had no shade as recent storms ripped the awning off the bench area. Our opponents opened an umbrella and positioned it over their end of the bench. My initial envy turned to surprise as they opened a second umbrella and placed it on our side. My doubles partner ran out of water, and they shared their extra water bottles with her. (Somebody get those girls a sportsmanship pin!)
Our match was the last to finish, and advancement to the Sectional Championship finals came down to that line. The Houston team won 7-6, 6-4, and went on to beat Dallas in the Championship stage to advance to Nationals. Tomorrow’s post is about exactly how razor-thin the margin coming out of the round-robin pool actually was. It was an extremely consequential match.
Ordinarily, when I have an on-court experience that sparks the idea that I will be writing about it at some point in the future, that isn’t always a positive thing. It is even more surprising when it comes in a USTA League setting. However… as one parting shot, I would observe that three of the players on the court also engage with USTA tournament play.
Wonderful to hear.
Thank you for recording this. Not everyone is out to win at all costs and create a poor reputation.