A couple of weekends ago, the “Unplugged” series of posts about sandbagging generated some thought-provoking comments on medical appeals. One reader posed the question of whether they are necessary at all. Additional comments shared legends of dubious appeals that had been granted. Today we are taking a closer look at the USTA regulations and procedures for medical adjustments to NTRP ratings.
Let’s start with a definition pulled directly from the USTA League Regulations.
Medical Appeals. If an intervening, permanently disabling injury or illness indicates that a player’s current NTRP computer rating level may be too high, the player may request a medical appeal of such rating level in accordance with USTA League NTRP Medical Appeal Procedures – Questions and Answers.
USTA League Regulations, 2022, 2.05D
That definition makes it clear that a medical appeal should be granted only in the case of an “intervening, permanently disabling injury or illness.” Additionally, the last sentence points to an additional document that is maintained outside of the Regulations. The “NTRP Medical Appeal Procedures – Questions and Answers” resource provides additional detail including tantalizing examples that I suspect were generated in response to requests that the organization has repeatedly received.
Are Medical Appeals Necessary?
One reader wondered if medical appeals were necessary. The idea behind that question is that the player could simply “play their way down” to the appropriate level. If an active NTRP player has a chronic progressive debilitating condition such as osteoarthritis, the NTRP calculated rating may gradually decline over time. In that case a medical appeal might not be necessary.
However, some medical conditions are sudden. For example, if a player has a stroke and loses partial muscle control and mobility, it is unlikely that they would have the opportunity to compete at their original level to “play their way down.” USTA League Captains are (generally) trying to produce winning teams and have no obligation to place a player competing below level in the lineup or even include them on the roster.
Even if a captain decided to put that player in the lineup, it isn’t fair to the other team. A lopsided match with a person who isn’t performing anywhere near their NTRP dynamic rating will negatively impact their opponent. The match is likely to generate a disqualification “strike” for the other player if they are self rated. Additionally, a lopsided victory could artificially elevate that player’s dynamic rating to the next tier when ratings are reset.
The USTA League Regulations contain provisions for medical appeals because there are some very real scenarios in which they are absolutely needed. Unfortunately, medical appeals are rumored to have been granted for situations that do not appear to meet the permanently disabling criteria.
Looking Ahead
I plan on spending the next few Wednesdays going into greater detail on what the “USTA Medical Appeal Procedures – Questions and Answers” document says about how the process is supposed to work.
- USTA League Regulations, 2022, downloaded October 29, 2022.
- NTRP Medical Appeal Procedures – Questions and Answers, Undated USTA Artifact, downloaded October 29, 2022.
