What, me worry? (NTRP and the World Tennis Number)

The USTA has been busy filling my inbox with announcements heralding the imminent deployment of the World Tennis Number. The messages are infused with reassurances directing players to not “worry” that the NTRP system might go away. I have been trying to find someone who is actually concerned about that happening. If I could find such a person, I could try to pinpoint the root causes of the fear. So far I have failed in that endeavor.

The USTA has prepared a new informational page (link below) describing how the World Tennis Number and the NTRP system will work in concert. While I appreciate the flyer as a communication mechanism, I still have questions. The messaging reflects a myopic focus on NTRP League play. It doesn’t address potential tournament impacts at all.

To be clear, the USTA NTRP is NOT planned to go away. There are a number of offerings where USTA NTRP remains the key rating, including USTA League, where a static rating would be more useful for a season-long competition.
Excerpt from The ITF World Tennis Number is Coming…What about USTA NTRP?

It might be splitting hairs, but the NTRP system is not a static rating. If it was, there would be no such thing as dynamic disqualification. It is more correct to say that NTRP is a dynamic rating that is published only once per year. Theoretically the World Tennis Number could also be used for USTA League play if it was published annually. However, it is not usable in the current USTA League framework because it calculates separate ratings for Singles and Doubles.

Nevertheless, the World Tennis Number will still likely have a profound impact on USTA League play. The visibility of the dynamic fluctuations in individual player ratings will certainly exacerbate incidents of unsportsmanlike behavior with USTA League play. Specifically, players will soon have a USTA endorsed metric that will probably be a pretty good indicator of when action needs to be taken to effectively “manage” a players NTRP rating.

The USTA does not seem to be unaware of that risk. Once the World Tennis Number is deployed, they will be inundated with appeals and grievances based on published World Tennis Number ratings. That is likely behind this clumsily worded Q&A in the flyer:

Can I file a Self-Rate USTA NTRP Grievance based on my ITF World Tennis Number?
No, self-rate USTA NTRP grievances will not take into account a player’s ITF World Tennis Number.
Excerpt from The ITF World Tennis Number is Coming…What about USTA NTRP?

Let’s be real. No USTA player would file a self-rate grievance on themselves using the World Tennis Number. This actual question should have read “Can I file a Self-Rate USTA NTRP Grievance on another player based on their ITF World Tennis Number?” An additional salient question is “Can I appeal my NTRP computer rating based on my ITF World Tennis Number?” Right now it appears that the USTA policy is no on both accounts.

When the World Tennis Number is deployed, the tennis ecosystem will enter an unprecedented era of rankings performance visibility. Sort of. UTR has already provided a glimpse of how player behavior will be incentivized based on transparency of computer ratings. Taking control of the public performance rating will not fundamentally change the nature of the impact on player behavior.

USTA tournament players are left waiting for news of how the World Tennis Number will be used (if at all) in conjunction with USTA tournament play. It is fundamentally incompatible with the cumulative performance ranking system currently in use. It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that there will be side effects however it is used.

Last weekend, I entertained myself at USTA Texas 55+ League Sectionals by repeatedly asking people to enumerate their worries over the impending deployment of the World Tennis Number. Quite frankly, I had trouble finding anyone who even understood the question. Despite the carpet bombing emails, there is a low level of awareness among USTA League Players that something new is forthcoming.

I am repeating the same exercise this weekend as I compete in the Level 2 Westwood Senior Championships. So far I have detected a higher level of awareness among that community but still an absence of worry. More details are needed to spark either excitement or concern.