Thursday, November 28, 2013

Black Friday Sale on Estimated Dynamic NTRP Rating Reports for USTA League Players

In the spirit of Black Friday sales, I will be offering Estimated Dynamic NTRP Rating Reports at half price for one day only on Friday November 29th, 2013.  Contact me to get details or to order a report.

Why get a report?  Especially when the USTA is expected to publish year-end ratings this coming Monday?

First, some of you are wanting to know more specifically what your rating is.  It is nice to know you are a 4.0, but where in that range from 3.51 to 4.00 does your rating fall?  A report will give you an accurate estimate of where exactly your rating is.

Second, and probably more interesting to those who like details, the USTA isn't going to tell you how each match impacted your rating.  My reports will with a summary that tells you your highest and lowest rated matches and ratings, and a chart showing each match and associated match rating and resulting dynamic rating.

Third, my reports don't just give you a number.  I'll offer explanations for why matches are rated the way they are and answer any questions.

Here is a recent report I generated.

Current NTRP: 3.0S
Estimated DNTRP: 3.17
Match Record: 13-2
Sets Won-Lost: 27-7
Games Won-Lost: 179-90
Best Match Result: 3.5 on 10/13/13
Worst Match Result: 2.77 on 9/28/13
Highest Estimated DNTRP: 3.23 on 10/13/13
Lowest Estimated DNTRP: 2.97 on 6/8/13



I estimate your rating to be 3.17, well into the range for a 3.5. That is actually down just a bit from your high of 3.23 and it would even be a bit higher if it weren't for the 9/28 match. That match was a loss, and particularly the second set being 6-1 is what hurt you.

Your rating is pretty high both because you went 13-2 on the season, but also because you did so playing up at 3.5.

You will notice a few matches aren't in the chart. This is because they were played against other self-rated players before they had dynamic ratings. These should be included in the USTA's year-end calculations, and since they were all wins, two comfortable ones, they will likely help your rating a little bit.

But even with all that, I fully expect that you will be bumped up to 3.5 in the year-end ratings. This is particularly true because you did well in your playoff matches which will carry more weight in the year-end calculations. Four of your 5 playoff matches were well over 3.0.

So, in my estimation, you don't need to worry, you will be bumped up! Congratulations.

The example above is an individual report, but the discount applies to team reports too.

So if you want a report at a 50% discount, Friday the 29th is your day.

Monday, November 25, 2013

One week and counting until USTA League year-end NTRP ratings are released

It is the Monday before Thanksgiving, and with that USTA League players can begin the one-week count down until year-end ratings are released.

Year-end ratings are important for many reasons.  Some find a sense of accomplishment in getting bumped up.  Some may have struggled playing at a level and are interested to see if they'll be bumped down given them an opportunity to be more competitive.  And for everyone, these ratings will determine what level they are able to play at for 2014.

Now, some 2014 leagues started early and used early-start ratings to determine the level a player could play at, and so for these folks the year-end ratings can be a confirmation of what the early-start rating indicated.  But it is not unheard of for someone to be bumped up on the early-start list but not bumped in the year-end ratings.  Of course, it can go the other way as well.

In any case, if you can't wait, an Estimated Dynamic NTRP Rating Report is a great way to not only get a preview of what your rating is likely to be, but also see all the details of how your season went and how each match contributed to your rating.  And you aren't limited to getting a report for yourself!  I've had numerous people get reports for others as gifts.  Let me know if you are interested in a report.

Friday, November 22, 2013

New rules for USTA League NTRP rating appeals

The original content of this blog entry described the appeal rules as of 2013 and was based on a communication from the USTA at that time and thus quite dated now.  My understanding is the appeal rules have changed and so what was written no longer applies.  Please do not base any assumptions or expectations on what appeals may be granted based on what you'd read here before.  Please see this more recent article on what the rules are based on the 2019 USTA League regulations.


USTA League Mixed Nationals this weekend - rain rain go away

While the 2013 USTA League year ended on 10/27 with the completion of all of the 18 & over and 40 & over Nationals for men and women, Nationals in other divisions continue.  This weekend has the Mixed 18 & over Nationals for 6.0, 8.0, and 10.0 levels taking place in Tucson.

Unfortunately, as I write this Tucson is getting one of its few days of rain a year.  And in fact the forecast doesn't look great for the whole weekend.  Let's hope they find a way to get the matches in.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

More details on when USTA 2013 year-end ratings will be available

I wrote a few weeks ago about the 2013 USTA year being over on October 27th and the USTA spending November calculating year-end ratings.  The ratings themselves are usually released on the Monday after Thanksgiving, and usually that afternoon, so that would put December 2nd as the likely release date.

Given the increased interested in my Estimated Dynamic NTRP Rating Reports, not everyone wants to wait that long to have an idea of what their rating will be.  I've recently generated reports for players in some new places including several new parts of Michigan, Georgia, Arkansas, and more.  Contact me to join the folks getting an early preview of how their rating gets calculated and what it will likely be.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

2014 USTA League teams are forming soon, who should you recruit for your team?

In many sections, USTA League tennis is a year round endeavor with multiple different leagues and age groups available to most players.  But in most sections, the main adult leagues (18 & over and 40 & over) are played in the Spring with some starting earlier, as soon as January, in order to not have the two leagues completely overlapping.

Given that it is November, January isn't that far away and it is time to start forming teams and recruiting players.  But there are a couple of challenges in doing this.

It can be difficult to recruit the right players in November as year-end ratings aren't out yet and some players may be on the bubble of being bumped up/down and you don't want to find out in December that those 4.0s you recruited are now 4.5s and you have to go find more 4.0s to fill your roster out now that other teams already grabbed them.

Then the USTA only tells you a players rating to the half point and you don't know really how strong a player is within that range.  Certainly if you know and play with a player, you have a pretty good idea, but simply looking at past season wins/losses may not be representative of how strong a player is.

One solution to both these challenges that can be an aid in recruiting and forming teams are my Estimated Dynamic NTRP Ratings.  With ratings to the hundredth, you can both know how highly rated a player really is as well as have a good idea of if a player will be bumped up or down.

Individual reports can tell you a lot about a player's profile over the year and where they are currently, but you don't need that much detail to identify who to recruit all the time.  Team reports are a standard offering I have and show less information but for a whole team so they are an option to aid in recruiting.  But sometimes you just want lists of ratings and I do offer these too.  Pricing is dependent on how many ratings and a few other factors so contact me for more details and to get a quote.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Another team report customer is headed to Nationals

While the 18 & over and 40 & over Nationals for 2013 are complete, there are a few divisions that have their 2013 Nationals occur in early 2014.  As such the playoffs and Sectionals for these divisions can happen at odd times of the year, and in one section they recently held their Sectionals and another of my team report customers pulled out a 2-1 win in the final and will be headed to Nationals in the Spring.  Congratulations and good luck!

The USTA League year is over, now we wait for 2013 year-end NTRP ratings

All indications are that all the matches that will be used to calculate 2013 year-end NTRP ratings are now complete, and now we wait for the year-end ratings to be published in 4 weeks or so.

I actually believe the "USTA year" ended a week ago Sunday with the completion of the last 40 & over and 18 & over Nationals.  But any fall leagues or early start leagues that played matches on or before October 28th should also have those matches included in year-end calculations.  See this write-up for a little more detail on how I understand the whole process to work.

But if you are impatient (I know I am) and don't want to wait for the USTA, let me know if you'd like to get an Estimated Dynamic NTRP Rating Report that tells you what your rating will likely be.

Note: I have subsequently confirmed that October 27th was the end of the 2013 USTA year.