Are 3-strike DQs up in 2021 USTA League? Interesting Tennis League Stats

As we slowly make our way through the (hopefully) downhill side of the COVID-19 pandemic, USTA League play is taking place in most sections.  Some areas have mask wearing or other restrictions, while others are just playing as normal.  Regardless, it is good to see play going on.  See my earlier analysis of where play was happening through January.

This also provides an opportunity to look at potential impacts of the pandemic, or decisions the USTA made as result.

First, we can look at matches played.  For this, I'll look at matches between January 1st and March 13th, as the latter date is when the USTA suspended play in 2020.  I will also only look at Adult 18/40/55 for consistency.

In 2020, there were nearly 34K team matches played which was up 4.5% from 2019 when there were just over 32K played.  During the same period in 2021, there have been just over 22K played, a drop of 34%.

This isn't a big surprise, a number of areas delayed starting league play so the match played count would be expected to be lower and I'd think is primarily due to the USTA adhering to local rules regarding competitive sports, especially in those areas where play early in the year is indoors.

Second, we can look at the number of players who have played in the same period.  The counts by year are 126K in 2019, 124K in 2020, and 86K in 2021.  Here there is a 31% drop from 2020 to 2021, basically mirroring the drop in team matches, so no surprise.

Third, we can look at DQs during this same period.  The counts by year are 63 in 2019, 59 in 2020, and 64 in 2021.  This is pretty consistent, so you'd think nothing to be alarmed at, except the 64 in 2021 has been achieved in 34% fewer team matches.  If you look at the rate per team match, DQs are actually up 65%, and the rate per player is up 59%.  This, at least to me, is alarming.

Why the significant increase?  Has something gone haywire with the self-rate guidelines or questionnaire or how TennisLink spits out the minimum self-rate level?  Are more players lying when answering the questionnaire and self-rating too low?  Are players not managing their rating effectively anymore?  Has the USTA tightened up the strike thresholds?

While any of the above could contribute, I don't think any of those are a significant factor, or a factor at all.  Instead, I'd offer that what I wrote about last Fall was likely to happen simply is happening.

Last Fall, the USTA made the decision to not publish 2020 year-end ratings.  I saw a number of potential issues with this decision, one of those being there would be a lot more self-rated players, and many of those would be out of level.  It would appear that some of those that are way out of level are simply having this recognized via 3-strike DQ, specifically a rate 59% higher than the prior year.

You might say, 64 DQs is a small number and not a big deal, but for there to be this large an increase in the DQ rate, there is likely a similar increase in the number of self-rated players that are out of level and just not DQ'd yet.  These players get to continue to play at too low a level which isn't terribly fair to the at-level players that are required to play them.  And this doesn't even count all the C-rated players who should have been bumped up (or down) and are playing at the wrong level in 2021 and aren't subject to DQ.  My earlier estimates of put the number of players playing at too low a level at 15K, which is not insignificant and to me at least, is a big deal.

The solution was obviously to publish 2020 year-end ratings, at least for self-rates that had played enough, but the USTA didn't do that and so we are stuck with what we have.

Note that through the end of March, the number of DQs has already gone up from 64 to 120, so the rate increase was not a early blip and is continuing.  Stay tuned as I continue to monitor this.

But these are all just numbers.  What are you observing in your area?  Are you seeing more DQs than normal?  Is there a disparity in the ability within levels regardless of S-rated or C-rated?  Is the lack of 2020 year-end ratings having a detrimental effect on USTA League play?

How much USTA League play is taking place in 2021? Is participation up in some areas?

As January 2021 comes to an end, we are far enough into the new year to take a look at how much USTA League is actually being played as various areas of the country deal with the coronavirus pandemic in different ways.

For reference, I'll be using last year, play was not suspended at all in January, and looking at league matches in the 18 & Over, 40 & Over, and 55 & Over divisions, as those schedules year to year are generally the same when there is no pandemic affecting schedules.

Using this criteria, in January 2020, there were 11,461 team matches scheduled and 10,554 played.  The difference of around 900, or about 8%, is likely due to matches needing to be rescheduled due to weather or various other reasons and is not to be unexpected in January.

In January 2021, there were 6,389 team matches scheduled, down 44%, and 5,486 played, down 48%.  Let's take a look at why these numbers are down.

The obvious answer on the scheduled matches being down is the pandemic and some leagues simply not being played.  This is certainly true, play in PNW is postponed until at least March, league play has not started in either California section, and Northern has not started play.  But there has been league play in other sections, somewhat to significantly lower than last year in Eastern, Hawaii, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and New England, and near or normal match counts for January in other sections, with a few are even up slightly including Florida, Intermountain, and Texas.

Florida and Texas are both warm weather areas that generally are able to play outdoors in the winter and haven't had the restrictions other states have had, so the play being slightly up in these sections would seem to indicate strong interest in league play, perhaps even a slight bump from folks getting back into tennis last year as it was an allowed activity.

Intermountain is interesting as the main leagues are played outdoors and don't start until Spring in much of the section, but Nevada can play outdoors in January so the modest bump would seem to be attributed to that district and again, may be to be due to increased interest in tennis.

Southern is also a warmer weather area, but much broader area and population so more subject to restrictions or delays in some states and is down about 17%.

But Southern is likely an indicator of another factor in the decreased play, that being areas where leagues are able to play at normal levels, some players are choosing not to play.  This may be because they didn't play much last year and feel they are rusty and don't want to spend league fees to play yet, or they may be cautious and don't want to play until the COVID numbers drop more or the vaccinations are more widely available and administered.  The long term question for USTA League is if these players will come back or not.

A good way to look at this factor is to look at the number of teams and players registered for a league.  An area that started later than normal in January will still have teams and players registered even if matches scheduled/played are down.  And teams/players in a league isn't affected by leagues not being played.

Here is a chart by section showing the percent increase/decrease in the teams per league and players per league.  Note, just 12 of the sections have played in January so that is why only they are shown.  I've also included the percentage increase/decrease in scheduled team matches and leagues as well.

Here we can see some pretty dramatic changes between 2020 and 2021.

Just four sections have shown any growth in the teams/players registered in a league, just Southwest and Intermountain showing significant growth, and Intermountain is represented by a single league in Las Vegas where play is up.

However, there are a full eight sections showing a significant decrease in the teams and players per league.  The greatest decrease is in Mid-Atlantic where participation is down over 75% for each metric, and Middle States, Eastern, and Texas are also significantly down.

Middle States is also interesting in that the number of leagues is up a bit, but matches and teams/players per league are down.

I should note that while comparing the same month from 2020 to 2021 does mean that generally the same leagues are being compared, but they aren't necessarily exactly the same, and that can be seen in the chart above with the leagues played in January increasing or decreasing so some differences can be attributed to differences in the leagues being played in January.

Does this mean USTA League play in several sections is dying, while a few sections are growing?  One certainly shouldn't make that leap based on comparing a single month from 2020 to 2021, but it reveals some trends that it is worthwhile following the remainder of the year.

What are you observing in your are?

2021 PNW USTA Leagues postponed until March

In my section (Pacific Northwest), our Winter leagues start right away in the new year, generally the first or second weekend of January.

Unfortunately, the Governors of Washington and Oregon increased COVID-19 restrictions about three weeks ago and those included no indoor tennis, and should those restrictions continue into 2021, that makes playing USTA League matches are a no go.

There have been petitions circulated asking for indoor tennis to be exempt from the restrictions as it is proven to be a safe form of exercise, but apparently so far, no takers on granting that request.

Because of this, and the short-term outlook of COVID-19 numbers not improving, it appears the restriction will not be lifted soon, and as a result, the PNW section sent out notice today that 2021 Winter league play would not begin until at least March 5.

That may seem like a pretty extreme adjustment, a full two months, but a lot goes into planning and coordinating a league from confirming team to securing courts from facilities and creating a schedule bringing the teams and courts together.  It also doesn't make sense to start league play immediately upon restrictions being lifted, especially with 40 & Over injuries could be rampant if that were the case, so some ramp up time makes sense.

A delay until March 5 (or later) throws a monkey wrench into the rest of the schedule as well, and the e-mail mentions plans are being worked on to allow for all leagues to be played leading up to local playoffs and Sectionals, but until more is known about when restrictions may be lifted, no dates or plans can be shared.  We will all have to remain patient.

Note, league play is going on in quite a few sections, but not all, and should suspension of play continue well in to 2021, it will begin to introduce doubt into whether 2021 leagues can be completed and correspondingly, Nationals be held.  It would be really unfortunate if Nationals were canceled for two years running so let's hope we find a way to get leagues going again in all or at least most sections very soon.

USTA League play is already suspended in some areas, what are the chances 2021 leagues are played to completion and Nationals is played?

 2020 has been a strange year in many ways, including its impact on USTA League play.  Leagues were suspended in the Spring leading to many not resuming and Nationals being canceled.

Some areas did resume play over the Summer, at least with alternate/secondary leagues, and some areas begin 2021 season play with Early Start Leagues as they've always done taking advantage of play resuming in their respective sections, but some sections have never resume league play and with the rise of COVID-19 numbers, league play is being suspended once again in other areas.

All of this begs the question, what might happen in 2021?  Might leagues be suspended/canceled again?  If so, at what point are 2021 Nationals in jeopardy of being canceled?

One way to look at it is to look at when leagues are normally played across all the sections, and correspondingly what impact any suspensions or delays in play will have.  Using the 2019 league year as the benchmark, here is when matches were played by month for the 18 & Over division.

We see the bulk of the matches are played in March and later, but a good number are played in the first two months of the year as well as September thru December of the prior year, and even some played back in May and June thanks to Early Start Leagues in Georgia.

And for the 40 & Over division.

A similar story here, but March is the busiest month by far, and January and February are as busy as the Spring and early Summer months.  There is also some Early Start League activity in the last few months of the prior year but not as much as for 18 & Over.

What does this all mean?

The short story is that while the bulk of league play occurs March or later and may not be impacted by any continued or new suspension of play as we move into 2021, there is a fair amount of play in January and February, and there may be play from ESLs that have not started or finished as we move into 2021, that has been or will be impacted if play is suspended at the start of the year.

I'm sure sections and districts have some flexibility with scheduling and can absorb a month, or perhaps two months, of delay and still find a way to get league play complete, but you can see that if any possible suspension of play continues into March on top of that, it becomes more difficult to get all the matches in.

Now, as we know, restrictions regarding playing tennis and league play have not been consistent through the country.  Based on local COVID-19 statistics and capacity of the healthcare system to take on the sick, and how conservative the respective state governments are regarding playing it safe and shutting more down or for longer, some areas may not have any restrictions while others. may be restricted and unable to play for an extended period of time.  This may lead to a situation where some sections complete play through playoffs and Sectionals and are ready for Nationals, while other sections do not.

In the past, even without a pandemic, not every section sends a team at every level, so I doubt that one or even two sections not having teams to send would cancel Nationals.  But what if three or four don't send teams?  At what point does National decide to cancel?  Or would they carry on if at least half the sections send teams, and perhaps even open up wildcards for runners up from Sectionals to advance to Nationals?

Let's all hope it doesn't come to that and the restrictions preventing play in some areas are lifted soon and everything can go on more or less as planned.

USTA establishes new manual appeal criteria for 2020 year-end in lieu of publishing year-end ratings

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on everyone's life, including tennis players, in various ways.  For those that play USTA League, play was suspended and ultimately seasons canceled, Nationals were canceled, the decision was made to not publish year-end ratings, and even where play resumed, it has been suspended again in some areas.

On the subject of year-end ratings, from surveys I've done, most people wanted some form of year-end ratings to be published, but the USTA elected not to.  I wrote about the pros/cons of this, in my opinion there were a lot more cons, and offered suggestions on what should have been or could be done.  Others have written letters and contacted the USTA with their own suggestions.

Where this was in response to anything I or other wrote, I don't know, but somewhere along the way, the USTA's coronavirus FAQ was updated to reflect some modified appeal rules.  Specifically, this now appears:

Q: I have been playing matches during 2020 and believe that my match results reflect a different level of play.  Can I request a review of my rating based on my play history from 2020 play? 

A: Yes, players that have had at least 3 matches during 2020 and have generated at least 3 dynamic ratings may contact their Section to request a review.  The Section will review player details and send eligible players to National for review and processing.  It is important to note that players who request an appeal of their rating will receive an A rating type and will therefore be subject to Dynamic Disqualification or Promotion.  The eligibility guidelines for Appeals are proprietary, objective, and will be applied to all players submitting such Appeal requests.

This is nowhere close to actually publishing ratings and addressing all the issues that come with not doing so, but is an olive branch to those players that feel they are playing significantly above/below their level and should be at a higher/lower level for 2021 leagues.  Let's parse apart what exactly was said.

First, players must have played at least 3 matches and generated at least 3 dynamic ratings.  This is more or less what is normally required to get a new year-end rating, so makes sense that this be part of the criteria.

Second, this is not an auto-appeal like you can normally do after year-end ratings are published, but instead a player must contact their section to request a manual review.  See below for why (perhaps) they didn't make this the auto-appeal button on TennisLink.

Third, if a player is eligible after review by the section, it will be sent to National for review.  I think this is important, this is not something a section decides but rather they just determine eligibility and send to National.  Although, by determining eligibility, they can in effect not-grant it if they choose not to forward to National.

Fourth, players whose appeal is granted will be marked as an 'A' and thus subject to 3-strike DQs.  This makes perfect sense.

Fifth, and what I bolded above, eligibility guidelines are proprietary and objective and will be applied to all players.  This makes sense, but what does it really mean?  The proprietary part means they aren't telling us :). But objective and applied to all seems clear but is it?

Note, I believe players could always request a manual appeal and make their case so being able to do so is not new, but having it granted typically required extenuating circumstances or permanent medical issues.

Now, it appears there are specific and objective criteria that will be applied to all players.  If it is specific and objective and applied to all players, I don't know why they couldn't just make the auto-appeal button on TennisLink do it, perhaps it was just to reduce the number of people that do it as it is more work to find out who to contact and do it.  They very well may still have an influx of requests and with reduced staff wish it was an automated system.

However, note the word "guidelines".  That is somewhat at odds with "objective" and "applied to all players" as it sounds like they are just guidelines and the folks at a section can still review and determine which to send to National.  The reason for this is perhaps to weed out edge cases or situations where players have tanked matches and the section has more knowledge about this to know if the appeal should be reviewed by National.

Note, I have no issue with there being a manual review if it is to weed out sandbaggers who shouldn't have an appeal down granted.  I just hope sections and National are prepared for the volume of appeal requests they are going to receive.

Note also, players don't just appeal down, some do appeal up as they have improved and feel the system hasn't kept up and they want the challenge of playing at the higher level.  These players can always play up, but some like the validation of the rating by their name (even with the 'A').

My view is that, for 2020 at least, this is a good thing.  Players that are way out of level, too high or low, are not good for league play and in the absence of just publishing ratings to get the majority of players to the right level, this at least provides a way to get a subset addressed.  Without knowing the criteria, hard to say how well it will work though.

What do you think?  Are these what appear to be new, and perhaps only, for 2020 appeal rules appropriate and fair?  Are you likely to submit an appeal and try it out?

If you do submit an appeal, I'd love to hear from you and what the process is like and what response you get.  As always, I'll share what I learn (anonymously) and also write more as I hear more.

Unhappy with indoor tennis restrictions in Washington? Sign this petition!

Earlier this week, amid increasing COVID-19 numbers, the State of Washington Governor's office reintroduced restrictions on various indoor activities, including closing indoor activities at athletic clubs, meaning folks in Seattle and other parts of Washington are unable to play indoor tennis, and with temperatures in the 40s and periodic rain, we aren't playing outside either.

USTA League play in Seattle was wrapping up with 55 & Over playoffs just finishing in time (completed this past Sunday) but 18 & Over Mixed now having to be tentatively rescheduled for January.

I, among others, use tennis as their primary form of exercise in the winter here and not having it is more than an inconvenience, it can significantly affect one's well being.  The COVID-19 pandemic is certainly something to be taken seriously and certain restrictions may make sense, but evidence seems to show that when managed with the appropriate protocols and social distancing before and after play, tennis can be a safe activity with very low risk of transmitting the corona virus.

If you agree indoor tennis should not be a restricted activity, please express your support for an on-line petition to Allow safe, socially distanced indoor tennis in Washington!  As of this writing, 2,197 supporters have signed this petition and it is growing quickly.

Thanks to Diane Tien for getting this started!  Let's see how many signatures we can get!

Update on Seattle area Adult 55 and Mixed 18 Playoffs - So close!

In many of the districts in the Pacific Northwest section, several leagues are played in the Fall as Early Start Leagues.  In Seattle, these are the Adult 55 & Over and Mixed 18 & Over leagues.

In 2020, getting any league in has been a challenge in most areas, but with the relaxing of restrictions over the summer and clubs open for indoor tennis, we were optimistic that these Fall league could be played to completion including local playoffs.

In most years, the league runs from September thru November, with local playoffs typically the first two weekends in December.  This year, our League Coordinator Jill anticipated that COVID-19 would claw its way back in the fall and made the smart move to schedule matches more aggressively and have the regular season and local playoffs done before Thanksgiving.

Well, we almost pulled it off!  55 & Over playoffs were this past weekend and 18 & Over were scheduled to be played this coming weekend, but alas the Governor in Washington announced that due to increasing testing and hospitalization statistics, a number of restrictions would be reintroduced including closing indoor athletic facilities and unfortunately tennis clubs are included in that.  And with temperatures in the 40s with rain, outdoor play isn't really an option.

Jill and our section office are lobbying the Oregon and Washington Governor's offices to allow indoor tennis to be played, or at least first on the list of activities to have the restrictions lifted, but for the next month at least in Washington, we are shut down and indoor tennis can't be played.

As a result, our 18 & Over Mixed playoffs are postponed, tentatively until January.  The current plan is:

• 6.0 level will be played out of Columbia Athletic Club/Silver Lake 1/8-1/10/21
• 8.0 level will be played out Tennis Center Sand Point 1/7-1/10/21
• 7.0 and 9.0 will be late Jan/early Feb - more details to come

All of this assumes restrictions will be lifted enough for play to resume.

For those following along, you are probably wondering about Adult 40 & Over which is due to start in January, and I'm sure that league is also subject to the restrictions being lifted as it is scheduled to start play 1/8.

Breaking News! - USTA National announces decision regarding 2020 year-end NTRP ratings

USTA League play was suspended for several months earlier this year due to COVID-19, and subsequently the USTA announced there would be no USTA League Nationals in 2020.

With a limited number of matches played, and no Nationals, a natural question was what would the USTA do with year-end ratings for 2020?  I wrote my thoughts on the subject awhile ago, but today the USTA sent an e-mail out to members with their decision and plan for year-end ratings.

From the e-mail:

"While the NTRP system remains sound, given all of the impacts COVID-19 has had on play, the USTA has made the difficult decision not to run or publish year-end NTRP ratings for 2020."

So there you have it.  There will be no year-end ratings for 2020.  Players will not be bumped up or down from their 2019 level.

I was hoping this wouldn't be the result, I think there are issues with this that will cause problems in 2021 and could have been addressed as I noted earlier, but they took the easy course of action to just not publish ratings.

The USTA did publish an FAQ, a few key notes from there:

• Players will use their most current valid NTRP level for 2021.  If their most current level has now expired, they will be required to self-rate again.
• Self-rated players will remain self-rated, or have to self-rate again if their S rating is over 2 years old.
• DQ's from 2020 will still apply, these players do not revert to their pre-DQ rating.
• Appealed 2019 year-end ratings remain as they were appealed.
• Matches played in 2020 will count towards the 2021 year-end ratings.

A few specific issues I see with this decision are:

• Players on their way down that should have been bumped down based on their results won't be and perhaps will choose not to play in 2021 because they can't compete at their carry over level.
• Players on their way up that should have been bumped up based on their results won't be and will get to prey on opponents at the lower level.
• Self-rated players will remain self-rated which is both unfulfilling for them, but given that a large percent of self-rates have their rating change after their first year means this large percentage will now be at the wrong level for 2021.
• Players with an expiring rating will now have that rating expire and become self-rated.

The net result is there will perhaps be more self-rated players than normal, and a larger number of players playing out of level one way or the other.  I think this could have been mitigated by at least calculating year-end ratings for self-rates, but could also have calculated year-end ratings for those players that got enough matches in and/or played enough prior to the suspension of play.

We will see how 2021 goes.  What do you think of the decision?

Update: I did an analysis on the effects and pros/cons of the decision here.

USTA NorCal cancels all remaining 2020 and early start 2021 leagues

USTA League play has resumed in the majority of sections in one form or another.  NorCal was an exception with the plan being to resume play in September, but the section just notified players that is no longer the case and all 2020 Adult League play has been canceled.

In addition, a few areas normally have early start leagues in the Fall for the following year, and all of those 2021 leagues have been postponed.

I'm sure this was a hard decision, but one forced by the situation with COVID-19 and current restrictions in California.  You might ask how is SoCal playing some matches?  Play there is very limited and only in some areas, and there may be local rules allowing or restricting play, and it appears NorCal thought trying to play in some areas and not others, or having to adapt as restrictions play was not in the best interest of league play.

"With state, county and city orders and guidelines changing and potentially becoming more restrictive than the last without notice, the number of temporary rule changes, continuous play adjustments and the resulting disruption would not allow for the player-friendly and inviting league experience the Adult League Department aims for."

While it appears Flex Leagues are available for play, the plan is for play to resume for 2021 at the beginning of the year, but that of course is subject to change.

Stay safe everyone.

How has COVID-19 affected Fall Early Start Leagues in Seattle?

In my area, Seattle, we have 2021 early start leagues beginning in a couple weeks, specifically 18 & Over Mixed and 55 & Over Adult.  These have been routinely played in this same slot for a number of years, which means we can look at trends on participation and compare to this year to see how things may be changing.

The obvious reason things may change is COVID-19, and I just wrote about some new scoring rules we will be using in the Pacific Northwest section because of it, and it is natural to look at these trends and see if there is an impact due to the pandemic and player's behavior or willingness to play.

First as a baseline, I looked at the 2017 through 2020 league years for 18 & Over Mixed and here are the number of teams and unique players signed up:

• 2017 - 172 / 2,265
• 2018 - 180 / 2,311
• 2019 - 179 / 2,327
• 2020 - 173 / 2,249

While there is some variation, the numbers are pretty consistent so let's take the average of 176 teams and 2,288 players as representative.

For this Fall's 2021 league season, all the teams are signed up and there are just 141, down 20% from the average of the last 4 seasons.  The number of players is just 1,253 but the season hasn't started yet and more players will sign up, so it is a little preliminary to compare that number.

I also looked at the 55 & Over Adult league.  Here are the historical stats:

• 2017 - 84 / 1,034
• 2018 - 92 / 1,126
• 2019 - 105 / 1,249
• 2020 - 114 / 1,383

There is some clear growth here, so for comparison I'll use the most recent stats from 2020.  But arguably it was on track to be north of 120 teams.

For this Fall's 2021 league season, the 55 & Over Adult has just 87 teams, down 24% from 2020 but again, perhaps down more from where it might have been.

These sort of changes are rarely due to a single reason, but I think we can point to COVID-19 as the reason this year.  Whether players are concerned about the risks of playing and interacting with others outside their family/personal circle, or their personal situation has changed to not allow playing, there is clearly a decline in those electing to participate in these leagues this Fall.

Whether you are in Seattle and part of the above stats, or playing (or not) elsewhere, why are you planning to play (or not) this Fall and into 2021?

And if there are other areas with early start leagues you'd like me to look at, leave a comment here or on Facebook.

USTA Pacific Northwest to use timed matches for 2021 Early Start (2020) Fall leagues

USTA League has resumed in nearly all sections to varying degrees, but with no Nationals this year the majority of play is essentially just for fun and to get back out on the courts playing tennis again.

But in one area (Georgia), play has started for 2021 with early start leagues, and other sections will do the same this Fall, PNW where I am, being one.

In most districts in PNW, the Fall early start leagues are Mixed 18 & Over and Adult 55 & Over, but regardless, in my district (Seattle) our League Coordinator just notified us of a format change for the Fall leagues compared to what we've done in the past.

In PNW, particularly for non-Summer leagues, we tend to play USTA League indoors.  It isn't true  that it rains all the time here, but particularly in the Winter it is too cold/wet to play outdoors consistently, and even in the Spring and Fall it can be hit and miss and rather than having scheduling issues, we just have leagues scheduled indoors.

The challenge with this is indoor facilities generally have fixed court times, usually 90 minutes in my area but at a club or two it is 75 minutes.  Not every match ends in the allotted amount of time though, so how does one handle that?

Many clubs will provide or ask that the home team book an overflow court to be used to complete any matches not finished after 90 (75) minutes so as to not delay the subsequent booked courts (which are often another league match).  Some clubs do allow a match some leeway, say 10-15 minutes, for a match to finish on the court they are on if they are nearly complete.

Most of the time this works, but sometimes matches don't finish and there is no court available, and then the players in the match must arrange to finish the match at a later date.  This is kind of a pain, but rare enough that we deal with it.

In this time of trying to play league matches during the COVID-19 pandemic though, the above process is problematic for several reasons.

Clubs are trying to avoid players congregating and limit the interaction and exposure players have to each other, so having a situation where teams are waiting around for prior matches to finish, or players are switching courts and increasing their exposure to others is not ideal, and may even violate current state protocols or restrictions.  If the latter were to happen and be reported, it is possible a state could elect to ban the scenarios required for league play at all and we'd have suspended seasons again.

Also, asking players to hang around and figure out when/where to complete a match, or just the act of doing so is also increasing exposure and risk so that is not desired.

You will note that while timed matches are a valid USTA format, the process I noted PNW uses did not call for the use of them.  That is now changing, and at least for the Fall of 2020, we will have timed matches.

Since we haven't had timed matches in PNW, my readers there, or others where they haven't been used, may be wondering what exactly it is.  The answer, basically, is that a process is established for how to determine a winner at or near the end of the allotted time if the match will not complete.  The process is not the same in every area using timed matches, but here is the gist of what PNW will use this Fall as I understand it.

If a match is completed, it is entered as a completed match as is normally done.

If, when time expires, a match is not completed, it is entered as a timed-match with the score reflecting all completed games.

If a game is in progress when time expires, it does not count.  However, a point in progress when time expires is completed and does count.  If the completion of the final point results in a game being completed, that game counts.

The winner of a timed match is the player(s) that won the most games.  If the match score is tied on games, a single deciding point is played following the normal serving sequence when time expired, and the receiver gets choice of side unless it is mixed doubles and then it is gender to gender.  The winner of this point will be declared the winner.

If a first set or match tie-break is in progress, the player(s) leading in the tie-break is declared the winner.  If the score is tied in the tie-break, a deciding point is played as noted above.

There are some edge cases not covered with what I just wrote and am trying to get clarification on how it will work and will provide an update and example scenarios in another post so stay tuned.

What do you think?  Do you like timed-matches and wish PNW would have been using them for time constrained matches all along?  Are they ok as a temporary measure to appease the state so we can play?  Or do you hate the idea regardless of the scenario?

Will there be 2020 USTA League year-end ratings? Still to be determined 😕

USTA League play was suspended for several months, and even though it has resumed in a number of areas, there will be no Nationals this year, and in most sections it appears Sectionals and lower rounds of playoffs may not happen either.

A natural question then becomes, what will happen with year-end ratings for 2020?  I wrote my thoughts on the subject a couple months ago and have asked questions and been on the lookout for any indication of what might happen, but heard today that the USTA has not made a decision one way or the other yet.

There are pros and cons to publishing ratings, although I fall on the side of seeing more pros in doing the publishing, at least on a limited basis.  I did run a poll in my earlier post and here are the results as I write this today.

While there is not a clear cut consensus, it does seem more players are wanting ratings calculated than not, with 63% wanting them calculated, perhaps with limited matches and/or more lenient appeal thresholds.  Just 22% voted an outright no, with another 14% with qualified no's.

It may be the USTA knows, or at least has a good idea, what they will do and is just waiting to announce so that leagues are played with a little doubt to prevent all out tanking of matches in the event matches played now do count.  For now though, we wait and see.

For what is is worth, I got this news indirectly via an NTRP Ratings webinar National (Heather Hawkes) put on for NorCal.  Thanks to my NorCal readers for the info and it is good to see National is continuing with this webinar series which Heather has been doing across all the sections the past few years.

Is USTA Tennis back for 2020? Where league matches are being played during the COVID-19 pandemic

When COVID-19 hit the US this Spring, tennis was hit hard with play at all levels and disciplines suspended or impacted.  The USTA suspended all sanctioned play for several months and canceled USTA League Nationals, but even upon resumption left it up to sections on how and when to resume.

This has led to varying degrees of resumption, so I thought I'd take a look to see where league matches are being played.  In rough order of matches played since May it is:

• Southern
• Intermountain
• Midwest
• Texas
• Missouri Valley
• Mid-Atlantic
• <the above all over 1000 team matches played>
• Southwest
• Florida
• Eastern
• Northern
• Middle States
• Pacific Northwest
• Southern Cal
• New England
• Hawaii

The only sections missing are NorCal and Caribbean, my understanding is NorCal is looking to resume league play in September.

So play has resumed, Southern and Intermountain are each over 4,000 team matches played.

How is play where you are?  Are you playing league matches?  Are you holding off to be safe?

USTA National reorganizes resulting in layoffs and an office closure

ESPN reported today that the USTA has gone through a reorganization that has cut about 20% of their staff (110) and will result in the office in White Plains, NY closing.

The reorganization has been in the works since 2018 but was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact to date and I'm sure potential impact to the US Open, which is the main revenue generator for the USTA.

It appears those impacted may have leaned towards those over the age of 50 and with 15 or more years experience, as in the past few weeks those staff were reportedly offered "voluntary departure" with a pretty generous severance.  The story does not say if the severance received for those ultimately let go was the same or not.

Regardless of who is impacted, it is sad to see, but perhaps not a surprise that the USTA is not immune to what is affecting nearly every other organization.

I have no insight into where the cuts were and what it means to USTA League or any other adult programs, which is probably what the majority of my readers care about.  Note of course that this reorganization is specifically about USTA National.  Each section is its own organization and whether or not there are cuts or changes at those levels is separate, but perhaps related as funding from National may be changing going forward.

More USTA sections lay out plans for resuming League play - PNW and NorCal

Most areas in the country a re beginning to reopen, and with that USTA sections are laying out plans for resuming USTA League play.

In my section, Pacific Northwest, all normal/advancing league play has been canceled but a Summer Social League is planned and teams are starting to form.  It is an 18 & Over Mixed league using a similar format to the recently new 18-39 Coed league, that being World Team Tennis like format.

In this format a team match consists of six no-ad set matches, first to six games wins, a 9-point tie-breaker played at 5-5.  The team match will be played on two courts with men's/women's doubles first, men's and women's singles next, and two courts of mixed doubles last.

There are a variety of WTT like rules including playing lets on serves, substitutions during a set, and coaching being allowed.  See this for the full rules including guidelines for Covid-19 conscious line-up exchanges and play with everyone serving with their own balls.

The matches will not count for ratings, and the league will run from July 17 thru August 30.  The goal is 4-6 matches per team, and a team could form with just four players.

The other big news is the league is free!  Well, sort of.  You still have to register on TennisLink and it will charge its $3 fee.  Guest fees at clubs will still apply as well.

PNW has also earlier stated that 2021 early start leagues are planned as normal for this Fall.

Northern California has also notified players of their plans for resuming play, an update from their prior plans.  They plan to open registrations for Adult 18 & Over, Adult 40 & Over, and Mixed 55 & Over at the in June.

Adult 18 & Over will replace the normal Fall Combo league and play from August 10 thru October 4, with local playoffs and even Sectionals finishing up in mid-November.  Players already registered for the earlier planned 18 & Over will receive a credit to be automatically applied to a future registration.

The 40 & Over league was in session so needs to be finished and will do so from August 3 thru 30 working towards Sectionals October 9 thru 11.

Mixed 55 & Over also needs to complete play and will do so September 14 thru October 4, Sectionals in early November.

It appears Tri-Level is planned as a weekend event in late October, and Adult 65 & Over is still TBD with a. survey forthcoming.


What is happening in your area?  Do you plan to play or sit out the remainder of 2020?

Resuming USTA League play now up to individual sections and districts

The USTA originally issue a statement suspending sanctioned events including USTA League, through May 3 this year, then extended it through May 31.  The logical question was, would it be extended yet again?

It appears the answer is no, there will not be a blanket extension of the suspension and it will be up to each section or district to determine how to begin sanctioned play again for USTA League and other team, junior, and social events.  National events including Pro and other ITF related events remain suspended through July 31 in line with the ITF and ATP suspensions of play.

This is based on a statement from USTA Southern yesterday, where they state:

Beginning June 1, the suspension of USTA Sanctioned products and events noted below will now be at the discretion of the USTA Sections and local health authorities. USTA Southern is passing the decision on to our nine State Associations and local health authorities.

Perhaps sections had this information prior to this announcement and were making plans to resume events in June, but June 1 is just 5 days away now so sections may be scrambling to come up with plans, but hopefully they had tentative plans that are ready to go if they deem it appropriate and local rules allow resumption of play.

Stay tuned for announcements from sections.  What are you hearing in your area?

And as play resumes, be sure to read my thoughts on 2020 year-end ratings and vote in the poll there.

Note: National has a link with the same content as Southern here.

A few COVID-19 Updates: Some courts opening, more play canceled including Southern Sectionals

It has been a few weeks since I posted an update, mainly because there hasn't been much to report on.  But enough time has passed, that there are a few things worth discussing.

First, many areas are beginning to slowly re-open and tennis courts that were closed are starting to be made available again.  In my area most high school and other public courts were closed, and players had to scrounge to find the few private or community courts that were still open.  Thankfully, a couple weeks ago as phase 1 of reopening begin some high school courts were opened, and they have been mostly flooded with players, many from my club (it is about a mile away).  However, my club remain closed.

That changes later this week though as tennis clubs are being allowed to reopen, it seems for just tennis.  My club is a health club with a pool as well and only tennis is being opened and with these rules:

• Court times will be 1 hour and 15 minutes with a 15 minute changeover period [we are normally 90 minute court times]. You must exit the court when your court time is up.
• Singles play only. The only exception for doubles play is immediate family members living under the same household.
• Maintain the 6-foot social distancing requirement.
• Please go directly to your court and avoid socializing before or after.
• No bathrooms will be available.
• All garbage cans, benches, and scorecards have been removed.
• No towels or water will be accessible (please bring your own).

This is a step forward and will ease the burden on local high school and other public courts.

What about USTA League play?  Several sections have outlined plans to begin play again, I wrote about Southern California having a plan to resume and even play Sectionals, while Pacific Northwest threw in the towel on 2020 leagues and will just begin league play with our 2021 early start leagues in the Fall.

Other sections have been trying to map out plans to complete leagues and even get playoffs in, but Southern has canceled most Sectionals (18/40/55/65/Mixed/Combo) and I wouldn't be surprised to see more follow suit.

What is going on in your area?  Are courts and facilities reopening?  Is there a plan to get league play going again in June or July?

ALTA opens registration for Summer 2020, tentative schedule published

Organized tennis has been suspended in the United States for a couple months now, but some areas have announced plans for restarting leagues, and ALTA has joined those doing so.

Right or wrong, some states are opening for business more quickly than others and Georgia is one of those on the quicker route, and as a result ALTA notified members in an e-mail that registration for Summer leagues on Monday May 4.

Now, that doesn't mean play begins right away, leagues don't actually start until mid/late June, specifically:

• Senior Women - June 18 - July 30
• Senior Men - June 19 - July 31
• Mixed Doubles - June 20 - August 1

The e-mail does not that the dates are subject to change, but there is at least something to look forward to for Atlanta area players.

USTA SoCal outlines tentative schedule for the remainder of 2020 - Will you plan to play?

We know the USTA has suspended play through May 31.  We also know that National has canceled USTA League Nationals for 2020.  I also hypothesized what a continuation of league play may look like, but we haven't had much concrete information on what actually will happen, in large part due to the unknown of when play will resume.

The Pacific Northwest did announce that 40 & over would not be completed, nor would 18 & Over or Mixed 40 & Over be played, and correspondingly all Sectionals were being canceled.  There will be a free "Welcome Back to Tennis" league in the Summer, and Fall Early Start Leagues for 2021 are still scheduled to begin as planned.

I just learned that Southern Cal has tentative plans for resuming play, and they are going to try to finish and play all scheduled leagues.  This was from the San Fernando Area but mentions Sectionals, so seems to be applicable for the whole section:

• Adult 18 & Over will start the 2nd or 3rd week of June  and play through October 9.  All levels will play 1 court of singles and 2 courts of doubles
• Adult 40 & Over which was suspended will be completed, teams with "critical" matches have until August 28 to complete them
• Adult 55 & Over will play September thru November
• Adult 65 & Over will play September thru October
• Mixed 18 & Over which was suspended will be completed, teams with "critical" matches have until August 7 to complete them
• Mixed 40 & Over will start 1st week of July and play through mid-September
• Tri-Level will start the 1st week of July and play through the Summer
• Mixed Tri-Level TBD
• Fall SCTA Doubles will play September thru December
• Sectionals Schedule:
• Adult 18 & Over in November using 1 singles and 2 doubles
• Adult 40 & Over in September or October
• Adult 55 & Over in December or January
• Mixed 18 & Over in August or September
• SCTA Doubles in January as usual

I'm guessing that "critical" matches are those remaining matches in suspended leagues that have an impact on standings.  Thus, matches between teams out of the running do not need to be played.

So if you live in SoCal, you may still get to play the majority of your leagues and matches.  Will you still do so?  Or are you leery of coming back to play too quickly?  Or with no Nationals, you've lost interest?

Leave a comment, let your voice be heard.

Update on today's breaking news - More details on USTA League Nationals and PNW information for 2020 and 2021

I wrote earlier today about the USTA announcing the extension of the suspension of play through May 31 and also the canceling of USTA League Nationals.

I have since received an e-mail, with basically the same text as the PDF I linked to earlier, but it did have a few new pieces of information.

First, there is an FAQ on the canceling of Nationals, a few items from it being:

• Canceling Nationals may provide more opportunity for local league play, presumably by allowing districts and sections to extend their local leagues into the late Summer and Fall, rather than canceling leagues and/or squeezing them into small windows on the calendar to try to meet the schedule required for Nationals.
• For teams that may have already qualified for 2020 Nationals, they are not given an invitation to 2021 Nationals, instead teams must qualify during 2021 league play.  These teams will not be subject to move-up/split-up in 2021 though.
• Move-up/split-up does not carry over.  2019 Nationals teams are able to reform for 2021.
• National Invitationals that take place in early 2021 (Adult 65 & Over and Mixed 55 & Over) are not part of this cancellation.
• Sections may choose to still hold Sectionals.
• Ratings continue to be calculated, discussions taking place on how the lack of Nationals will impact year-end ratings.

Regarding membership and league fees, the USTA is not deciding at this point to refund membership fees, but will continue to evaluate it.  Regarding league fees, decisions are up to each section.

My e-mail appears to have been tailored for my section (PNW) as it has a paragraph stating 2020 Sectionals have been canceled (so there is at least one section not planning to still hold them).  Here are all the pertinent points from the FAQ:

• All Sectionals canceled for 2020.
• All advancing local leagues scheduled for the Spring and Summer have been canceled.
• A "Welcome Back to Tennis" league will be hosted by the section free of charge tentatively planned for mid-June thru August.
• The 2021 Early Start Leagues that normally begin play in September 2020 are still planned and schedules for those are forthcoming.
• Those that registered for leagues that were canceled will have the registration transferred to an advancing Fall (Early Start) league.  If the player does not play in said league, they will receive a refund less processing fees.
• Tournaments scheduled after May 31 are still tentatively planned.

There you have it from PNW at least.  We'll see what other sections do.

The free league in the summer is certainly a nice olive branch to get players playing again, good move by PNW IMHO.  The rest of it is largely as you might expect.

Thoughts on what PNW is doing?  What is your section doing?  What do you think should be done?