©iStockphoto.com/BluIz60I don’t know about you, but I'm really looking forward to playing tennis in 2014. For the first time since I started playing tennis 6 years ago, I'll be playing at a new USTA NTRP rating level, and I can't wait to get started! Of course, I probably should have started playing at this level some time ago but for various reasons (none of them intentional), my computer rating has not changed in all that time. For the longest time, I didn’t question accuracy of the system's assessment of my abilities. Over the past year or two, however, I've had a number of people tell me that they couldn't believe that I continued to stay at my same rating level while many of the people around me (some better, some worse) got bumped up. This prompted me to spend a good deal of time researching the system and how it works in order to understand it better. So, what I'd like to do to kick off 2014 is to share a little bit of what I've learned about how the system works and how your play influences it's analysis of your abilities.
Before I get started, let me add a little disclaimer. I absolutely DO NOT endorse gaming or artificially manipulating the system in any way. Having played at a level where sandbaggers are common (are there any levels where they're not?), there's nothing I hate to see more than a sandbagger who's more concerned with winning and making it to Nationals than they are concerned with playing good competitive tennis. That being said; I still think it's beneficial for us to understand exactly how the system works, so we will all know what's going on. As a technology guy, I'm a big fan of the idea of open source, and I think that the more transparent the process is, the more enjoyable and rewarding it can be. I won't go into details on exactly how the NTRP rating system works in this post except to say that you might want to read my earlier post entitled Open Source the NTRP. It gives a really good overview of what makes your rating change over time and what your match play results mean to your overall rating.
In order to help you understand how your particular situation may be putting you in danger of (or preventing you from) getting bumped in 2014, I think the easiest way to explain the way the system works is to tell you exactly what kinds of situations are most likely to get you bumped. So, here we go. What will follow is a list of the top 6 ways to get bumped up (or down) to another rating level in 2014. Keep in mind that these tips only apply to match play that actually affects your NTRP rating. That means that play in Combo, Tri-Level, and Mixed Doubles leagues (unless you only play mixed doubles), don't count. Tournament play doesn't apply either, if you're part of the Southern Section. In other areas of the country, however, the rules may be slightly different. In Texas, I believe that tournament results do count but aren't factored in until year end results are calculated. If you’re among my list of readers from Texas, please feel free to weigh in here and correct me on this if I'm wrong. If you’re from somewhere else, check the rules of your particular state or section for more detailed specifics about what counts and what doesn't in your area. Drop me a line or leave a comment to let me know. I’m interested in knowing some of the different methods that different areas use. That brings me to the list, in reverse order of importance and relevance (to build the drama).
The sixth most effective way to get bumped up to the next level is an extreme rarity but, in those rare cases where it applies, it's sure to affect your rating. If you are fairly strong or fairly weak at your level and you're wondering just how close you are to the next level of play, DO NOT go through the appeals process unless you're really ready to start playing at that other level. Once you enter a request to appeal, there is no way to cancel or undo that request. I was actually bumped up when early start ratings came out last fall, but I appealed down just out of curiosity to see how close to the line I was. Turns out I was very close. So close that my appeal was granted, and I ended up getting to play at both levels last fall. Yaaay! Twice the tennis! I had actually intended to cancel out of the appeal process after seeing how close I was but, as I mentioned, there are no take backs. Just ask a buddy of mine who decided to appeal up to see how close he was to the next level. He got his answer and got bumped up in the process. Not exactly what he was hoping for.
Next up, the fifth most effective way to get bumped up to a higher rating level is to play Mixed Doubles only. This isn't an issue for most of us because we play in lots of different leagues during the year, but this can be a real problem for a beginner or someone who is just getting started back playing after taking a break from Adult league play. If you have not played any league tennis during the rating year then a mixed-Exclusive rating will be generated for you and that rating could increase rapidly over the course of the season (or seasons). This could, potentially, result in your getting bumped up to the next level unexpectedly. Does this ever really happen, you ask? Yes, it does. Imagine a new player who self-rates in order to play with a friend of the opposite gender. Let's say that she has self-rated as a 3.0 and is playing with an up and coming male 4.0 player. They dominate their 7.0 Mixed Doubles league due primarily to the strength of his match play. The next thing you know, she is bumped up to the next level before she has even played a single match in an adult league. A similar situation can arise if a player has taken a year or more off (possibly due to injury) and then wants to return slowly by starting off playing Mixed. If that individual's last rating before taking time off was too high then they might find themselves "easing back into it" at a much higher rating than they expected. There are medical appeals that can come into play here if an injury was the cause of the layoff but Medical Appeals are not guaranteed, and neither is the ability to "ease back into it".
The fourth best way to get bumped is to have an outstanding personal showing at State, Sectional, or National competition. Back in the day, the main way you got bumped was by being noticed playing well in competition. Part of the promise of the NTRP Rating System was that this "Performance Penalty" would become a thing of the past and, mostly it has, but not completely. While there is no way that I know of (outside of having direct access to the IT systems that store the data) for an official to change a player's rating based on witnessing exceptional play, there is quite a good bit of anecdotal evidence that certain individuals do have the ability to influence it in some way. I experienced this a few years ago, myself. I was playing Mixed Doubles at State one year with a guy for whom this became an issue. He was a good player usually but was the kind of guy who really thrived under pressure. Add to this the fact that he was an extremely athletic individual who was well built and was playing his best tennis when it counted. For these reasons, along with an unfortunate incident involving an open container of alcohol (Alabama folks can be quite sensitive about open containers of alcohol), the USTA officials began to take an open interest in him. He was notified of no formal grievance having been filed against him but; nevertheless, several officials were observed watching his matches and in one case even heard making disparaging comments about his high level of play. One official actually pulled him aside after he reported the results of one match and told him that he'd better enjoy his time at this level because they would see to it that his rating would be going up. And, in fact, it did go up. His rating hadn't gone up as a result of early start ratings previous to the tournament, but they did go up when the new year's ratings came out a few months later. Did this official actually have the ability to change my friend’s rating? I doubt it. What I don't doubt, however, is that this official did have the ability to initiate a computerized appeal-like process that caused my friend's rating to analyzed and bumped up before it would have been normally. I have no proof of this, but I have heard of similar situations with other people. And actually, just to be clear, I'm not entirely opposed to officials having this ability. I do wish they had consulted me first in this case. I could have given them a list of a number of people at that tournament that needed to be looked at more closely than my teammate did. The others just knew not to play their best while they were being watched. Now you do, too.
The third best way to get bumped is to play on a really good team. If you are playing on a really good team, your chances of getting bumped do, in fact, go up significantly. While you might not think that being on a good team should matter very much to your individual rating, believe me it does. For one thing, if you're on a really good team, you have lots of really good partners to choose from. A really good partner usually results in a really good performance which, in turn, often results in a win. Another result of being on a really good team is that the other teams that you play against are often intimidated and hesitant which will lead to errors and tentativeness on their part. Your team's reputation will bring you an immediate advantage even before the match begins. As a member of a dominant team, you will have greater confidence in your play and in the play of your prospective partners. You will be more loose and relaxed, you will worry less about mistakes and you will tend to play at a higher level. Also, because you are on a team for which winning is the norm rather than the exception, you will get used to winning, you will expect to win, and you will find that winning comes much more easily than you would have expected. Football great Vince Lombardi was famous for the quote "Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing". I've seen exceptional players labor for years at a particular rating level because of the mediocrity of their team. On the other hand, I've also seen mediocre players whose teammate’s high level of play caused their rating to be raised beyond their true level of skill. Several times I've played against an individual who has related to me the "unfortunate experience" of getting bumped up after their previous season - not because of their ability but because their team made it to Nationals. Needless to say, I did not feel bad for them.
The second most effective way to get yourself bumped in 2014 is to play (and do well) in an older age group. I am in my late 30's. I do play with some younger guys, but most of the folks that I play with are in their 40's or are older. With the recent USTA changes introducing 40 and over leagues, this has gotten to be a big thing with many of the folks that I play with. They are playing in 40 an over leagues and doing well. This is resulting in many of them getting bumped up to another rating level even though they may still be losing most of their matches in their 18+ leagues at their old rating. As one friend who plays 40 and over as well as 18 and over put it, "The younger player always seems to win." For this reason, many of my former teammates are now in the position of considering playing exclusively on older age group teams because their new rating means that they can no longer play 18+ competitively. So, be warned! If you decide to play in an older age group, you may not be able to go play back down again. Personally I think that the whole reason for the NTRP rating system should be to keep problems like this from happening. A 3.5 rated player should be a 3.5 rated player regardless of age. Unfortunately, however, I think that the age group policies of the USTA are actively working against the effectiveness of the NTRP but that's another post for another day.
And that brings us to number one. The "single" best way to get yourself bumped up to a new rating level in 2014 is to play singles and win. If you read my article about how the NTRP works then you know that the movement of your NTRP rating depends, not on whether you win or lose, but rather on how your rating (and that of your partner) compares to that of your opponent(s) and how much you win or lose by. So, in doubles, you and your partner will get a combined "Power Rating" that will be compared with the "Power Rating" of your opponents. If you win, you divide up the potential NTRP rating increase between yourself and your partner whereas in singles, you shoulder the entire increase (or decrease) all by yourself. It's like getting double credit for each question on a test - great if you're getting them right but terrible if you're not. Also, keep in mind that you don't actually have to win for singles to hurt (or help) you. Even a loss to a much better opponent can raise your rating if they "should have" beaten you by more than they did. As a team captain, this is something that I have to constantly keep in mind when scheduling my players for matches. If I have a player winning too many at singles (can you ever win too much?) then I have to make sure to stick them in at doubles periodically. I also have to try to make sure to get them on the strongest court every time, so their matches are as competitive as possible. This is often quite a challenge since lineup shuffling has become such a prevalent factor in league play, but it is something that a good captain has to keep in mind at all times. Having players who are consistently winning at singles is great but dangerous - especially if they are playing in an older age group and are winning there, as well. If you’re the one doing the winning then congratulations! Get prepared for the bump.
So, there you have it. Now you know. The six things to either avoid or embrace for 2014. Regardless of whether you're hoping to move up or move down this next year, I hope you’ll end up having a fantastic tennis season. May health, prosperity, and happiness be yours all year long! Unless you're playing me, of course. In that case, be prepared to eat felt!