USTA Rankings Changing to Encourage Doubles Play
By Adrienne Treado
The junior tennis ranking system has always been a key indicator of a tennis recruit’s strength and talent. Effective January 1, 2008, The United States Tennis Association is changing the way junior tennis players are ranked. Individual singles and doubles standings and rankings will no longer be published and instead a combined ranking will be calculated with results from singles and doubles competition. Therefore, players that participate and do well in doubles competition will profit from this change in the rankings. The USTA hopes this change will lead to junior tennis players expanding their game to doubles, as well as singles, and as a result this will improve their overall development.
The new ranking system will include results from singles matches and doubles matches in all tournaments that are now included in the calculations for the National Standing List and the year-end National Raking. The points earned in singles competition will be combined with the points earned in doubles competition to form one final point total that will be used for the National Standing List and the National Ranking. Players will receive credit for 100% of their singles points from their best eight (8) events along with 15% of their doubles points from their best eight (8) doubles events.
How will this change affect you? As an aspiring collegiate tennis player, your goal should be to improve your national USTA ranking. To do so, you need to register in singles and doubles tournaments, and the more tournaments you compete in, the better your chances of increasing your rank. The tournament schedule is comprised of all national junior singles and doubles tournaments beginning this month.
Improving your singles and doubles play will enhance your versatility as a player and help you stand out as a collegiate tennis recruit. With more experience and success in both aspects of the game, a coach will be more confident recruiting you over a player that may be successful only in singles. Take advantage of the tournaments that are offered and aim to improve your ranking each and every month. Double your game and double your recruiting options.
Source: United States Tennis Association
