Written by: Teddy Angelus
The United States Tennis Association (USTA)’s National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) rates tennis players based on their skill level ranging from beginner (1.5) to touring professional (7.0). While the ATP and WTA have a far more sophisticated ranking system for ranked players like Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zeverev, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula, the rest of us care about our rank too. Whether you’ve spent time at your local court or Center Court you know firsthand just how obsessed avid tennis players can be about their USTA tennis ratings.
Who Decides a Ranked Player’s Number?
Ideally the rating should be used to level the competition, enabling players to be matched with suitable competitors of similar skill and experience. But it’s not always that cut and dry. For starters, there’s an element of ego involved. Who among us wants to admit they’re not a 5 who could easily be a 7 if not for that pesky day job? Can I really be trusted to accurately assess my own tennis rating?
Fortunately, the dynamic USTA ranking system is largely based on match results, closeness of the individual match, and the relative skill level of the player. If someone plays in a lot of USTA tournaments you can look up their rating on USTA’s Tennis Link. You might, however, also find a self-generated rating that might not always match the computer-generated rating. As an employee of Advantage Tennis Clubs, I can tell you that, no matter how hard you might try to dissuade us, we will always use the computer-generated rating. It’s important to us that everyone has access to players with whom they are likely to have their best competitive match.
But that’s not always what players want. There are people who just want to win no matter what it takes. And if that means “playing down” just for the sake of winning, they’ll profess to have a lower rating and, hopefully, walk out of the club with one in the win column. Conversely, there are others who cannot accept the fact that they may not be the 4.0 they think they are and find themselves “playing up” and getting walloped. The problem with that strategy is there’s a player who is playing down without knowing it and really not getting the match they wanted to play.
A big part of our job at the Roosevelt Island Racquet Club (RIRC) is ensuring a satisfactory experience for all of our members, non-members and guests. It can be especially challenging when matching people or groups based on their ratings because of the subjective nature of said ratings. Tony Huber, the Director of Adult Programs at RIRC, and his team of tennis professionals at RIRC are often recipients of the wrath of a tennis player arguing their rating or the group class they’re assigned to. It’s gotten so bad at times that folks have actually quit the club because they wanted a higher player rating they really weren’t ready for. Some have even vented on Yelp or left Google reviews about fictional favoritism when it comes to their “low” ranking.
How Can I Improve My USTA Tennis Rating?
Tennis ratings can change over time. While I have seen some ranked players remain at a level or even go to a lower level over time — age may have something to do with this — for the most part, the more you practice and play, the better you get.
With steady play, skill drills, lessons, and sweat equity it is fairly common for a ranked player’s rating to increase. Similarly, if you stay away too long, you might find yourself performing at a different level than you were at your peak.
I bumped into an old friend on the street the other day and the subject of tennis came up. Being a division 1 player in college, he was automatically a 4.5. Forty years and three kids later, he was proud to say he was still a 4.5. When I asked him when the last time was that he played, he mumbled something about many years. He knew that I knew he was no longer a 4.5. Obviously, he was aware of his questionable tennis rating.
In a June 20, 2024 blog post Some Things Money Can’t Buy – How About a USTA 5.0 Tennis Rating, Financial Samurai chronicled the journey of a long-time amateur tennis player as he ascended to the top of the USTA tennis ratings mountain. He admits that getting there was “no fluke” and though he stayed there for nearly five years he is once again a 4.5 and happy.
CourtSense at Tenafly Racquet Club in New Jersey has developed a rating system based on the developmental needs of each player. They contend that, “Since the NTRP rating system is solely based on match play we do not use it to place a player into our programming. A player can “hide” their weakness while playing points and be competitive but our CS levels are based on the fact that the player needs to work on that weakness.”
Ironically, the programs at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center don’t use the NTRP ratings of the USTA. Their Adult NTC Ratings are called Intro 101, Novice 102, Rally, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Everyone above beginner level must be evaluated to obtain a tennis rating, as they are required for participation in any program the center offers.
Why Not Embrace Your True USTA Rating?
Does changing the names or the methodology of player ranking systems do anything to reduce the drama surrounding them? Is there less stigma equated with being rated a Bronze rather than a 2.5? Does being a New York 4.5 even mean anything outside of the City limits?
If you’re not being honest with yourself (or the rest of us, for that matter) your real tennis rating will become very apparent as soon as you get out on that court.
Find your true tennis rating (if you even want one) and find your tribe. Play the best game you’re capable of for the love of the game. Lessons, clinics and plenty of match play will undoubtedly improve your skill level and possibly your position as a ranked player too. But bottom line: if you’re not a 4.5, you’re not a 4.5.
That’s okay… I’m not a 4.5 either.