The Mission Is to Grow the Game

While I admire and agree in many ways with Ricky Becker’s idealistic viewpoint that the integrity of the tournament ranking system is the priority, in his blog, "Some Major Junior Tournament Rule Changes in 2011 for National Tournament," I ultimately disagree with his conclusions.

Ricky believes that the rule to reduce the opportunities for entry to Supernationals is a "great change." Increasing the minimum number of matches played by the introduction of a compass draw is "lame." Reducing the number of national tournaments is "another good rule."

The mission of the USTA is "TO PROMOTE AND DEVELOP THE GROWTH OF TENNIS IN THE UNITED STATES." By creating rules that increase playing opportunities, the USTA satisfies its mission. While the rule changes which reduce playing opportunities do also inhibit "point chasers," they fail to grow the game.

The integrity of the USTA consistently adhering to its stated objectives should be its goal.

USTA NTC
Pointset

March/April 2024 Digital Edition