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2008 USTA LEAGUE YEAR-END
Computer Ratings
Note: New changes for 2008 are underlined
Those players who receive a Benchmark (B) rating based on participation at the Sectional
and/or National Championships will not be allowed to appeal their Benchmark
rating. Those Benchmark ratings may not be appealed the fi rst year received.
All medical appeals will be reviewed fi rst by a section approved review committee
and, if deemed a permanently disabling injury or illness, will be forwarded to the
National Medical Review Committee for a fi nal decision.
The premise of computerized ratings is to mathematically refl ect the intent of the
National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) defi nitions of “competitive” and “compatible”
through a system that assigns ratings to players by direct and indirect comparison to
players who compete in local, sectional and national championships.
We encourage you to go to http://national.usta.com and click on “NTRP Rating Help”
located at the top of the page as this is an excellent explanation of how ratings are
generated.
Computerized ratings are aff ected by your partner, your opponents and the scores of the
match (not only if it was a win or a loss but also how close the scores were).
Computerized ratings are not directly aff ected by what position you play, your actual
number of wins and losses, or team standing.
Matches played in the fall of 2008 for the 2009 season are part of the year-end calculation
except for Mixed Doubles exclusive players.
Once appeals are reviewed and acted upon, fi nal ratings will be updated in the National
database thus TENNIS TIMES IS NOT THE OFFICIAL DOCUMENT TO LIST THE FINAL 2008
YEAR-END RATINGS. All fi nal 2008 year-end ratings will be located on the web at http://
national.usta.com by clicking “Find a Rating” in the right-hand menu. The fi nal ratings
will determine a player’s minimum level of play for participating in USTA League.
Reading the Computer Ratings
To view the fi nal 2008 year-end ratings players should go to http://national.usta.com and
follow the directions below:
1. Click on “Find a Rating”.
2. You will then have the option of searching by one or more of the following fi elds:
USTA member number
First and last name
USTA League team number
Ratings will be published by name, gender, city and fi nal rating as well as rating type.
The code for the rating types are listed below:
S – Self-rate C – Computer
A – Appeal D – Dynamic
B – Benchmark M – Mixed Exclusive Year-end Rating
Automated Appeals
All Appeals except for Medical, 2008 Section and/or National Championship benchmarks,
and self-rate appeals moving down may be appealed online through TennisLink.
There is no deadline for an appeal. You can only appeal ONE TIME through the automated
appeal system.
Players may submit an automated appeal in one of two ways:
Players may submit an automatic appeal by going to national.usta.com. Click on “Find
a Rating” and enter your USTA Number. After you submit your USTA number, click the
box that says “Auto-Appeal”.
Players may also submit an automatic appeal by clicking on “Register for a Team” at
national.usta.com. After you submit your team number, click the box that says “Auto-
Appeal”.
ONLY THE PLAYER WANTING TO APPEAL THEIR RATING CAN FILE THE APPEAL.
The decision on the appeal will be automatically determined based on the criteria listed
below.
Please note that except for medical reasons no national championship benchmark may
be appealed the fi rst year it is received. Medical appeals require supporting documentation
from attending physician and must be submitted in writing.
When appealing UP, the player’s rating is compared to the player’s current play level to
see if is within range. When appealing DOWN, the player’s rating is compared to the next
play level below the player’s level to see if is within range.
The requirements for submitting the diff erent types of appeals and general guidelines
for the approval of appeals are listed below:
Year-end rating appeals
All players, except section and/or national benchmarks, whose rating is within .05 above
or below NTRP level, will be granted. Continued on next page
www.pnw.usta.com � WINTER 2008/09 TENNIS TIMES
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