So yesterday at midnight EST, and 9:00 pm PST, the end of year USTA rankings for 2022 were released online. I had been waiting painfully for this moment of judgment, as I wrote about six weeks ago. The event one year ago when I got bumped up to 5.0 was still on my mind. All year long I worried about the USTA re-ranking on December 1st. They finally arrived.
The crucial question: Would I remain a 4.5? Or be moved up to a 5.0? Would I be able to remain at my present level and continue to compete in local USTA 4.5 leagues and enjoy the company of my friends and teammates? Or would I find myself exiled to 5.0 tennis Siberia during 2023? Last year I had to appeal my re-ranking three times before I succeeded. But I was on a sort of USTA probation in 2022. I was officially a 4.5 “A” – a for “on appeal.” My status as a 4.5 was conditional. Would I be moved up to the 5.0 level the next year? My “probation” revoked? In 2023 would I be forced to compete as a 5.0? I had a pretty solid record this past year. I was worried. My captain and teammates were worried.
Well, the answer is: I will remain a 4.5.
The news came out 10 hours ago. Here was the official notification a few minutes after it was released:
What a relief!
This morning as I write, I realize I have slipped the noose. One of my friends was not so lucky and finds himself in his second year of 5.0 exile. He is angry; he is considering quitting our tennis club. There is nobody to play with in organized competition, and so why continue with the sport? He is alone, without institutional support. So why pay to belong to a tennis club when it is already difficult to get court times on weekends because of USTA leagues? I feel for him. But I am happy to have escaped his fate. America already suffers from a “loneliness pandemic,” of middle aged men (among other demographics) with few or no friends they see regularly, sitting home by themselves staring at screens, with few or no face-to-face interactions with others, isolated and doing poorly in life. My remaining a USTA 4.5 tennis player is a blow against me becoming one of them, God be praised.
There is value in learning how to play the USTA rankings game. This year I plan on competing in a local USTA 5.0 singles league where I can compete and lose at least semi-regularly. With a few such defeats on m record I hope to be able to compete at full throttle in my 4.5 leagues without having to worry that surprise victories against stronger opponents will get me bumped up. Having to worry about my USTA rating in the middle of a tight competitive match is not good. I notice the best players seem to know how to massage their USTA rankings. I will not fail to do the same.
So the world seems less ominous and more relaxed on the other side of the annual USTA re-ranking on December 1, 2022. I have feared this date for 12 months. It has been on mind semi-continuously for the entire year.
I am glad it is over and appreciate that the jury went my way. I remain a 4.5 player. Competition and friendship in 2023 is assured via USTA flex leagues.
Others were found guilty of winning too many matches against solid competition and were bumped up.
But this year I slipped the noose.
I’m ready for 2023.
