So long 2009. So long USTA participation....

Maybe that is a bit of an overstatement. We shall see. I for one don't see the 3.0 to 3.5, 3.5 to 4.0, 4.0 to 4.5, and 4.5 to 5.0 (oh wait, there weren't any) bump-ups eagerly signing up for events in 2010. Will the 2009 30th-ranked 4.0 want to drive 200 miles to get spanked by the top 4.5 guys who stayed put? I doubt it. Will a team of 4.0s who couldn't win their division in league play be excited about the prospect of getting humiliated by the latest edition of the Freeman All-Star team. I doubt that too. But I bet the 41st ranked 4.0 from 2009 who was left at 4.0 for 2010 is pretty darn excited. That guy only has Kris (I know how to game the system to get bumped down a year after making Master's Cup) Knutson between himself and 4.0 domination. Obviously I am a bit skeptical of the USTA's recent move. Maybe it will be a good thing. Typically, these type of decisions made by bureaucrats at the National level never achieve the polyannish objectives they envision. In this case, it must have been to level out the competitive landscape for league competition, tournament players be damned.

Other than that, I don't really know what to expect or look forward to in 2010. Maybe instead of seeing the departure of unexpectedly bumped players, we will see the return of players that have been missing from the circuit the past couple of years. Lots of Houston die-hards that in the past played every event no matter how far away seem to have faded from the scene. Work, Family, Decline of Game, Bad Economy - who knows the reason, but I don't see a lot of the faces around Houston courts (let alone at tournaments) that I used to consider permanent fixtures on the scene. Kinda hard to talk and/or joke about you if you are not out there playing. Let's hope we see everyone back on the court in 2010 and that unexpectedly USTA got it right and somehow tournament tennis is a more enjoyable experience for everyone in the new year.

See you on the courts.

Guess 4.0 Draws were too big....

....that's the only reason I can see for bumping up a ton of 4.0s and pretty much leaving everyone at 4.5 untouched. Too bad, cause it is the 5.0 draws that really suffer from lack of players. The reality is we are thinking like tournament players and I am sure this "mass" re-rating has everything to do with league play. If it is true that 40 of the top 50 4.0s were bumped up, it seems ridiculous that not even 5 of the top 10 4.5s were not bumped up. USTA has done a lot of bone-headed things the past few years, yet it appears that overall USTA tennis participation continues to rise. It will be interesting to see if a backlash against the new ratings and the ridiculous level of entry fees have an adverse impact in 2010.