World Team Tennis: Rec League vs USTA League
Zero Annual Fees at WTT.
Just pay only the season you want to join with other social tennis friends. Recommended for beginners to intermediate players looking for a true Co-Ed social tennis experience without paying $44 for USTA. It gives you a great indoor tennis option in the winter (starting Nov)!
WTT = Social Tennis for All Ages
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| 2016 WTT Champions - San Diego Aviators with team star Ryan Harrison |
It's for men's and women's combined teams. There's 5 sets per match, 2 singles and 3 doubles. One player can play singles, mixed and doubles the same night. I joined the Fall 2016 league today, and if I didn't like it I would not have re-joined*
Find a Local League in your State to start playing! Register and they will help you get on a team.
Team Stats and Seasonal Championships with National Qualifiers
In 2012-2013, I personally played in a WTT Rec League for Washington DC winter league indoors.
Our team won the DC League and we were eligible to compete for the National Qualifiers at Indian Wells, CA! Lots of fun sets playing with teammates each week.
What I love about WTT is that it's fan friendly and social.
Not as cut-throat as players of USTA. There is more TEAM action, and very co-ed. I was playing Men's singles, Men's doubles and Mixed Doubles each weekend.
USTA is all about bragging rights if you get to USTA District, Sectional, and Nationals but many of the teams that reach that stage have players are known as "sandbaggers". They under-rate their NTRP level deliberately and shave points so that they do not get DQ'd. It's so much drama each match sometimes, I have no idea why you would want to be a USTA team captain.
USTA League - the never-ending Membership commitment
It's $44 a year in memberships (but here's a link for my tennis fans to get a free US Open 2016 hat).
However, if you feel the need to make your Tennis Ego feel good and it is that critical to your self-worth and identity, then maybe USTA League is the way to go for you.
I personally prefer the USTA Tournaments (instead of the leagues) to play more singles in a single-elimination format. However, even there you see a lot more cheaters and people starting fights over bad line calls because they need to win so badly. Sadly, this has trickled down in the Junior Tennis realms, unfortunately.
It is not a healthy sort of competition nor atmosphere to be involved in once you get into some of the 4.5+ and Open levels. Having an umpire or official oversee the match becomes almost mandatory. The Code of Tennis becomes lost when you cannot trust your opponent's calls.
I am a huge fan of Billy Jean King's foundation, Smash Hits charity, Tennis Eye Coach tool, and her WTT program for years now.
I have attended many Washington Kastles games (at all its homes in Chinatown, East Potomac as well as the new GWU campus locations)
Plus I have done media photography for them:
Pictures of the WTT Final on Friday Aug 26 at Forest Hills, NY (West Side CC)