This website is designed for anyone seeking greater access to the ever-growing family of tennis enthusiasts in his or her local community. The primary focus of the site is to create a system that connects players with other players and players with instructors. The best part is that no matter what your skill level may be, there is a potential partner or instructor in our community with whom you can get together and practice to improve your skills. Our hope is that you will use our website as your one-stop resource for finding partners, instructors, local courts and the latest tennis news headlines.
Only registered members will have complete access to the full functionality of the website. Without a registered member profile, you will not have access to our Master Scheduling System, will not be able to communicate with other members, and will not be able to view our Blog which features editorials from prominent tennis personalities.
As tennis enthusiasts, we are fortunate that the vast majority of our courts are located in public, well-lit areas that mitigate the potential risks from meeting up with someone with whom you have never met. In the age of online dating, people are becoming increasingly comfortable with the prospect of “blind” meetings over coffee, lunch or even dinner. The concept of meeting up for a friendly game of tennis is no different, and the ultimate decision of whether to accept a match request is up to you. The Tennis Match staff always advises you to report any suspicious activity encountered on the site, which will typically result in immediate deactivation of the suspicious party’s account.
On a daily basis we are bombarded by solicitors who want our business. The problem is that access to our email addresses, phone numbers and home addresses are just too easy to obtain. We want to provide tennis instructors with a population of local tennis enthusiasts to target for lessons, but we do not want our members to be spammed. For the price of one private lesson ($60), instructors will be able to create a detailed profile page, create posts for his or her own upcoming lessons and events, send messages to other members and receive lesson requests from players seeking instruction. All-in-all, a pretty good deal.
First, this is in direct violation of the Terms and Conditions of membership. Second, any lesson solicitation that comes from a player account should be immediately reported so that the person’s account can be deactivated. Third, only those who register as instructors will be able to create searchable posts for upcoming lessons and events and those who try to circumvent the registration fee will be significantly reducing their odds of finding students. Lastly, revenues from instructor membership fees will be largely reinvested into the site so that we can provide the most up-to-date, user-friendly experience possible to both players and instructors and the avoidance of paying registration fees will hurt the entire member community.
You have three options. First, you can search for members that meet your criteria by accessing our Master Scheduling System through the “Find a Match” button along the navigation pane. The Master Scheduling System allows you to select the date and time that you are interested in playing and generates a list of available players. The list of players will provide you direct access to each member’s profile page where you can then submit a match request.
Second, you can search for members that meet your criteria by searching for players irrespective of match availability. By selecting the “Players” button in the navigation pane and selecting your criteria, you can generate a list of potential match partners from our extensive member roster. The list of players will provide you direct access to each member’s profile page where you can then submit a match request.
Third, take a look at the list of friends on someone’s profile page. Chances are good that if someone is listed as a friend of someone you know, they could be a good person to contact for a match.
Simply navigate to a member’s profile page and select “Request Doubles Match” underneath his or her Match Availability Calendar. You will be prompted with directions to assemble your foursome.
Every player should at the very least bring their own racquet and one can of balls.
The NTRP was designed to standardize the classification of player ability. The NTRP is used to rate both men and women, but men's and women's ratings are not intended to be equivalent. When rating themselves, players should use players of the same gender as reference points.
Players with up to a 0.5 difference is ratings are generally considered "compatible." At a 0.5 difference in ratings, the outcome is predictable with the higher rated player winning routinely. "Compatible" players however, can offer each other recreational, social, and practice benefits.
According to the USTA, the following are the general characteristics of various NTRP Rating levels.
1.5
You have limited experience and are working primarily on getting the ball in play.
2.0
You lack court experience and your strokes need developing. You are familiar with the basic positions for singles and doubles play.
2.5
You are learning to judge where the ball is going, although your court coverage is limited. You can sustain a short rally of slow pace with other players of the same ability.
3.0
You are fairly consistent when hitting medium-paced shots, but are not comfortable with all strokes and lack execution when trying for directional control, depth, or power. Your most common doubles formation is one-up, one-back.
3.5
You have achieved improved stroke dependability with directional control on moderate shots, but need to develop depth and variety. You exhibit more aggressive net play, have improved court coverage and are developing teamwork in doubles.
4.0
You have dependable strokes, including directional control and depth on both forehand and backhand sides on moderate-paced shots. You can use lobs, overheads, approach shots and volleys with some success and occasionally force errors when serving. Rallies may be lost due to impatience. Teamwork in doubles is evident.
4.5
You have developed your use of power and spin and can handle pace. You have sound footwork, can control depth of shots, and attempt to vary game plan according to your opponents. You can hit first serves with power and accuracy and place the second serve. You tend to overhit on difficult shots. Aggressive net play is common in doubles.
5.0
You have good shot anticipation and frequently have an outstanding shot or attribute around which a game may be structured. You can regularly hit winners or force errors off of short balls and can put away volleys. You can successfully execute lobs, drop shots, half volleys, overhead smashes, and have good depth and spin on most second serves.
5.5
You have mastered power and/or consistency as a major weapon. You can vary strategies and styles of play in a competitive situation and hit dependable shots in a stress situation.
6.0 to 7.0
You have had intensive training for national tournament competition at the junior and collegiate levels and have obtained a sectional and/or national ranking.
7.0
You are a world-class player.
The Tennis Ball Rating is one of the most important features of the site. Just like many consumer products websites where you are given the opportunity to rate a product you recently purchased, members will similarly have the opportunity to rate other members. Following the completion of any match, you will be prompted to rate each member on a scale of 0-Tennis Balls to 5-Tennis balls based on ½ ball increments. Each member’s Tennis Ball Rating should be a closely monitored as this is one of the most important statistics used in determining the likely quality of play with a specific player.
Any player who receives three Tennis Ball Ratings of 1-Tennis Ball or below will have his or her account deactivated. Once your account is deactivated, it can only be reactivated by an admin following an investigation into the reasons for the poor ratings. This feature is designed to ensure integrity and accountability within the member community and to ensure the best experience possible for players and instructors.
Please remember, the Tennis Ball Rating is not to be based on your disappointment in losing a game, for instance. Poor Tennis Ball Ratings should only be given as a result of poor sportsmanship, tardiness, failure to show up for a match or providing misleading information (i.e. skill level, age range, gender etc.). In contrast, Good Tennis Ball Ratings are encouraged if and when you have a positive experience with a member.
Not unless you want it to be. Our site has no affiliation with the popular dating site Match.com.
You indicate when you are able to play by accessing the "My Schedule" page from your profile. This link can be found within the "My Information" box on the right-hand side of the page. Once you navigate to the "My Schedule" page, simply click on any time slots during which you would be available to play and they will then be displayed as such on your profile calendar. Also, time slots during which you are available will be recognized by the Master Scheduling System when other players are searching for match partners.
You enter results following any singles match, doubles match or hitting session. Only one player needs to input the results but it is important that one of the players does so to ensure information within the website is as up-to-date as possible. Once you enter the results of a match, you will be taken to a page that will allow you to rate your experience with your match partner(s). This too is important so that we can maintain the highest level of accountability within the TennisMatch community.
The "Pending Doubles Foursomes" link is to give you an idea of what foursomes are currently in the making. You will see faded thumbnail images for players who have been sent a match request but have not yet accepted.