Improvements to the Ratings System

Over the past four years there have been some significant developments to the competitive structure in Great Britain which have supported growth in the number of juniors competing regularly from fewer than 9,000 to over 55,000.

Many of these improvements were identified by listening to parents, players, coaches, organisers and officials involved in the sport. These changes include:

the introduction of mini tennis competition and ratings
online tournament entry and payment
interactive online results service
improved training for more competition organisers and referees
competition age group changes

All these changes have been positively received by tennis people, particularly the very recent competition age groups changes.

Following feedback from tennis people the next area of competition highlighted for change was the Rating System so that it could provide more players with the opportunity to develop and improve their level and enter and play in the right competitions for their standard.

Changes to the system are being made in a number of stages over the next few years; the first was to address the balance between wins and losses to better reward ‘winning’ and provide more opportunities for players to progress their level.

STAGE 1 – APRIL 2011

Old Ratings Criteria (prior to 01/04/2011)

A junior player needed to achieve 4 wins to move from a 10.2 to a 10.1 and from a 10.1 to a 9.2 . As soon as a player got 4 wins their rating increased to the next level
From 9.2 upwards a junior player needed 7 qualifying wins (an adult 3) and a 60% qualifying win to qualifying loss ratio to increase to the next level – these criteria needed to be met within a ratings run period
A qualifying win was defined as a win against a player rated the same or higher than you and a qualifying loss was defined as a loss against a player rated the same or lower than you

Ratings Criteria

Players rated 10.2, 10.1, 9.2 or 9.1 can improve their ratings by recording qualifying wins as follows:

4 qualifying wins (singles matches) to move from a 10.2 to 10.1
A further 4 qualifying wins (singles matches) to move from a 10.1 to 9.2
A further 4 qualifying wins (singles matches) to move from a 9.2 to 9.1
A further 4 qualifying wins (singles matches) to move from a 9.1 to 8.2

These wins can be achieved at any time ie, not restricted to a ratings run period. Ratings will automatically change once the correct number of wins has been recorded. The (overnight) calculation takes into account players' ratings as they stand at the time the calculation is made.

From 8.2 upwards a junior player needs 6 qualifying wins and a 60% qualifying win to qualifying loss ratio to increase to the next level – these criteria need to be met within a ratings run period.
From 8.2 upwards an adult player needs 3 qualifying wins and a 60% qualifying win to qualifying loss ratio to increase to the next level - these criteria need to be met within a ratings run period.
A qualifying win is still defined as a win against a player rated the same or higher than you, however a qualifying loss is now a loss against only players rated lower than you.

The new system means that significantly more players, particularly at the lower end of the ratings scale, will have a better chance of improving their rating and developing their game.

The summer 2011 mid-season ratings run was be the first time the improvements had an impact on players rated 8.2 and above. Players rated 10.2 to 9.1 benefitted from the changes immediately since they were able to record the 4 qualifying wins needed to move up a level.

Check out the win/loss calculator from April 2011

STAGE 2 – SEPTEMBER 2011

Following feedback from tennis people and a detailed analysis of the Mini Tennis Rating system a number of improvements were introduced from 1st September 2011.

The objectives were:

To simplify the system for parents, players and coaches
To better incentivise players at the top end of the system - too many players achieve the Level 1 rating in a short amount of time and have no further rating goal
To simplify the transition from green to yellow balls competitions and the allocation of ratings

Changes to the Mini Tennis Rating System from September 2011 mean that:

RED

A player will need to play in a further 20 matches (currently 30) to move from a Red 3 to a Red 2 rating.

ORANGE

A player will need to play in a further 40 matches (currently 30) with 20 qualifying wins (currently 15) to move from an Orange 2 to an Orange 1 rating.
The introduction of an Orange 1* rating if an Orange 1 rated player achieves a further 20 qualifying wins in Grade 1 to Grade 3 competitions.
An Orange 1* rated player will move to a Green 1 rating when they become a Green Ball player

GREEN

A player will need to play in a further 40 matches (currently 30) with 20 qualifying wins (currently 15) to move from a Green 2 to a Green 1 rating.
The introduction of a Green 1* rating if a Green 1 rated player achieves a further 20 qualifying wins in Grade 1 to Grade 3 competitions.
A Green 1* rated player will move to a 9.1 rating when they become a Yellow Ball player. A Green 1 rated player will still move to a 9.2 rating.

If you have questions about the Mini Tennis Ratings system they may be answered in the Mini Tennis Ratings FAQ document.

STAGE 3 – MARCH 2012

An Adult Rating Self Assessment process was introduced to faciliatate adults players' entry into the ratings system and promote competition by encouraging players to compete against opponents of a similar standard.

An adult player may request a rating - up to 7.2 - by completing a self assessment form which includes four descriptions of playing standard. Players appraise their own standard and request a rating. Each application is considered on merit, with match results already recorded for that player taken into account.

In the first 6 months since the introduction of the Adult Rating Self Assessment process more than 700 players have requested a new rating.

STAGE 4 – SEPTEMBER 2012

STRUCTURE CHANGES : Following feedback from organisers, officials and parents, changes are being made to the competitive structure in order to increase and improve competitive opportunities. These changes are:

The Aegon British Tennis Ranking Run will take place weekly rather than bi-weekly so that players’ performance is reflected more promptly in the ranking lists.
The competitive structure at Grades 6 and 7 will be adjusted to support the development of more competition at a local level. Grade 6 competitions will be classified as ‘external’ ratings matches and Grade 7 competitions as ‘internal’ ratings matches. Consequently all doubles events will be graded to enable players to find appropriate levels of doubles competition; there are plans to develop this area further in the future.
Mixed gender, yellow ball, singles matches at Grade 6 & 7 for players rated 10.2 to 9.1 will be introduced to provide more opportunities for female players to have local matches against players with similar ratings. We will also be changing the minimum format for yellow ball ratings matches – only for players rated 10.2 to 9.1 in Grade 6 and 7 competitions - to one full set.
Following the growing success of timed tennis events we will now be allowing these matches to count as ratings matches for players rated 9.2 and 9.1 (in addition to 10.2 and 10.1). This will help to increase the competitive opportunities for players at this level.