NEWS

An open discussion on how leagues around the country set their rules and try to keep everyone happy.

Commentary by The MAPTA Prognosticator

Being a professional often means choosing long-term respect over short-term comfort.

Here's a topic that seems to make people uncomfortable—the role pros play in our leagues. 

What Players Get    

It is great fun to play with a pro or be a pro’s teammate. Players get to experience the game at a higher level, hang with a “cool kid,” and get a sniff of what things are like with the gods. 

What Pros Get  

Playing in a league is a superb way for pros—especially young tennis virtuosos at the beginning of their careers—to get introduced to the game and acquainted with their members.

The downside? Pros may be put in an awkward position (though they are usually too polite to mention it). They may feel pressure to win and make a member look good. It may be a drag on their personal time to have to play. They may need to consider that any opponent is a future client. There is also the argument that pros, when possible, should be watching team matches and providing feedback, which they can’t do if they are competing.

What Leagues Get

For starters, they get the challenge of figuring out the PTI rating of a strong collegiate tennis player who is just learning paddle. How do you assess someone with the volleying, serving, and driving skills of a 10.0 PTI, but has learned neither the wires, nor the folly of driving against good players, or that aces are not really a thing.

Next, they get to spend hours hashing and rehashing the pros on teams “dilemma,” massaging the rules as a league expands and as more pros are hired. Amazingly, some league heads actually enjoy this process.

So how are leagues handling racquets pros playing in paddle leagues? There’s no one answer. A few examples:

MAPTA Men's League leaves it up to a particular club to allow or disallow professionals (or any other player, for that matter) from playing. MAPTA Women’s League allows pros to play as long as teams adhere to strength of order rules. Fun Stats: MAPTA has 49 pros intermingled with more than 1,200 players, spanning almost all 26 clubs (an average of less than 2 pros per club, or a ratio of 25 members for every pro). Thirteen of the top 14 rated players in MAPTA are pros.

Chicago Men’s League doesn't have rules, only guidelines. Chicago Women’s League allows club professionals to play on a Series 1 team, or on a Series 2 team if the Series 2 team is the highest series at the club. 

Baltimore Women’s League allows pros to play, with two catch-all rules: 1) The board must be contacted at least 24 hours before a new pro is added to a lineup (for the board to review). 2) The board may impose pro-specific rules at any time to ensure fair play for all members. Baltimore Men’s League allows pros to play with no restrictions, going in strict order of combined PTI.

Fairfield Thursday Night League allows pros, encouraging captains to share when pros will be playing in a specific match. Fairfield County Women’s League does not allow pros to play in any division unless a pro is a member of a club, then she can play within PTI line-up rules.

Boston Women's League does not permit club professionals to play in matches. Boston Men's League allows pros to play in D1 with no exceptions. Pros may play in D2 on a match-by-match basis agreed on by captains. Pros are not allowed to play in D3-D7.

Westchester Men’s League says pros must only play for their club’s top division team in lines 1 or 2. Only two pros (of a roster with unlimited pros) may compete per week.

Long Island Women’s League states that pros may play in Division 1 on Court 1. Only two pros may be rostered on any one team; only one pro may play for a team in any match. Teams must follow order of strength rule 

New Jersey Men’s League has no rules for pros. They only ask that the teams are lined up in order of strength.

What Pros Should Also Get 

League heads will continue to ponder the pros and cons of letting the best and brightest, or the ones with the most potential, play with the mortals. In the meantime, hug a pro for playing. Or not playing. It’s that giving time of year and they are likely hoping for some extra respect and comfort.

The MAPTA Prognosticator is a mysterious scribe who tries to capture the fun of the Philadelphia men’s league with occasional league website posts and analyses. Email comments to TheProg@zohomail.com