NTRP GRIEVANCE
(formerly called Self Rate Grievance)
Who is subject to an NTRP grievance?
These rating types may be challenged:
S Self rating or Rating adjusted by medical appeal
T Tournament rating
M Mixed Exclusive rating:
League administrators are not required to accept grievances unless the specific claims within the grievance meet certain conditions, so please consider the following information very carefully. If you are still not sure, or you have any questions, please call the office to discuss it with us. 510 748 7373
Who is not subject to an NTRP grievance?
These rating types may not be challenged:
C Computer rating
B Benchmark rating
A Adjusted Rating
Who may file an NTRP grievance?
Any league captain or co-captain, coordinator or member of a championship committee has the right to file a NTRP Grievance against a player and/or captain. The grievance claims that the player has demonstrated the ability to compete at a higher NTRP level than the level at which he is rated. In the case of a self rated player, the complaint may also claim that the captain condoned the inappropriate rating.
There are two issues that support an NTRP grievance against a player who has self rated.
1. Omission or falsification of information regarding one’s tennis history
There are specific minimum ratings allowed for players who have high school, college or professional tennis playing history. These minimums are available on our website. If you have information indicating that a player has omitted or falsified his tennis history, please contact the office first and we will look into it. If your information is correct, NorCal will file an administrative grievance.
Conditions Which Would Give Credibility to a NTRP Grievance:
• The player participated on a college team at a significant NCAA level (note: age of player, injuries, position on team, and strength of tennis team at particular school could affect a significant change in rating over time).
• The player participated at the professional level (including tennis or other sports).
• The player has earned international, national, sectional or state/district rankings that would reflect a strong probability that the player should have a higher rating.
• The player has ratings equivalent to national or sectional in some other country.
• The player has a history in league tennis and/or sanctioned tournaments that would substantiate a claim that the player has misrepresented their current skill level.
• The player played high school tennis but has self rated at 2.5.
• The player played post season high school tennis but has self rated at 2.5 or 3.0.
• There is credible written or online documentation that the player answered falsely or omitted information while obtaining a self rating.
2. A player has self rated below his skill level.
This is a much more complicated issue, and much more difficult to prove. When a player self rates, he indicates his level of play at that time. Eight weeks later, after many lessons, lots of practice, significant weight loss, working with a personal trainer and/or taking powerful homeopathic supplements, this player may be much better. This does not mean he misrepresented his skill level when he self rated.
The lower the initial rating, the more likely a player is to show significant improvement. For this reason, NTRP grievances against a self rated 2.5 player will be accepted only if there is substantial and incontrovertible supportive documentation available. New tennis players at the 2.5 level may improve very rapidly, resulting in a wide range of tennis ability evolving among flights as the league season progresses. Captains should recognize that this is the nature of the 2.5 player as evidenced by the very high probability that this April’s 2.5 player will be this July’s 3.0 player. NorCal welcomes the beginning 2.5 player to our leagues and applauds their progress up the ratings ladder!
An NTRP grievance in this second category will be upheld only if the grievance committee can be convinced that this player was not what he said he was WHEN HE SAID IT.
What kind of information might support an NTRP grievance?
• The player may have produced one or more strikes in her/his current player record.
• Documentation that a player was playing at a higher level at the time he self rated.
What kind of information does not support an NTRP grievance?
The following contentions or claims would not, on their own, be accepted as evidence in a NTRP Grievance.
• I haven’t lost a match all year and he beat me like a drum!
• My player is at the top of his level and the opponent beat him easily!
• That player is a teaching pro!
• This player won all his matches by a significant margin in straight sets!
• My player is very strong and was beaten 6-0, 6-0!
Please do not include a description of the player’s strokes or strategy, or an account of how he covers the entire court or blasts overheads or has pro-level topspin or serves at 300mph. The NTRP grievance committee will base their decision on documented match results, not on potentially subjective eye-witness accounts of his matches.
If you are considering filing an NTRP grievance, we strongly suggest you contact the office and discuss it before you file. If there appears to be support for filing, we will advise you on the procedure for filing. If there does not appear to be support for filing, we will save you a lot of work. If it appears that there may be support for filing later in the season, we will advise you of that as well.
The following directions must be followed when you file a grievance:
To expedite this process, we encourage captains to file electronically. You must be the captain or co-captain of a team playing in the current season.
• Your complaint must be cced to the opposing captain, the player and your area coordinator at the time this grievance is filed. If you do not have the address of the captain or player, you must specifically ask the USTA NorCal office to forward your complaint to him.
• There is a $25.00 fee, per person, for filing an NTRP Grievance. This fee will be returned if the grievance is upheld through any appeal process. The fee should be submitted by check, to USTA NorCal, at the same time the grievance is filed. (USTA NorCal, 1920 North Loop Rd., Alameda, 94502)
Failure to comply with these instructions may result in this complaint being dismissed.
Local League Grievance procedures are described in more detail in the USA League Tennis Regulation booklet, section 3.00 and in the Local League Area Regulations. Both the National Regulations and the Local League Area Regulations are available on the ustanorcal web site.
2. Identify your team by name, gender, level.
3. Identify the player filed against by name and team.
4. Give the captain's name and email address (available on that team's Team Information Page).
5. Indicate that a check is being sent by USPS.
6. Copy all parties.