Young Stars Clash at FloTennis Junior Duals

This was a rare event: a tourney that pitted players from a dozen U.S. tennis academies against each other on a team basis. The first Flo Tennis Jr. Duals went off on 14 courts at the Lake Norman Tennis Center in Mooresville, North Carolina from March 31 to April 2. The cherry on the sundae was that the organizers from FloTennis and Lake Norman designed the event around Universal Tennis Ratings (UTR), promoting competitive matches throughout the weekend—in other words, plenty of level-based play. Teams converged in Mooresville, about 30 miles north of Charlotte, from academies ranging along the Eastern seaboard from North Carolina to Florida, and as far west as Tennessee and Kansas City. “This is our third UTR event,” says tennis parent Bob McGivern of North Carolina, whose daughter Libby took part. “It’s fun for my daughter to meet someone from another state. She met someone from Kansas and played in doubles match with him—and it was a good competitive match.”

“The event has been very good. The UTR format showed the kids a lot of energy and what it’s like to play in a college system. I see much more energy and happiness than you get at most events.”

Using UTR Power 6 ratings, the tournament sorted the 12 entered teams into three evenly matched flights of four teams each. Within each flight, teams played a round-robin format, assuring every squad of three matches. Although all the athletes were 18 or younger, the competition took place in a college-tennis format: six singles contests and three doubles. With a team point awarded for winning at least two of the doubles bouts and another for each singles win, a team score of four captured the match. At weekend’s end, Team Tennessee, coached by David Poole, won Division 1, Savannah Yacht Club, coached by Paul Koenke, won Division 2, and Charlotte International Tennis Academy, coached by Evgeny Siesarev, won Division 3. “I like the event because it is more about the competition, versus winning and losing,” says Kayla Wilkins of Charlotte, who competed along with her sister Emma. “It’s fun to be on the team and play both singles and doubles. And it’s a college format, which is cool because that’s where a lot of us are trying to get to.” One coach observed, “The event has been very good. The UTR format showed the kids a lot of energy and what it’s like to play in a college system. I see much more energy and happiness than you get at most events.”

“I like the event because it is more about the competition, versus winning and losing.”

Live streaming via FloTennis also helped make this event special. “I’ve never been live-streamed before, and it was really cool,” said Libby McGivern. “My grandparents got to watch me this morning, which is very cool because they don't get to see me play that often—so that’s a great experience for them. It’s nice that the cameras are very small and not distracting, so you can focus on your match.” Subhash Pottipati of Naples, Florida, noted, “I’ve been live-streamed before, and I really think it benefits my game, for two reasons. First, if I know I’m being live-streamed, it involves a lot more energy. Second, I get to see what I’m doing and what I need to improve on.”

"UTR’s effect was to create an excellent tennis experience."

The consensus of players, coaches, and parents present was that UTR’s effect was to create an excellent tennis experience. “The UTR system, with its level-based play, lets you pick certain tournaments where you’ll get great matches, improve your game, and ultimately get to where you’re trying to get a whole lot faster than most juniors who are spending a lot of money chasing points,” says Lisa Wilkins, mother of Kayla and Emma. “You can go to a tournament that no one is in, and you gather all those points, but in reality, you haven’t beaten anyone. It’s different mentality with level-based play. The tension isn’t so thick. People are out here having fun while they compete. I’m already looking online. I’ll be trying to do a lot more events like this one that are closer to home.” “It’s a great experience for the players, coaches, and parents,” said a parent from Savannah. “I’ll be looking for other UTR events. I was just asking our coach, when is the next one we can sign up for?” Keep your play on the level—level-based play, that is! Join UTR for free, here.