USTA ready to run individual tourney
A state individual high school tennis tournament has not been held in the Bay State since 2019, but the popular event will be making an official return in late May, under the direction of the United States Tennis Association.
Scheduled for Memorial Day weekend (May 25-27) at Newton North High and Babson College, the tournament will feature a 128player field of varsity boys (64) and girls (64) from public, private, and prep schools in a single-elimination format.
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association is not directly affiliated with the event, but has worked alongside the USTA to coordinate.
“It’s taken a very long time to solidify what we think would make the most sense as far as the [tournament] format is concerned,” said Shawna Fors, director of player development for USTA New England.
“Ultimately, we decided to make this a very inclusive tournament to allow players from any high school in Massachusetts to participate. And it made sense for the USTA to take it and run with it.”
The idea was broached at the MIAA’s tennis committee meeting in February, in which the state association announced a partnership with the USTA.
Schools were notified of the tournament details via e-mail this past week. The field’s selection and seeding process will include coach nominations, qualification criteria, and oversight from a committee of coaches.
The hope is the individual tournament will incentivize the state’s top tennis players to play for their high school teams, since opportunities to face premier opponents is often limited by the traditional team-centric format.
“Any time that you offer more opportunities for kids, that’s a good thing,” said Ron Ford, the former Cohasset athletic director who serves as director of the MIAA’s team tennis tournament. “I think it’s a win-win. You will keep kids in the sport who may be thinking of not playing, and strengthen the teams as well.”
Westford Academy senior Connor Liona, the Globe’s reigning boys’ player of the year, went undefeated and dropped just one set the entire season. But the Ghosts (10-6) lost in the Division 1 state quarterfinals.
While Liona said he never considered leaving high school tennis for his senior season, he also recognizes that for many other players of his caliber, the consideration is real.
“I think it’s a good step to incentivize some of the top players to play high school tennis,” Liona said.
“I’ve always loved high school tennis because of the team aspect. But I’ve also had a strong team, and strong players to practice with.
“I think the individual state tournament and the opportunity that it presents kind of gives everyone the incentive to play for your high school team.”
The previous iteration of the individual tournament, spanning multiple weeks and administered by the MIAA, didn’t return following the pandemic.
Despite clamoring from players and coaches to revive the format, the logistics of administering and seeding an individual tournament in a hybrid sport, particularly under the new statewide format, prevented it from getting off the ground.
Given the USTA’s expertise in administering large tennis tournaments and its history partnering with the MIAA in other initiatives, it was the logical party to make the tournament come to fruition.
Although the 64-player draw is relatively small — by comparison, USTA New England’s regional tournament held each June features 260 players — Fors said the reduced format is the result of the tight planning window.
“It’s the first year, and we know it’s a small draw. We know more players will want to play than we can include, and we’re hoping to get there eventually,” Fors said. “We just need more time to vet it out.”
The first step of selecting and seeding the tournament field will involve coaches nominating their players for consideration, provided they meet the following criteria: The No. 1 singles position must hold a winning record of 70 percent, No. 2 singles at 85 percent, and No. 3 at 100 percent.
The USTA has pulled together a group of coaches who represent leagues across the state to provide detailed feedback and input.
“Obviously, USTA New England does not know every high school player,” said Fors. “So we wanted to make sure that we had a group of coaches with us that represented different leagues throughout the Commonwealth.
“We’ll be reviewing every single nomination with that coaching group, and they’ll be helping us decide who should be selected for this particular event.”
Ensuring the eligibility of players from every high school in the state, including the preps such as Independent School League members, was a top priority for the USTA, in hopes of maximizing the tournament’s talent pool.
Ousmane Diop, coach of perennial boys’ prep power Roxbury Latin, is encouraged by the tournament’s inclusion of private schools, but is unsure if the timing will allow his top players to participate. The ISL spring season ends by mid-May and the private school year ends the following week.
While the tournament will likely look different in future years, Fors is viewing this year’s event as an important starting point.
“We’ll be seeking coaching and player feedback after this tournament to see what we can do in 2025 to make it better, and how we can engage more players,” Fors said.
“We wanted to start small and build for years to come.”