The American Platform Tennis Association has teamed up with league website Paddlescores.com to offer Platform Tennis Index (PTI), a new feature for all APTA members who play in APTA leagues. League administrators, team captains, tournament directors, and teaching pros will find the PTI to be a valuable tool for the sport.
WHAT IS A PLATFORM TENNIS INDEX (PTI), AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
A player’s PTI is a number from 0 to 80. It is similar to a golf handicap: better players have a lower PTI.
An 80 represents a player who has never played paddle before and has little racquets experience.
A 0 represents a highly skilled player who is competitive at the national level.
It is possible to have a negative rating.
HOW DO PLAYERS GET AN INITIAL PTI?
There are four options to set a player’s initial rating:
Use match data from prior seasons.
Set an initial PTI based on a player’s division/typical line number.
Have a club platform tennis professional set it.
Play in an APTA tournament
that uses Live Scoring.
In most cases, Paddlescores can use your historical match data to generate PTI for an existing league. The APTA and Paddlescores will help get a new league up and running.
HOW DO I GET A PTI FOR PLAYERS AT MY CLUB/IN MY LEAGUE?
To get a PTI, your league needs to use Paddlescores (powered by Tenniscores). For leagues that require APTA membership to participate, everyone in the league will have a PTI. For leagues that do not require APTA membership, APTA members will have a PTI. Players who are not APTA members won’t have a visible PTI (although it will be computed for them and ready to access when they become APTA members.)
HOW DOES A PTI ADJUST?
PTIs are dynamic and adjust after match results are posted. The PTI algorithm uses the match outcome (win/loss and games won) and the relative strength of the teams playing to determine the adjustment.
Example: Player A (a 20 PTI) and Player B (28) have a match versus Player C (24) and Player D (30). Team A/B has a rating of 48 versus Team C/D with 54. The team with a lower rating is favored to win the match. If Team A/B wins (the expected outcome), PTIs for A and B will decline a small amount and PTIs for C and D will increase by the opposite amount. If Team C/D wins (an upset), PTIs for C and D will decline by a more significant amount while PTIs for A and B increase.
Large changes in PTIs are achieved through upsets or lopsided victories between closely matched teams. A heavily favored team cannot improve its PTI by feasting on weak opponents.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PLAYERS HAVING A PTI FOR LEAGUES AND CLUB PROS?
PTIs are used to prevent lineup “stacking” in league play. For example, the top divisions in the Boston Men’s League require that teams order their lineups by PTI. Line 1 must have a lower PTI than line 2, which is lower than line 3, etc.
PTIs can be used by pros or team captains as an objective measure to help evaluate player placement for club teams, often a delicate process.
Tournaments: PTIs are now being used in Boston to create tournaments for all different levels of ability. With PTI thresholds determining eligibility, every player in the country would have an opportunity to compete at their appropriate skill level
WHAT LEAGUES ARE CURRENTLY USING THE PTI SYSTEM?
Leagues fully turned on
(PTIs viewable to everyone):
Chicago (Men)
Boston (Men)
Philadelphia (Men)
Pittsburgh (Men & Women)
Leagues testing it out (viewable only to captains):
Baltimore (Men)
Fairfield County (Women)
Several leagues are currently evaluating moving to PTI and Paddlescores site for next season.
BESIDES THE PTI, WHAT OTHER FEATURES DOES PADDLESCORES HAVE?
Flexible scoring system: Every league runs differently and Paddlescores customizes the site to work for any structure or scoring system.
Payment system: Paddlescores gives leagues the ability to collect dues, tournament fees, etc., with funds going directly into a league’s bank account.
Ease of use for Commissioners: Commissioners have flexibility around what captains are able to enter and edit.
Ease of use for Captains: Captains can request player availability, create line-ups, and communicate with teammates directly.
Tournaments: Tournament directors can run, promote, collect fees, seed using PTI, and use Live Scoring.
Ladders: Intra-club or league-wide ladders can be set up.
Casual Play score entry: For the truly die-hard players, casual play matches can be scored and count for something.
WHO DO I CONTACT IF I’M INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE?
PADDLESCORES and PTI: Contact Nancy Biggs at nancybiggs@tenniscores.com
LEAGUES: Contact Ann Sheedy at apta@platformtennis.org