What Are The Common Rating Systems For Tennis Players?

For more refined rating systems, players in the United States rely on two different ways to measure skill. They both work a bit better than simply saying beginner, intermediate, or advanced.

USTA NTRP Rating

The United States Tennis Association has a rating system for tennis players. It ranges from 1.5 to 7.0. A 1.5 player is a beginner with no real athletic experience in general. They are still trying to learn everything in the game, and they won’t be at that level for long.

Players at the 7.0 level are some of the best players in the world. They are competing against the best of the best, and they’re all making money playing the sport.

  • 1.0 – Beginner, just started playing
  • 1.5 – Player working on getting the ball into play
  • 2.0 – Player knows how to use all the different strokes, but lacks experience
  • 2.5 – Player is ready to play local tournaments/league games
  • 3.0 – Players is fairly consistent in hitting medium-paced shots, but lacks depth and variety
  • 3.5 – Player has a reliable, solid game built over years of match play, but lacks variety
  • 4.0 – Similar to 3.5, but with more variety
  • 4.5 – Player has a solid serve and can vary spin and pace
  • 5.0 – Player has good shot anticipation & can consistently hit different strokes with depth and control
  • 5.5 – Similar to 5.0, but the player has developed pace and/or consistency as a major weapon
  • 6.0-7.0 – Pro player (Top 1000 ATP or WTA)

To break these levels down a bit, here’s what it means:

  • 1.0 – 2.0 = Beginner
  • 2.5 – 4.0 = Intermediate
  • 4.5 – 5.5 = Advanced
  • 6.0 – 7.0 = Professional

A lot of local leagues start to begin with players who have a 3.0 rating (some have 2.5). There are 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 leagues in most local areas. After that, a lot of leagues and tournaments will be “open” so that anyone can enter. That means a 5.0 could be playing against a 6.0, depending on who signs up.

Beginner

Tennis players just starting should still know the basics of the sport, and can hit the ball somewhat. There will always be some people starting completely from scratch, but most are coming over from another sport and have some level of hand-eye coordination.

Intermediate

Reaching an intermediate level in tennis means that a person is actually into the sport enough to practice regularly. Even great athletes don’t automatically become intermediate players, because there’s a lot of refined skill that goes into hitting the ball consistently. Intermediate players understand some of the basics for playing matches at a high level as well. Being able to keep score, have basic strategy down, and more all go into being a consistent intermediate player. Since intermediate levels can cover a wide array of players, those on the high end will be able to dominate against those on the lower end.

Advanced

Recreationally, any player who is a 4.5 or higher is considered by a lot of people to be at an advanced level of play. Advanced players understand every single shot that they need to hit on the court to have success. They have a good amount of strategy in mind whenever they step on the court. Execution is fairly consistent as well, but it goes up at the higher levels. In 4.5 and 5.0 tennis leagues, there are still a lot of unforced errors that don’t always make for the prettiest tennis matches.

Ball format for training and competition

Pre-requisite of the previous ball must be mastered before transitioning to the next ball level.

  • RED FOAM BALLS (3 - 5 yrs.)
  • RED BALL LEVEL (6+ yrs.)
  • ORANGE BALL LEVEL (8+ yrs.)
  • GREEN BALL LEVEL (Youth/Teen) (11-15 yrs.)
  • YELLOW BALL LEVEL (Teen/Adult)