NMITA launches Tennis Ladder

Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association launches a new program at the start of the year to provide more matches for both junior and adult players.

CNMI junior player Vincent Tudela serves to Clayton Izuka during a local tournament last month at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan tennis courts. The Commonwealth’s junior and adults players will have a chance to play more matches, starting this year with the launching of Tennis Ladder. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Tennis Ladder, which has been implemented by various tennis clubs and schools around the world, will be played early next month, while registration for interested players has started this week and will run until next.

Under this program, according to ladder director Luke Beling, NMIFA will have six ladders: boys, girls, women’s, men’s 40+, women’s 40+. He added that after the two-week signup, ladder positions will be randomly selected (raffle drawing). A player joining an existing ladder has one initial chance to challenge anyone in any position on the ladder. If the player loses that challenge match, he/she will then be placed on the bottom of the ladder and has to challenge to move up. The new ladder participant who wins that initial match moves into the position of the player he/she just defeated.

In the challenge, based on the guidelines Beling formulated, players may challenge upwards a maximum of three positions. Challengers must issue the challenge to higher players and matches must be accepted and scheduled within two weeks of the challenge, unless both players agree to an extension or the ladder director accepts a reasonable reason for a delay. Players not accepting challenges may be dropped from the ladder.

“To avoid excess challenges against any single player, no player may be challenged more than once a week,” Beling said.

Matches will be two sets, regular scoring and in case of a deadlock, a super tiebreaker will be in effect. Games halted by rain or other acceptable reasons must resume within one week or the win will be awarded to the leading player.

Beling said the Tennis Ladder is introduced to CNMI players after a series of talks with the Commonwealth’s coach and NMITA official Jeff Race.

“Jeff and I were speaking a while back and both decided that the ladder system would be a good way to increase matchplay amongst juniors. We realized together that the kids just don’t play enough competitive matches. Kids in the states are playing around 5-10 competitive matches a month. So we believe that the ladder system will increase matchplay amongst juniors and therefore improve their match ‘toughness’ or match ‘readiness,’” Beling said.

Registration for the first year of the program is free, but a $10 fee will be charged next season. After June 30, ladder participants will pay 50% of the annual fee, which will go directly to the ladders activities and prizes.

“The schedule will actually be on the players’ terms. They’ll set them up, finding a time and place they both find convenient. Then they’ll report the scores to me. The ladder will be updated every two weeks on Saipan Tennis Academy and Saipan Tennis pages,” Beling ended.