By Nolan Brenner
The Easter Bunny brought an incredible experience to the Healdsburg High School tennis courts. On Easter Sunday, March 31, a verified UTR (Universal Tennis Rating) singles tennis competition took place, organized by former Airport Club tennis director Greg Weksel.
I had a ball, along with 12 other players, ranging in age from 12 to 18. The event was open to players of all ages and all levels.
According to utrsports.net, “UTR Rating is a system that promotes fair and competitive play across the tennis world. All players, regardless of age, gender, geography, or skill level, are rated on the same scale between 1.00 and 16.50 based on actual match results.”
Typically, when a person who hails from Sonoma County wants to play in UTR matches, the player must travel a significant distance, such as to the East Bay. Each competitor relished the opportunity for competitive matches right here in beautiful Healdsburg.
The Easter event consisted entirely of match play, and a match was won after besting the opponent in two out of three sets. Each player was guaranteed two matches against similarly rated players, and all scores counted toward each player’s Verified UTR.
The ratings of the players going into the event ranged from 1-4.07. Novak Djokovic, arguably the top player in the world, has a UTR rating that is a towering 16. Unfortunately, he did not make it to this event.
A similar UTR event will happen again this month, on Sunday, April 28, at the high school. Registration information is at app.utrsports.net/events/232251. Children and adults of all skill levels are welcome.
The writer is a 7th grader at The Healdsburg School.
