Closing out the month of October at the USTA National Campus, USTA League National Championships play continues as the Adult 55 & Over 7.0 and 9.0 divisions will be in action this weekend. First matches are slated to get underway Friday morning.

In a change to this year’s format, teams will compete in a total of four unflighted matches against randomly selected opponents. Every team will play two dual matches on Friday and two more on Saturday. On Sunday, the top four teams (based on TennisLink standings) will advance to the semifinals with the championship and third-place matches to follow.

Each of the 17 USTA Sections have entered a team into the men’s and women’s 7.0 competitions while Northern and Caribbean are absent from the 9.0 women’s division; Caribbean will also not be competing for the men’s 9.0 title. A full listing of teams competing in each division can be found at the following links: 7.0 men; 7.0 women; 9.0 men; 9.0 women.

A dual match will consist of three courts of doubles, with a team needing to win on at least two courts in order to claim the overall victory.

Play will take to the courts at 7 a.m. daily.

In the 2017 7.0 Championships finals, the Middle States (Hills Community Tennis – Basking Ridge, N.J.) men defeated Southern California (Independent – San Gabriel Valley) by a 2-1 margin while the women representing Eastern (Huntington Indoor Tennis – Huntington Station, N.Y.) bested Northern California (Independent – Spanish Bay) by the same score line.

For last year’s 9.0 divisions, Southern (Coastal Carolina Tennis Association – Beaufort County, S.C.) took down Texas (Oak Creek Tennis Center – Carrollton) two courts to one in the men’s championship dual and Middle States (St Albans Swim and Tennis Club – Newtown Square, Pa.) secured the women’s title with a 2-1 victory against Florida (Azalea Lanes – Winter Park). The squad from Newtown Square will make the return trip to Nationals in an attempt to defend their title.

Established in 1980, USTA League has grown from 13,000 players in a few parts of the country in its first year to more than 900,000 players across the nation today, making it the world’s largest recreational tennis league.

USTA League was established to provide adult recreational players throughout the country with the opportunity to compete against players of similar ability levels. Players participate on teams in a league format, which is administered by the USTA through its 17 sections. The league groups players by using six National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) levels, ranging from 2.5 (entry) to 5.0 (advanced). USTA League is open to any USTA member 18 years of age or older.

For more information on the 2018 USTA League National Championships, click here.