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Does my match count toward my NTRP rating?

In USTA NorCal, Adult and Tri-Level matches count toward your year-end NTRP rating, according to USTA NorCal's 2026 and 2027 league fact sheets and pages. Mixed matches count only if you play no other league, and Combo Doubles and Flex League matches don't.

LeagueCounts toward your NTRP rating?Moves your Desk level?
AdultYesYes
Tri-LevelYesNo, the Desk has no results
MixedOnly if you play no other leagueYes
Combo DoublesNoYes
Flex LeagueNoNo, the Desk has no results

Your Desk level is the Desk's own estimate of how you play, and it counts your Combo and Mixed results even when USTA doesn't.

Unless a rule names another source, it comes from USTA's NTRP ratings FAQ as of October 2026.

Which leagues count toward your NTRP rating?

Section titled “Which leagues count toward your NTRP rating?”

Mixed is the tricky one. If you also play Adult, only your Adult matches count toward your year-end NTRP rating, because USTA uses Mixed only for players who play nothing else.

Each league and its fact sheet

USTA NorCal says matches in these leagues count toward your year-end NTRP rating:

USTA NorCal counts these toward your year-end NTRP rating only if you play no other league:

USTA NorCal doesn't count these toward your year-end NTRP rating:

Do playoffs and sectionals count?

Section titled “Do playoffs and sectionals count?”

Yes, USTA counts district, section and National Championship matches toward your year-end NTRP rating. In NorCal's Adult 18 & Over league, the local playoffs and the Section Championship count too (USTA NorCal's 2026 Adult 18 & Over fact sheet).

Read the Desk's research: Does winning at sectionals decide who gets bumped?

Do tournaments count?

Section titled “Do tournaments count?”

Some do. USTA counts an NTRP tournament, open only to players at one level, the same as a league match, but not an age-group tournament. Sections can opt in or out of some kinds, so ask your local league coordinator which ones count in NorCal.

Do defaults and retirements count?

Section titled “Do defaults and retirements count?”

USTA doesn't say whether a default or a retirement counts toward your year-end NTRP rating, in its NTRP ratings FAQ or in USTA NorCal's league rules FAQ. For your league's answer, ask your local league coordinator.

A year-end rating needs at least three valid matches, and USTA calls a match valid when at least six games are completed.

When is the cutoff?

Section titled “When is the cutoff?”

USTA sets the cutoff at the end of the last of three National Championships: Adult 18 & Over, 40 & Over and 55 & Over. Their dates change, so the cutoff moves each year. A match played after it counts toward the next year-end rating.

When do year-end ratings come out?

Section titled “When do year-end ratings come out?”

USTA publishes year-end ratings each December, rounded to the nearest half point. Your new rating sets which USTA leagues and NTRP tournaments you can play the following year.

What changes if you're self-rated?

Section titled “What changes if you're self-rated?”

If you picked your own level, you're self-rated, and USTA keeps that self-rating for two years or until it generates a computer rating for you.

Strikes don't apply to a computer or tournament rating, or to one that's mixed-exclusive, meaning earned playing only Mixed. Otherwise USTA gives you a strike each time your dynamic rating, the one it updates after every match, passes your level's limit. Three strikes mean a dynamic disqualification, and USTA tells you only after the third.

Can you appeal your NTRP rating?

Section titled “Can you appeal your NTRP rating?”

Yes, and the route depends on how you got your rating (USTA NorCal's league rules FAQ dated October 2025). If USTA rated you from your match results, you're computer-rated, and you can request an automatic appeal, up or down, on TennisLink. Self-rated? You can appeal up at any time, but an appeal down goes to the Self-Rate Appeals Committee. When USTA denies an automatic appeal, you keep your rating for the rest of the year.

USTA lets you appeal a mixed-exclusive rating up or down too, but a denied appeal gets no second try.

Which matches move your Desk level?

Section titled “Which matches move your Desk level?”

Your Desk level moves with every line, one singles or doubles match for your team, that has both sides named and a winner recorded. That includes playoffs, sectionals and lines stopped early. A defaulted line leaves your Desk level where it was.

Your Desk level can change once a day, when the Desk reads new results. There's no cutoff for your Desk level, so it carries straight into next year. The Desk holds no Tri-Level, tournament or Flex results, so a Combo match can move your Desk level without moving your NTRP rating, while a Tri-Level match does the opposite.

Where USTA publishes these rules

Section titled “Where USTA publishes these rules”
Every USTA and USTA NorCal source, with its year

The Desk read each of these USTA and USTA NorCal sources on October 5, 2026.

The Desk records how pages are used, including what is typed, and keeps recordings for up to 30 days, as the terms explain.