Questions about the Desk

What is a Desk level?

Your Desk level is the Desk's estimate of how well you're playing now. Your NTRP rating covers a range of Desk levels on the same scale. A Desk level a little under your rating's number is normal, because that number is the top of the range it covers. A level is an estimate, so yours can fall outside the range of your rating. The Desk updates every level once a day from USTA's published results, so a page's levels are as of the data run at its foot. USTA doesn't publish Desk levels or stand behind them.

What is a line?

A line is one singles or doubles match inside a team match. A team match is one team against another on a date. A rated line is one the Desk could score: both sides named, a winner recorded, and nobody defaulted. Your record on the Desk counts only rated lines, so it can differ from your record on USTA's roster.

What is the chart beside a Desk level?

The chart traces a Desk level through one year, a point after each rated line, oldest first. On a match page, the chart covers the year the match was played, and a dot marks the match itself. One rated line in the year shows as a short dash. The shaded strip is the player's NTRP rating range, and a player page prints the rating on it, like NTRP 4.0, when there's room.

What does up or down after a Desk level mean?

“Up” or “down” shows which way a Desk level has moved this year. You see one only after a move of at least 0.30, since a level drifts a little even when nothing about your play has changed. When the Desk tested players whose play had not changed, about one in 20 still showed a move of 0.30 or more.

What does upset mean on a line?

A line is tagged upset when the side with the lower Desk levels won it. The tag compares the levels the match page prints, which are as of its data run, not the levels on the day of the match. The winners' average Desk level has to be lower than the losers' by more than 0.05, so a near-even line is never called an upset.

What does default mean on a line?

A line tagged default was not played. One side couldn't field players, so the other side got the win. The Desk leaves a defaulted line out of every player's record, and never tags it upset. A league table still counts a defaulted line for the side given the win, because USTA's scorecard does.

How is a league table ordered?

In most leagues, teams rank by team matches won, then by lines won. The ordering rule is in USTA NorCal's 2026 league regulations, page 36. An Adult 40 and Over league with four lines ranks by points instead, and a win at number one doubles counts twice. Teams still tied then rank by fewest sets lost, then fewest games lost, then head-to-head. If teams are still tied after head-to-head, they share a place, because the rule's last step is a coin toss the Desk can't make. Every set and game in the table comes from a recorded scorecard, but two published rules decide a result with no scorecard to read. An unplayed match counts as a loss for both teams. A NorCal staff draw picks the winner of an unfinished match. The Desk never sees a result decided either of those ways, which is why it marks every league table unofficial.

What do the letters after an NTRP rating mean?

After an NTRP rating, C means a computer rating, s means self-rated, and A means the player appealed. The letters after an NTRP rating are USTA's, and the Desk copies them exactly as the roster publishes them. D means USTA disqualified the rating during the year, and its two numbers are the old rating, then the new one. On a league page, the “Rated” column shows the letter alone when a rating is at the league's own NTRP level. A rating at any other NTRP level shows in full, like 3.5C on a 4.0 league. A disqualified rating always shows in full, because it has two numbers.

What is a data run?

A data run is one of the Desk's daily updates, when it reads the results USTA has published since the last update. A result USTA publishes between runs appears after the next one. Each run updates every player, team, match and league page, and each of those pages names the run and its date at its foot.

What costs money?

Only the Desk Pass costs money. Results, Desk levels, records and every player, team, match and league page are free to read, with no account. A Desk Pass adds each line's win chance. Signed in with an email address, your first forecast each week is free, in the chat or your own agent. See how many forecasts you get a week and today's price.

Where do the results come from?

The Desk is built from the USTA NorCal league results USTA has already published, and it reads the new ones once a day.