Vols in the Pros (tennis)

#1

kidbourbon

Disgusting!
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#1
All three former Vols are doing fairly well. The rankings don't look impressive, but they've been steadily climbing from in the 500s. Rhyne has been playing challengers whereas Tennys and JP have been playing futures. Challengers are tougher than futures. Also, Rhyne made it into the main draw of a Master Series 1000. He lost in the first round, but that is still impressive. Tennys and JP will have to start playing Challengers if they want their ranking to keep going up. At some point, Futures aren't going to be giving them enough points. It's of course a trade off between winning a futures event and getting 12 points vs. trying to get 27 or whatever points from a challenger vs. losing in the Challenger and only getting 9 points or something. But at some point, if these guys want to be players, they gotta start playing bigger tournaments.

I would have told you 9 or so months ago that Rhyne would be well ahead of Tennys and JP, but the latter two have been doing pretty well. JP, in particular, will have a fine career as a doubles specialist if the singles thing doesn't work out for him.

Rhyne Williams
Singles: 296 (+37)
Doubles: 391 (+5)
Note: Cracked the top 300 for the first time in his career after reaching the quarterfinals of the Rome 2 Challenger ... Playing a $10,000 Futures this week in Spain.

John-Patrick Smith
Singles: 300 (+36)
Doubles: 170 (+12)
Note: Ranked in the top 300 for the first time too after sweeping the singles and doubles titles two weeks ago at Vero Beach, Fla. ... Reached doubles final last week at the Orange Park (Fla.) Futures ... Off this week.

Tennys Sandgren
Singles: 338 (+11)
Doubles: 335 (-2)
Note: Points added for semifinal appearance at the Vero Beach (Fla.) Futures ... Reached singles final last week at the Orange Park (Fla.) Futures ... Playing this week at the Tampa (Fla.) Futures, also a $10,000 Futures event
 
#3
#3
What is the difference between entry into a challenger event versus futures event? Is each by invite or simply meeting certain qualifications? Is it a matter of Tennys not getting invited to challenger events or simply choosing futures instead? I don't know a lot about that level of the pro game.
 
#4
#4
What is the difference between entry into a challenger event versus futures event? Is each by invite or simply meeting certain qualifications? Is it a matter of Tennys not getting invited to challenger events or simply choosing futures instead? I don't know a lot about that level of the pro game.


Neither do I.

But you'll see some guys with pretty low rankings in challengers. My guess is that there is no difference between entry into a challenger vs. a futures. In other words, in both situations, you just sign up for the tournament, and depending on your rank they decide whether or not you need to be put in the qualifying draw or straight to the main draw.

And the the difference levels among the players just sorts itself out because challengers give you more points, so the better players show up to those. And the guys that might get ousted in the first round -- or qualifying -- of a challenger will make the decision to play a futures event instead of the challenger.

Side question: what is required for one to turn pro in tennis? Is there any sort of formality with the ITF or ATP? Or could I just find a local futures tournament, pay the entry fee and get entered into the qualifying draw, And then if I advance a couple of rounds into the main draw...Voila I earned some points and now I have a ranking. And if I get double bageled in the first round of qualifying all I've lost is my entry fee and maybe a little bit of pride. If it really is informal like that, I think that's pretty cool.
 
#5
#5
Williams is playing a Futures in Madrid this week and has been absolutely beating the funk out of guys.

It appears that Challengers are more his level. He has been getting to the semis and quarters of challengers; now needs to start winning them and then move on into ATP events. I think he's on his way.
 
#6
#6
Williams is playing a Futures in Madrid this week and has been absolutely beating the funk out of guys.

It appears that Challengers are more his level. He has been getting to the semis and quarters of challengers; now needs to start winning them and then move on into ATP events. I think he's on his way.


He won it.
 
#7
#7
Rhyne Williams
Singles: 268 (+31)
Doubles: 365 (+25)
Note: Points added for winning a Futures in Spain and making it to a semifinal in another ... Has three professional singles titles ... Off this week.

Tennys Sandgren
Singles: 287 (+2)
Doubles: 327 (+9)
Note: Played at the Sacramento Futures last week, losing in the first round ... Seeded first again this week at the $15,000 Futures in Chico, Calif.

John-Patrick Smith
Singles: 305 (-5)
Doubles: 161 (+6)
Note: Lost in qualifying at the Nottingham Challenger in England ... Will wrap up stay in Europe this week at the UNICEF Open in The Netherlands.
 
#9
#9
Rhyne Williams
Singles: 268 (0)
Doubles: 368 (-3)
Note: Off last week ... Off this week ... Next playing in the $50,000 Winnetka Challenger in Illinois (July 2-7).

Tennys Sandgren
Singles: 289 (-1)
Doubles: 316 (+8)
Note: Off last week ... Off this week ... Next playing in the $50,000 Winnetka Challenger in Illinois (July 2-7).

John-Patrick Smith
Singles: 298 (+6)
Doubles: 157 (-1)
Note: Back in the top 300 after making the final round of qualifying at the UNICEF Open, an ATP 250 event in The Netherlands ... Off this week ... Next playing in the $50,000 Winnetka Challenger in Illinois (July 2-7).
 
#10
#10
http://nielsenprotennis.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/mds.pdf

Sandgren has Benjamin Becker, who is the guy who beat Agassi in his last match at the US Open. Becker is ranked 124. This would be a huge win for Sandgren.

Williams has Rik De Voest. Williams has played De Voest twice before, winning the last one in last year's US Open qualifiers. De Voest is ranked 148. This is the kind of win Rhyne needs if he wants to get his ranking up such that he automatically gets into the qualifying draws for majors (roughly top 200) (And definitely if he wants to get into the main draws of majors (roughly top 140 (majors have 128 slots, but some guys are injured)). Right now he is 268.
 
#11
#11
Rhyne Williams just took the first set 6-1.

EDIT: he won 6-1, 3-1 (retired)
 
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#13
#13
JP Smith won the Winnetka Challenger. Huge huge huge win for him. That's like 80 points he'll pick up. When the next rankings come out, he'll be almost top 200, based on my rough estimations.
 
#14
#14
Is that top 200 in the world? Or on this challenger circuit? I'm guessing world rankings. That's amazing.
 
#15
#15
Is that top 200 in the world? Or on this challenger circuit? I'm guessing world rankings. That's amazing.


There is only one ranking system. Your world ranking.

Both Challenger events and Futures events give you points toward your ranking. Challenger events give you more points than Futures, of course.


I think Williams, Sandgren, and JP will all be top 200 before the end of the year.
 
#16
#16
New rankings:

210 -- JP Smith
266 -- Tennys Sandgren
279 -- Rhyne Williams


This is the first week Rhyne hasn't been the highest ranked among the three. Perhaps that will motivate him and he'll step it up and win the Binghamton NY challenger.
 
#17
#17
Tennys lost in the first round at Binghamton.
Rhyne took out the #1 seed. Next up Mitchell Frank, who he should work over pretty good.
 
#20
#20
Great news. Rhyne wins the playoff wildcard and will be in main draw of Australian Open. John Patrick Smith lost in the semi-final of a separate wildcard playoff.
 
#21
#21
Came here to post just that. I was getting updates on twitter. He was hitting his forehand so well they started calling him Rhyne Del Potro.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxJuWAa2F08[/youtube]
 
#23
#23
All three former Vols are doing fairly well. The rankings don't look impressive, but they've been steadily climbing from in the 500s. Rhyne has been playing challengers whereas Tennys and JP have been playing futures. Challengers are tougher than futures. Also, Rhyne made it into the main draw of a Master Series 1000. He lost in the first round, but that is still impressive. Tennys and JP will have to start playing Challengers if they want their ranking to keep going up. At some point, Futures aren't going to be giving them enough points. It's of course a trade off between winning a futures event and getting 12 points vs. trying to get 27 or whatever points from a challenger vs. losing in the Challenger and only getting 9 points or something. But at some point, if these guys want to be players, they gotta start playing bigger tournaments.

I would have told you 9 or so months ago that Rhyne would be well ahead of Tennys and JP, but the latter two have been doing pretty well. JP, in particular, will have a fine career as a doubles specialist if the singles thing doesn't work out for him.

Rhyne Williams
Singles: 296 (+37)
Doubles: 391 (+5)
Note: Cracked the top 300 for the first time in his career after reaching the quarterfinals of the Rome 2 Challenger ... Playing a $10,000 Futures this week in Spain.

John-Patrick Smith
Singles: 300 (+36)
Doubles: 170 (+12)
Note: Ranked in the top 300 for the first time too after sweeping the singles and doubles titles two weeks ago at Vero Beach, Fla. ... Reached doubles final last week at the Orange Park (Fla.) Futures ... Off this week.

Tennys Sandgren
Singles: 338 (+11)
Doubles: 335 (-2)
Note: Points added for semifinal appearance at the Vero Beach (Fla.) Futures ... Reached singles final last week at the Orange Park (Fla.) Futures ... Playing this week at the Tampa (Fla.) Futures, also a $10,000 Futures event

I don't follow Vols tennis very closely, but wasn't JP better than Williams while they were at UT?
 
#24
#24
I don't follow Vols tennis very closely, but wasn't JP better than Williams while they were at UT?

William was the better singles player.

Williams, btw, just won a challenger.

BCtZ0NKCMAAbG8_.jpg:large
 

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