European League Club Tennis

PaulM · Tennis legend

European League Club Tennis

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I'm not at home, can't double-check, but I think the flame means they're a new arrival to the team

(There's a rule that you can't have more than one/two (?) new players in your team each year)

the addict · Tennis legend

I was a little surprised that Em was travelling yesterday - all the way from Sicily to France - and she's on the doubles acceptance list back in Sicily next week. But them I realised that the FFT ws on this week.

-- Edited by the addict on Sunday 12th of November 2023 12:20:58 PM

PaulM · Tennis legend

I mean financially it must be a good reward to be worth it, and she's testing herself out against the WTA Finals Champion. The club they are playing it streams the matches so I caught bits after the event and she was playing pretty well. Vera was getting increasingly frustrated with the short slice but the accuracy she has is just phenomenal. Was 6-1 6-3.

And their opponents must have plenty cash in the club - their line-up won't be cheap (although some may have some sort of personal affinity to the club from training over the years perhaps).

There are a couple of other Brits on squads lists but not sure if any are playing today.

-- Edited by PaulM on Sunday 12th of November 2023 12:15:26 PM

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

PaulM wrote:
I mean financially it must be a good reward to be worth it, and she's testing herself out against the WTA Finals Champion. The club they are playing it streams the matches so I caught bits after the event and she was playing pretty well. Vera was getting increasingly frustrated with the short slice but the accuracy she has is just phenomenal. Was 6-1 6-3.

And their opponents must have plenty cash in the club - their line-up won't be cheap (although some may have some sort of personal affinity to the club from training over the years perhaps).

There are a couple of other Brits on squads lists but not sure if any are playing today.

-- Edited by PaulM on Sunday 12th of November 2023 12:15:26 PM

Is there a website for this, Paul? I tried googling and it came up with the French federation find a club page, which was great but didnt seem to show the league or clubs, players, results in a structured way. or maybe it isnt a structured, tailored website?

the addict · Tennis legend

I remember talking to Lucy Brown about playing club tennis a few years ago and she confirmed that there was a decent appearance fee plus expenses so it was worth travelling for.

PaulM · Tennis legend

tenup.fft.fr/championnat/82392887

Pro A and Pro B (and the two leagues in each) are the competitions playing just now. The National Leagues seem to be played most late Spring/early summer.

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

PaulM wrote:
tenup.fft.fr/championnat/82392887

Pro A and Pro B (and the two leagues in each) are the competitions playing just now. The National Leagues seem to be played most late Spring/early summer.

Thank you ! Ill take a look later !

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

PaulM wrote:
French League back this weekend. FFT site is still rough to work around but EWS has found herself in one of the most lopsided line-ups I've ever seen.

She's paying #4 'away' in a squad that has no top 500 players, and is facing Zvonereva (at #4), Bolsova, Tomova and Mirra Andreeva. Absolutely brutal.

I assume part of the tactics of the club investment is to get the 'best' players on your books out for your home games, so you put on a good show for your members? Especially first game of the season.

CD - on the FFT site what does the flame indicate beside a player on the squad list?

Sorry, PaulM - I was wrong - got flames mixed up with newbies, which is daft really now I stop to think about it but it was one of those days......

The flame means that they're 'brulé' i.e. burnt

Which basically means that they can't play for another level team at the same club.

For the elite championship, it looks like this applies to the top 4 players of each team (although I thought it was 4 for men and 3 for women, but I'm out of date, or just wrong)

THe point is that some of those teams list 8 or 10 players. Because you need lots of replacements. Or you might.

But Pro A and B is bascially elite level. After that there's national level 2 and 3 (or whatever they're called this year). Those clubs in Pro A and B also have second and third teams in the other national levels (or in regional level, or even departmental level). So they'll want the lower players on the team list to play for the other teams. i.e. Player 8 on the Pro A team list will play as player 2, say, on the Div 2 team.

But to stop the teams 'jigging' the teams unfairly (especially possible because the season plays at different times of the year) they say that the top 4 players are 'burnt' and cannot play for any other team. Other players get 'burnt' as they are used in a team or as their ranking goes up mid-season (each championship part has slightly different rules)

From a practical point of view, it doesn't make much difference to us as fans but it can be a real nightmare headache for the team captains.

Not completely clear, I realise, sorry, but hope that helps

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Unfortunately, Emily W-S lost her singles 1 & 3 against Vera Zvonereva
And lost in the dubs against Mirra Andreeva and Vera
As you say, PaulM, an absolutely loaded team, that one.

Madadman · Masters Series Champion

Liam got a win playing for TC Loon Plage beat Calvin Hemery ATP ranked 205 6-4 7-6(8)

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

In Pro B, Ali Collins got a win in singles, and in doubles

Ali has a domestic ranking of -4/6 and she beat Clarisse Aussert, a -15 player (which is one echelon higher than -4/6), 6-4 6-0

Excellent win. And easy win in doubles. Her team won 4-2

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Arthur Féry also scored an excellent victory over Luca Van Asche

Arthur was playing #1. And is N36. Whereas Luca is obviously the big young star, and is N6

And Arthur won 6-2 6-0 - which is going it some !

Also, in the same team, Stuart Parker played #3, and won

. He is N60 and beat Robin Haase, also N60, and obviously an ex-tip-top player. He won 6-4 7-6(1)

Both Arthur and Stuart lost their dubs though and their team drew 3-3

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Haha - you need to explain the N6, N60 stuff...is there one player at N1, N2 etc ie a ranking order? But two at N60, what does that signify?

And then -4/6 , how does that relate to N60 or whatever??!

ie how does the ranking system work!!

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Honeslty, it's a blinkin' nightmare

If you look at the table half-way down this page, it gives it very nicely (I can't copy it over)

www.fft.fr/decouvrir-le-classement-tennis-fft

You've got 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st series/division. It's a pyramid.

Ignoring 4th and 3rd (basic up to very good club level/British Tour qualis level), 2nd series rankings (classements) go like this, from lowest to highest:

15
5/6
4/6
3/6
2/6
1/6
0
-2/6
-4/6
-15

(-15 is best there)

After that, you move to 'numered' players (numéroté) which is the first division and covers the top-60 women and the top-100 men.

However, there are lots on the same level (because they allow ties (fine), and they've introduced 'technical' rankings for people who are injured etc (fine) and because I've no idea - when I look at the list I've no idea - which is not fine but c'est la vie

)

Here's the Nov 2023 list:

www.fft.fr/sites/default/files/2023-11/Meilleures%20Joueurs%20Fran%C3%A7ais-Novembre%202023.pdf

However, personally, I ignore the numbered players lists - you might as well just use ATP/WTA rankings - far more meaningful.

But the rankings for the second series are really useful - quite a lot of the better ones have ATP/WTA/ITF rankings too so that's fine but for the names you don't know, they're often playing a lot of domestic tennis, and it really gives you a good idea of their worth.

So Ali, for instance, is -4/6 but beat a -15 which is one level higher than her and the top level for 2nd series (and, being a pyramid, it's harder and harder to go up a level as you near the top)