Cahill explains importance of UTR Pro Tennis Series
Australian coach Darren Cahill, who has steered Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt and Simona Halep to world No.1, shares his thoughts on the UTR Pro Tennis Series.
Adelaide, Australia, 13 July 2020 | tennis.com.au
As the UTR Pro Tennis Series continues in Australia, esteemed tennis coach Darren Cahill is among the fans enjoying the tennis action.
Cahill, currently the coach of world No.2 Simona Halep, is a Universal Tennis Rating ambassador and is glad more Australians are learning about the system.
“It’s worldwide now and it’s especially big in the US,” Cahill explained.
“It’s a little bit new here in Australia so it’s important for us to educate not just the players, but also the parents and the local coaches at all the clubs.
“The best way to describe it is very similar to a golf handicap – you can go anywhere in the world, and if you’re playing against somebody similar to your handicap in golf then you know you’re going to have a good game. That’s what they’re trying to emulate with UTR … it is a way for us to rate ourselves against any player, anywhere in the world.”
Events in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney during the past month have provided a chance for players to improve their UTR.
“Having these UTR matches where players are playing for ratings has been fantastic for the young players, especially that age group that are looking to go across to the US for either college or to improve their rating,” said the Adelaide-based Cahill.
Cahill’s son Benjamin knows firsthand the importance of building your UTR, using his to help secure a place at Furman University in South Carolina.
“He’s hoping to go across there in the middle of August to start his tennis journey,” Cahill said.
“What all of the coaches and recruiters across in the US look at first, is that UTR rating. It’s incredibly important for them, because they don’t have to go out and scout a bunch of players. They can go onto the system on MyUTR, they can log in, they can see the players, the players they’re playing against, their scores, their results and their rating. They can get a pretty good sense as to what level of player they are recruiting, so having a good UTR rating is incredibly important for anyone that has a dream of going to US college.”
Unlike player rankings which reward match results, the UTR system takes into consideration all elements of each performance.
“I love the fact that it’s not just about winning or losing a match, the score counts. So every game counts,” Cahill explained.
> Everyone has a Universal Tennis Rating. Visit MyUTR.com to claim yours!