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Re: "WHY CAN’T WE GET IT RIGHT?"
(October 2003 Issue)

From
WALT PECKINPAUGH

Chuck, I agree with your article, but the issue goes further. What I think makes "our" sport different from tennis is the back draws, who ends up there and how they get there. Prize money has never been successful in PT and thus we all play for the "love of the game". Seeding plays a big part in your argument. When on the board, I argued that half the draw needs to be seeded (or placed). In a 32 team draw, your weakest 16 teams should move to the consolation round. Likewise, a team that should advance to the round of sixteen should not be forced to play a top team in the first round. I have seen many, many tournaments where a good team gets beat in the first round and then destroys everyone in the consolation round in the back draws. (In the 1990 Nationals in Chicago, my partner and I played a seeded team in the first round, eventually losing in a 2 1/2 hour match. We then won the next 36 games, three matches before we found a team in the same position. Our loss level was probably the round of 32 not the round of 128!) A seeding does allow the committee the ability to draw teams out at more levels. (3-4 to play 1-2, 5-8 to play 1-4, 9-16 to play 1-8, 17-32 to play 1-16, and for the large draws, 33-64 to play 1-32, and 128-65 to play 1-64).

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