My diatribe on the Tennis Ladder and the Challenge button

Did you know that the Tennis Ladder is an inherently flawed format?

Simply put there's absolutely zero motivation for a higher level player to play a lower level player.  Why would he/she want to play because at best they keep their spot in the tennis ladder, at worse they lose their spot if their opponent beats them.

So you might ask: Well why does Tennis League Network have a Tennis Ladder as one of it's playing options?
It's sadly because a huge percentage of the tennis playing community has been falsely convinced over the years that it's the way you play competitive tennis.  It rolls off their tongues so easily, "Hey are you playing in XYZ's Tennis Ladder?"

We've proven that the Flex League is the only true competitive tennis format, until Today!

Announcing the "Challenge" Button.      

Challenge Button

This little button will turn our Tennis Ladder upside down and revolutionize our competitors products once they copy it.

Players in the tennis ladder can now challenge any 1 of the 5 players ahead of them in the ladder.  Now a player whose lower in the ladder has some power and can force the players above them to play a match or lose their spot.

That challenged player has 3 days to either Accept the Challenge, Decline the Challenge or lose their spot in the tennis ladder if they don't respond. If they Decline the challenge the challenger will be moved ahead of the player in the tennis ladder.  If they Accept the challenge than they have 7 days to play the match or the Challenger will be moved ahead of them in the Tennis Ladder.

Players will still be able to send out match requests even with a Challenge outstanding.  They can only have 1 Challenge active at a time but they also could be challenged by a lower ranked player in the Tennis Ladder.

This should significantly improve the participation in the tennis ladder.  It still will never be the FLEX League but at least now a lower ranked player won't be as frustrated with no one responding above them in the Tennis Ladder.

Lastly, my belief is that Tennis Ladders are STILL a flawed format, just a little less flawed now.

-Steven Chagnon
Tennis League Network, llc.