Somerset Hills Tennis Association is a United States Tennis Association (USTA) member organization and has been community based in Somerset County since 2010. For more than a decade we have provided tennis instruction, leagues, and tournaments for the townships of Bridgewater, Warren, Branchburg, Somerville, Hillsborough, East Brunswick, the Somerset County Parks Commission, and others. In 2022 we provided lessons for over 1500 students. We’ve seen our students improve and we are proud of their achievements. We have also recognized a massive shortage of opportunities to play and be on a team. We believe that to help them further we must provide well organized USTA local junior team tennis leagues and play opportunities in our area, using the World Tennis Number (WTN). The WTN is recognized in over 100 countries and is used by the USTA for rankings. The algorithm is extremely accurate and will allow our players to obtain a USTA ranking without the lengthy time commitment and high cost of travel. For more information on the WTN go to the WTN tab on our website. Traditionally, other youth sports like soccer, basketball, baseball, and others have run organized local sports leagues, prior to high school, that compete locally then regionally and then nationally. With tennis being an individual sport, finding quality local competition, prior to the high school tennis team, has been more challenging. Somerset County is in the Eastern section of the USTA with Montauk, Long Island and extends up to Buffalo, New York. Travelling these distances to compete and get a ranking is difficult for those who can do it and unattainable for others. Many times, when a player gets to high school, the team try-out is the third or fourth competitive match they have played, and the lack of experience is visible and overwhelming.
Our goal for 2023 is to offer more opportunities to play first by starting a local USTA junior TEAM tennis league in Somerset County and the surrounding areas. Our emphasis is on the word TEAM. Community based networks have been driving youth sports leagues historically and that is exactly what we intend to do.
Starting spring 2023 the girls and boys in the intermediate and middle schools in Hillsborough, Bridgewater, Bound Brook, Basking Ridge, Montgomery, Watchung, Franklin, Bernards, Somerville, Pingry, Rutgers Prep, and Far Hills Country Day will be invited to play in the USTA Team Tennis Challenge series. These events will be hosted at Green Knoll Tennis Center in Bridgewater on Sunday’s starting May 7, 2023, and will continue for ten weeks. There will be two divisions, the 12 and under girls and boys will play from 12pm-2pm and the 14 and under girls and boys will play from 2pm-4pm. The matches will be formatted so that each athlete plays a singles match and doubles match each week. These match results get submitted and will go immediately towards the players USTA ranking and WTN without the travel and expense. Players will be able to track their results in real time at USTA.com. and follow their accomplishments on our Somerset Hills Tennis Facebook page. The registration is easy, just go to Somersethillstennis.com and click on USTA Team Tennis Challenge series on the top of the page. There you will see a list of each week of the event, and you can register for only the dates that fit your schedule, to avoid conflicts from a huge commitment. The cost is $20 per week and includes advice from top coaches, balls, t-shirts, court time, officials, data entry for ranking, and much more. The more you play the more accurate you World Tennis Number and USTA ranking will be.
In September we will form teams based on the school system the players are in. Each team will consist of 8 players. Each player will have one singles match and doubles match that will go towards the team score for that match. The line-up for each team will be determined by the players ranking. The ranking system is affected by every match so the line-up can change week to week allowing players to see a wider range of competition and meet new friends. The season will run for five weeks and week six will be The Somerset County Tournament, with a similar format to the high schools.
The first week of the season will be September 10, 2023, and the schedule will be.
WEEK ONE September 10, 2023
Hillsborough vs. Montgomery Ridge vs. Pingry
Bernards vs. Far Hills Country Day Somerville vs. Bound Brook
Franklin vs. Rutgers Prep Bridgewater vs. Watchung
WEEK TWO September 17, 2023
Hillsborough vs. Bound Brook Pingry vs. Far Hills Country Day
Montgomery vs. Rutgers Prep Ridge vs. Bridgewater
Somerville vs. Franklin Bernards vs. Watchung
WEEK THREE September 24, 2023
Hillsborough vs. Rutgers Prep Pingry vs. Bridgewater
Bound Brook vs. Franklin Far Hill Country Day vs. Watchung
Montgomery vs. Somerville Ridge vs. Bernards
WEEK FOUR October 1, 2023
Hillsborough vs. Franklin Pingry vs Watchung
Rutgers Prep vs. Somerville Bridgewater vs. Bernards
Bound Brook vs. Montgomery Far Hills Country Day vs. Ridge
WEEK FIVE October 8,2023
Hillsborough vs. Somerville Pingry vs. Bernards
Franklin vs. Montgomery Watchung vs. Ridge
Rutgers Prep vs Bound Brook Bridgewater vs. Far Hills Country Day
WEEK SIX October 15, 2023, Somerset County Tournament
All Teams Somerset County Tournament
The total cost will be $90 per season and each player will be guaranteed a singles and doubles match weekly. We offer scholarships to families that find the cost to be a challenge. The opportunity to play 10-20 tennis matches a year prior to high school is compounded by the team support and community involvement. These players will have the opportunity to develop relationships that will define this period of life. Our plan for expansion in 2024 includes three five-week seasons (spring, summer and fall) and also branching out to Greater Middlesex and Hunterdon Counties. In addition, we will be offering high school level matches in the off seasons i.e., girls in the spring and boys in the fall. It is our sincere hope that these programs grow and last as long as the sport does and benefits our community exponentially.
