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NTRP explained: what tennis level am I?

Tennis · 6 min read · Updated August 2026

NTRP is the USTA National Tennis Rating Program, and it is the number most American clubs and leagues use to decide who plays whom. It runs from 1.0 to 7.0 in half-point steps. Nearly every adult who has played for a while sits somewhere between 2.5 and 4.5.

What the levels look like on court

Descriptions of NTRP levels are published by the USTA. This is the short version, in the terms a player would actually recognise.

Level	What it looks like
1.0 to 2.0	New to the game. Still working on making contact and keeping a rally going.
2.5	Can sustain a short rally at slow pace. Serve goes in more often than not.
3.0	Fairly consistent on medium-paced shots, but not comfortable with all strokes. Lacks depth and variety.
3.5	Improved consistency and some directional control on moderate shots. Beginning to use net play.
4.0	Dependable strokes, including directional control and depth on both forehand and backhand. Can use lobs, overheads and volleys with some success.
4.5	Starting to vary pace and spin deliberately, handles pace well, and has sound footwork.
5.0 and up	Has good shot anticipation, a reliable weapon to build points around, and can regularly hit winners or force errors. Tournament-level and above.

Self-rating without kidding yourself

A self-rating is where everyone starts. The single most common mistake is rating from your best day rather than your normal one. Judge yourself on the shot you hit when you are tired and slightly late to the ball, not the one you hit in the warm-up.

Three questions that sort most people out honestly:

Can you put a second serve in the box under pressure, at a pace that does not hand over the point? If not, you are probably 3.0 or below.
Can you choose to hit crosscourt or down the line and mostly succeed? Directional control is the real line between 3.0 and 3.5.
Can you hit a backhand under pressure without slicing it defensively every time? That is usually where 3.5 becomes 4.0.

Self-rating is not a computer rating

Once you play enough USTA league matches, the USTA issues a computer rating from your results and publishes year-end ratings. That number governs league eligibility, so it is a compliance matter, not just a label on your profile. A self-rating that turns out to be well below your real level can get a team's results affected.

If you play league tennis, use your published rating rather than your own estimate.

NTRP, UTR and WTN are different numbers

They are not interchangeable, and converting between them with a chart from a forum will mislead you.

NTRP: 1.0 to 7.0, half-point steps, higher is better. USTA, mostly American league play.
UTR: 1.00 to 16.50, higher is better. Built from your recent results and driven by the percentage of games you win, so losing narrowly to a stronger player can still raise it.
WTN: 40 to 1, and lower is better. That inversion catches people out constantly, so read the scale before you compare.

How we use your level here

On Tennis and Pickleball Now you tell us your NTRP so that matches and games can be filtered to people near your level. We do not calculate NTRP and we do not pretend to. It is your number, as you or the USTA reported it.

Separately, the site keeps its own rating that moves when a match is recorded and both players confirm the score. That one is ours, it is an Elo rating, and it is what the leaderboard is ordered by. Two different numbers doing two different jobs.

Common questions

What NTRP level is a good club player?

Most competitive club players sit at 3.5 or 4.0. Anything from 4.5 up is a strong player who competes in tournaments.

Should I round up or down when self-rating?

Down. It is far more pleasant to be the surprise of the group than the person everyone quietly avoids drawing.

Can my NTRP go down?

A computer rating can, yes. It is recalculated from results, so a year of losses at your level can move you down at year end.

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