Back to the basics for President’s Cup

Over the years, the President’s Cup event had developed from the proverbial backyard barbecue into an all-out regional holy war.

Participants had come from some of the strongest teams in each Region, as opposed to the more “club-oriented” atmosphere that once existed.

Each year as well, the APTA discussed how to steer the PC more firmly down its original path, which is explained in the accompanying material from an article written in 1978.

To that end, the new restrictions included the members of the top eight ranked women’s teams from 1992-93, and the members of the top 16 ranked men’s teams. These teams were now ineligible for President’s Cup consideration.

Also, any player who had reached the quarterfinals of either of the two previous APTA National Championships (Long Island or Cleveland) was ineligible.

In order to earn PC points for a region, a player must be a member of the APTA before he or she played in a PC qualifying event. No member, no points.

The aim was to encourage more mid-level and club paddlers to play their way onto a regional team and enjoy the competition and team spirit that accompanied such an achievement.

Source: Platform Tennis News, Summer 1993