The New Olympic Teams Format

By Larry Hodges, USATT Certified National Coach

 
The new Olympic Team Format will be used for the first time at the U.S. Open Teams Championships in Reno, Nevada, March 3-5, 2006. Team captains need to understand the tactics of the new format, which are somewhat trickier than other commonly used formats.

 
The Format

Each team will play three players, who will be designated as ABC or XYZ. One player on each team will play two singles matches; the other two players will play one singles and one doubles match (together). The best of five format is as follows:

A  vs.  X

B  vs.  Y

(A or B) with C (doubles) vs.  (X or Y) with X (doubles)

C  vs.  X or Y (whoever didn’t play doubles)

A or B  (whoever didn’t play doubles) vs.  Z

 
If you were to order the players in order of playing level, with the strongest player playing the two singles matches, the format simplifies to the following:

A  vs.  X

B vs. Y

B/C vs. Y/Z

C vs. X

A vs. Z

 
Note that you do not set the doubles team until after the first two matches are played. As soon as those two are played, the team captain has to decide the doubles team, with the third player (the one who hasn’t played yet) paired with one of the two who played in the first two singles matches.

 
Advantages/Disadvantages of the Format

The format came about from the following guidelines. A best of five format was wanted where there would be doubles, with three players playing on each side, with no player playing more than two of the matches. In the most common best of five format with doubles, if you play with three players, one of them has to play two singles and a doubles, and so one player can dominate the team match. In this format, all three players play in two of the matches.

There are several disadvantages. It’s more complicated to understand. There is the dilemma that, if the players are in order of playing level, the two #3 players will never play each other, and will in fact play the other team’s #1 player in the their singles match. There’s also the disadvantage that in some cases, the XYZ team has a natural advantage in that they can play their #1 player (playing two singles matches) in the fourth match, while the ABC team would have to have that player play the fifth match. This means that the XYZ team has a better chance of winning 3-1 (as opposed to 3-2) if the match ends as soon as one team wins three, and the game score makes a difference. 

There’s the further problem that matches can be decided more by playing order than in other formats. Since players often have style advantages against certain players, the order chosen in this format has a major impact on who plays who, and thereby who wins. Therefore, it’s a good idea to understand the tactics of the format.

 
Tactics for Choosing ABC or XYZ

Before a team match begins, the team captains will toss a coin to see who gets first choice on the ABC or XYZ order. The captain needs to know the advantages/disadvantages of each.

· If team match ends as soon as a team wins three, and the game score might make a difference (such as breaking up a 3-way tie in a round robin):
In this case, it’s usually an advantage to set an order so your #1 singles player gets his two singles matches in as soon as possible. This means the XYZ team has an advantage in that they can play their #1 player as the X player, who plays his second singles match in the fourth match, and so increase their team’s chances of winning 3-1. On the ABC team, it’s the A player who plays two singles matches, but he doesn’t play his second match until the fifth match. So if you have a choice, choose the XYZ order.

· If all five matches are played out, or if the game score doesn’t make a difference:
In this case, it doesn’t really make a difference if you are ABC or XYZ.

Note that at the U.S. Open Teams, all five matches will be played except for the first division. So the first case above would apply to team matches in first division round robin matches. In all other divisions, and in the playoff stage of the first division, the latter applies.

 
Setting the Order

You have to decide who plays the two singles matches, and who plays doubles. Remember that you don’t have to decide who plays doubles until the first two matches have been played, so you should wait until those two matches are played before finalizing the order. How the players play in the first two matches might affect the decision.

You have to decide whether to go with a set doubles team (and thereby have one player who plays singles twice each team match, assuming you have three on the team), or whether to have them take turns. With the former, your doubles team becomes used to playing together, and you can play your “strongest” order each time; however, it makes your order more predictable.

Usually you are going to play your best player in the two singles spots. However, if your #1 player is a good doubles player, or if you have a player who is not very good at doubles, you might consider playing the #1 in doubles, and play the “weaker” player in the two singles spots.

For the other two positions, it doesn’t really matter the order unless you can anticipate what the opposing team is doing. For example, you can often anticipate which player on the other team will play the two singles matches. If the other team has one left-handed player, there’s a good chance that player will play doubles (since it’s an advantage to have a left-right team in doubles). If the other team has a player who is weak at doubles, you can guess that that player might play the two singles matches.

You can also anticipate that the other team will be trying to guess what you will be doing. For example, if your #1 player is weak against choppers, and the other team has a chopper who could beat your #1 player, they will probably set their order so their chopper plays your #1 player. So you might consider playing your #1 player in doubles, so it’s only a 50-50 chance he’ll play the chopper. In fact, since choppers aren’t usually good at doubles when paired with attackers, there’s a good chance the chopper will be played in the two singles spots, so in this case you can plan accordingly so your #1 player does not play the chopper.

Of course, many teams will have an established doubles team, and you can anticipate that. However, the teams can vary which position each doubles player plays singles, and so unless you have a way of anticipating that, there’s a limit to how much you can or should set your order based on predicting an opponent’s order.

 
Conclusion

While it usually doesn’t make that big a difference, there are sometimes advantages to the XYZ order, so you might as well choose that when possible. Decide if your team will go with a set order, rotate your players, or adjust tactically based on the opponent.  Especially in the last option, it is up to the team captain to put the players on the court in the best order possible.