We’ve seen it time and time again – booking platforms and competition tools tacking on rating systems as an afterthought to their primary technology. These platforms are built for court bookings, matchmaking, and event management, but when they attempt to create their own ranking and rating systems, they almost always fail.

The Problem with Standalone Rating Systems in Booking Platforms

The fundamental issue is that ratings are not simple. Many booking platforms assume they can just plug in an Elo-based system, let results flow in, and the ratings will take care of themselves. In reality, effective rating engines require deep expertise, ongoing maintenance, and constant recalibration

✅ Onboarding & Calibration Matters – A rating system is only as good as its onboarding process. If players are poorly calibrated from the start, the system is flawed from day one.

✅ Duplicate & Incomplete Data – Booking systems often don’t account for duplicate player entries, missing results, or cross-platform play, leading to fragmented and inaccurate ratings.

✅ Geographic & Time-Based Adjustments – A true global rating system needs to account for players competing across different locations and over time – something a basic Elo plug-in simply cannot handle.

✅ Lack of Maintenance & Support – Ratings require constant attention. Without a dedicated team managing anomalies, handling disputes, and fine-tuning calculations, the system quickly deteriorates.

Fragmentation: The Killer of Meaningful Ratings

One of the biggest challenges of booking platform-based rating systems is that they create fragmentation.

Here’s what happens:

A booking platform might have 30% of a country’s players, but those players also compete elsewhere – in leagues, tournaments, and clubs using other booking systems.

If a player’s rating is only based on a subset of their matches, it doesn’t reflect their true ability.

When multiple booking systems each try to implement their own ratings, none of them align, and players are left with multiple, conflicting ratings.

This creates meaningless results, poor matchmaking, and ultimately a frustrating experience for players.

The Importance of a System-Agnostic Ratings Engine

The solution isn’t for every booking platform to create its own standalone rating system – it’s for all platforms to connect to a best-in-class, system-agnostic rating engine.

This is where LevelTech comes in.

Specialization Matters – Rating systems should be managed by **experts in ratings**, just as booking platforms should focus on bookings, and competition tools should focus on event management.

Interconnected Ratings Create a Unified Sport  – If all competition results – whether from a local club league, a national tournament, or an online booking system – feed into the same rating engine, players get a true, holistic rating.

Global Scalability – A dedicated ratings engine ensures that results are aggregated and standardised making for a fair, balanced, and meaningful system that works across all levels of play.

Big Data Management: Why Booking Platforms Aren’t Equipped for Ratings

Creating and maintaining an effective rating system isn’t just about the algorithm – it’s about handling real-world player data:

📊 Injuries & Inactivity Adjustments – Players take breaks. A true rating system must account for this.

📊 Duplicate & Mismatched Players – Without proper identity management, duplicate accounts destroy rating accuracy.

📊 Score Verification & Flexibility – Players dispute results, scores get entered incorrectly, and corrections must be made.

📊 Ongoing Rating Support – A rating system needs a dedicated team to monitor fluctuations, anomalies, and system integrity.

Booking platforms are not built for this kind of complexity They excel at court scheduling, payments, and player connections but ratings require a different level of focus and expertise – one that only a specialised rating provider like LevelTech can offer.

The Future: Booking & Competition Platforms Must Integrate, Not Isolate

For racket sports to thrive in the modern world, competition and booking platforms must integrate with universal rating systems, not create isolated ones.

🚀 Focus on What You Do Best – Booking platforms should prioritize seamless court booking and matchmaking

🚀 Let Ratings Experts Handle Ratings – A system like LevelTech with over a decade of experience ensures fair, data-driven ratings.

🚀 Unify the Sport, Don’t Divide It – A single global rating allows players to track their progress accurately across multiple competitions, platforms, and locations.

Final Thought

Ratings are complex. They require deep expertise, ongoing maintenance, and system-wide integration Booking platforms trying to bolt on their own rating systems inevitably end up with fragmented, inaccurate, and poorly maintained solutions

A true global rating system must be independent, system-agnostic, and built by experts – not treated as a secondary feature of a booking platform. This is why LevelTech exists: to unify, not divide racket sports through the power of accurate, meaningful, and interconnected ratings.