I haven't seen this posted, so thought others might be able to benefit.

There's a quick tip you can use to generally avoid the "Press A To Continue" freeze screen...

When you join or create a Ranked match, at some point your opponent's rectangle will show up.  At this point you should press A to start the match ... AND then press LB - to see the Players List.  If the match starts or your new opponent's name pops up here in three to five seconds, you're fine.  If not, exit out of the players list and exit out of the match lobby ASAP, because that particular match will probably fail to start.

Since I learned this trick, I haven't been stuck since. =)

There's an even easier way. You don't need to press a, just press B to get the "do you want to quit? screen" and let it sit. If they do disappear, ths screen allows you to back out to the main without the freeze screen.