🎾 Tennis League Rules

🏆 Code of Conduct

• Tennis demands the highest respect and regard both on and off the court
• Spectators are welcome but must demonstrate game sense during play
• Players and spectators must exhibit good sportsmanship and conduct
• Coaching between points is allowed, but maintain silence during active play
• Team pairings are determined by captains based on player strengths and league rules
• Always support your captains, partners, and opposing teammates
• Taking a picture of the Playing 4 and sharing it in the WhatsApp group is encouraged

📊 League Format

• 16 teams with 12 players each
• Two divisions: Division A and Division B (8 teams each)
• Competition structure:
  • 7 league matches
  • Quarterfinals
  • Semifinals
  • Finals
• Each team competes against 7 other teams within their division
• During league phase, each team must play 6 lines
• Line formation rules are consistent throughout all competition stages

🎲 Team Selection Process

• Each captain uses a lucky wheel spin to select players for each rank
• For each rank, the wheel spins up to 15 times to determine captain selection order
• After selection, captains get a designated time window (set by ECs) to swap players between same ranks
• No swaps permitted after the time window closes

📋 Line Formation Rules

Allowed Ranks per Line

Important Rules

⚖️ Match Rules

• Home team captain initiates discussions and manages court bookings
• Home team must provide balls for the match
• Captains must submit lineup by 11:59 PM on submission deadline
• Missing submission deadline more than 2 times results in point deduction for each subsequent miss
• Home team captain submits match scores to DOT EC team on completion day
• Team players should collaborate with captains to resolve conflicts
• Captains allowed to make permanent replacements throughout the season
• Replacement rationale required; ECs have authority to request proof
• Replacement confirmed through voting process by other captains (requesting captain excluded)

📅 Scheduling Rules

Basic Scheduling Requirements

• Matches must be scheduled within first 3 days of the 14-day play period
• Example: Match set between 9/1 and 9/14 must be arranged by 9/3 EOD
• 1 point deducted from violating team(s) from 3rd offense
• Each unscheduled line counts as an offense

Availability Requirements

• Home team must propose at least 3 available dates by first day
• If away team disagrees, they must offer minimum 3 alternative dates by second day
• Availability is specific to dates (multiple time windows same day = 1 availability)
• Team not providing minimum 3 availability forfeits to compliant team

Scheduling Conflict Resolution

If scheduling conflict persists, captains have 2 options:

1. Automatic scheduling: Match set to play-by date at 7 PM (Home team provides court & balls)
2. Use a late pass

Late Pass System

Match Cancellation Rules

• Cannot be canceled without 12-hour notice
• Can only be canceled if all players agree on alternative date within play-by period
• If no consensus, initiating team must forfeit unless valid reason provided

Valid Cancellation Reasons

• Player injury
• Weather impacts
  • Teams restart scheduling process within 24 hours
  • If weather impact on play-by last date:
    • League Matches: finish in next 7 days
    • Playoff matches: finish in next 3 days
• Other reasons discussed between ECs and Captains

Default Match Time Rules

• If teams cannot agree: 7:00 PM on play-by date
• If neither team available at default time: both get 0 points
• If one team available:
  • Present team must go to court, take photo proof, wait 15 minutes
  • If opponent doesn't arrive, present team claims forfeit win

🔄 Rules for Changing Players in Published Lineup

General Rule: No player replacement unless genuine reason mentioned in scheduling rules. Captains must exhaust all late passes before replacing players.

League Matches - Replacement Matrix

Playoff Matches

• ECs temporarily replace with same (or closely lower) ranked player
• Players selected from pool of non-qualifying teams using lottery system
• ECs have ultimate authority over final decision

🏟️ On-Court Rules

Default and Timing Rules

• 15-minute default rule: Team not present within 15 minutes forfeits
• Scoring Format: Best 2 out of 3 sets with full 3rd set
• Alternative: 12-point match tiebreak for 3rd set (if all four players agree at start)
• Rest time: 1 minute during changeovers, up to 5 minutes between sets

Medical and Interruption Rules

• Medical timeout: Up to 5 minutes per injury (only one per injury)
• If same injury recurs, no additional medical timeout granted
• Once match starts, cannot be paused/stopped for completion another day
• Cannot be delayed more than 5 minutes without valid reason
• Team causing invalid pause/stop forfeits match

Valid Reasons for Match Interruption

• Rain delays
• Deteriorating court conditions (e.g., non-working lights)
• NOT valid: Player injury, family commitments, other personal reasons
• Exceptions must be discussed between ECs and Captains

📊 Score Reporting Rules

General Rule: All scores reported as is, except for following scenarios:

Special Scoring Scenarios

• Match defaulted: Score entered as 6-0, 6-0
• Match retired mid-match:
  • Unplayed sets marked as 6-0
  • Incomplete sets rounded up to winning figures

Important: All adjusted scores are considered final and stats calculated based on adjusted scores.

🏆 Playoff Rules

Qualification

• Top 4 teams from each division qualify for playoffs
• Qualification based on total points earned during league stage

Tiebreaker Rules

For 2 teams tied:

1. Higher number of lines won head-to-head during league matches
2. If still tied: Highest number of sets head-to-head
3. If still tied: Number of games head-to-head

For more than 2 teams tied:

1. Higher total number of lines won during league matches
2. If still tied: Highest total number of sets
3. If still tied: Total number of games

Playoff Match Rules

• 6 lines per match - team winning majority lines wins
• If equal lines won: winner determined by total sets won, then total games

Playoff Format

Playoff Completion Rules

• All 6 lines must be completed within decided dates
• Team winning first 3 lines is declared winner
• If matches not completed by play-by window: non-completed matches are void
• For playoffs: only completed match results determine winner

⚠️ Important Notes