Printable Format

Registration Once registration for the season has closed and schedules have been created, registered players/teams will receive an e-mail notifying them their schedule is ready to be viewed online. Players/teams are responsible for accessing their schedule for the season. If a player is registered and there are not enough players for a league, a refund will be issued to the player(s). Refunds will not be issued for any other reason.

Scheduling Both players/teams should initiate contact to schedule match play. The home team has ultimate responsibility for making sure that the match is scheduled within the play-by date. Matches can be played any time before the play-by date. An extra week is allowed at the beginning of each season and early play is advantageous and allows for flexibility with schedules and weather conditions. When contacting the opponents, each player/team must provide three days/times that they are available to play. If none of those days/times work for the opponent, they must provide three days/times that they prefer. The beauty of MP Tennis is the flexibility to schedule your tennis match around your other commitments and this allows both players/teams to work together to determine the optimal match play.

Home Court Each player/team is responsible for having access to a tennis court which they deem their home court. When a home match is scheduled at the home court, the home player/team is responsible for making sure there are adequate lights if needed and that the courts are reserved for the scheduled match. The home player/team is responsible for any guest fees associated with playing the match at the home court (unless otherwise agreed upon by both players/teams).

Play by date A match must be completed by midnight of the play by date.

Default Time In the off chance that players/teams have not been able to agree to a day/time to play the match, the default time is 7:00pm on the play by day. This time should be confirmed by both players/teams before meeting at the home court.

Inclement weather In the event of rain, the home player/team is responsible for contacting the opponent and rescheduling the match play. If it should rain in the middle of a match, both players/teams must agree on the conditions to continue play. Players are advised to use extreme caution and discretion once courts become wet.

Forfeit If any player/team has agreed to play a match on a given day at a specific time, and fails to arrive for the match within 20 minutes of the agreed upon time, the player/team waiting can force that team to forfeit the match. Each player/team is only allowed one forfeit per season with MP Tennis. More than one forfeit in a season will eliminate the player/team from the playoff tournament. Excessive forfeits will lead to exclusion from MP Tennis.

Substitutes If for any reason, a player is not able to play the scheduled match (due to injury, family emergency, etc.) but is able to find a substitute player that plays at the same level, he or she may use a substitute for that match and/or the remainder of the season. However, that substitute must be a member of Match Play Tennis, and must not already be playing in a Match Play Tennis league for that season. Only one person can be used as a substitute. If there are playoffs at the end of the season, that player/team will not qualify to play in the tournament (due to the player changes).

Determining who will serve first and choice of ends The home player/team is responsible for the toss which can be a coin toss or the spin of a racquet (up or down). The home player/team will give the visitor the option to call the toss (head or tails, or up or down). The player/team who wins the toss will get to chose:

• Whether or not they want to serve first or receive serve first, in which case the opponent will choose on which end of the court to start the game.

Toss The toss should be made before the warm-up so that the players/teams can warm-up on the side of the court on which the game will start.

Warm-up The warm-up should be no longer than 20 minutes and should ideally include baseline ground strokes, volleys and serves for all players.

Game (Point Score) A regular game consists of four points and is scored with the servers score being announced first. The points are as follows:

• No points = love
• First point = 15
• Second point = 30
• Third point = 40
• Fourth point = Game

When the score is tied at three points each (40-40), it is called Deuce. From deuce, a player/team must win 2 consecutive points to win the game. When a player wins the next point, they have the advantage and it is announced as ad-in if the server won the point, or ad-out if the receiver won the point. If the same player/team that won the ad point, wins the next point, then they win the game. However, if the player/team that won the ad point loses the next point, then the score goes back to deuce.

Score All players are responsible for knowing the score of the match at all times. If at some point in the match players do not agree about the score or the score is being miscalled, immediately stop and discuss the points. It may be necessary to reconstruct the game, recalling each point in order to reach an agreement (who won the first point, who won the second point, etc.,). If it is not possible to reach an agreement on the most current score, start over from the score that everyone agrees on and replay only the disputed points.

Points

• Earning Points: Each player/team receives 1 point for each set that is won. (So, a minimum of 0 points and a maximum of 2 points per match.)
• Total Points: The total points earned by each player/team will determine the winner(s) of the division per season. If needed, the win percentage will be taken into consideration.
• Win Percentage: The player/team’s win percentage is the number of games won divided by the total number of games played.
• Bye: Occasionally a player/team will have a "BYE" for a week. This means that they do not have a match that week. If a team has a BYE, 1 point will be assigned. That 1 point will be added to their point total for the season. A BYE week will not impact the win percentage.
• Forfeit: If a player/team forfeits, they receive 0 points for that week, and the other team receives 2 points for the match. The points will be added to their point total for the season, but will not impact the win percentage.
• Entering Scores: The winner(s) of each match is responsible for entering scores by mid-night on the play by date.

Game Players will switch sides of the court when the total games played are an odd number. So, after the 1st game, 3rd game, 5th game and so on.

Set The first player to win 6 games, with a lead of at least 2 games. If a set is tied 6-6, a 12-point tie-breaker will determine the winner of the set.

Match The best 2 out of 3 sets determine the winner of the match.

Match Tie-Break It is expected and recommended that all players/teams will complete a third set if the teams split the first two sets. However, if all players unanimously agree to play a tie-breaker in lieu of a third set, that is acceptable. The tie-break game replaces the third set of the match. The score should be recorded as games won, not the points of the tie-breaker. (For example, if the first two sets are 6-4, 4-6 and the third set is a tie-breaker, the score should simply be 1-0). Since the winning team receives one point for each set won, this will not impact the teams’ points, the winning team still receives 2 points for the match. It does however impact the win percentage because there are fewer games played.

Forfeit A home player/team will have to forfeit a match if two attempts are made by both teams to play and the court time does not allow the match to be completed. In other words, if a match is being played and the players have to stop due to the court reservation time expiring or lack of availability, and the match is not able to be completed after two attempts, then the team reserving the court will forfeit the match.

Retire During a Match If for any reason a player/team has to stop playing in the middle of a match (due to injury, emergency, etc.) and is unable to continue the match at a later date, the player(s) should enter the scores of the match even though it is incomplete. Each player/team could earn points from the games played and it will not be considered a forfeit.

Tie-break set (7-point tie-breaker) When the game score in a set is tied 6-6, a 12-point tie breaker is played to determine the winner of the set. Once one player/team wins 7 points in the tie breaker, with a lead of at least two points, the tie breaker and set has been won. The player/team whose turn it is to serve will start the tie breaker by serving one serve from the deuce court. The opponent will then serve two points, starting at the advantage court. The players/team will continue to alternate serve after every two points played and will switch sides of the court when the score equals 6 points. At the end of the tie breaker the players/teams must switch sides again to begin the next set. For recording purposes, the tie-breaker is considered a game and the score will read 7-6.

Order of service Serve is alternated between players. So, after each game, the server becomes the receiver and the receiver becomes the server. In double, each team decides before they start serving which partner will serve first (or at which end of the court). The partner of the person who serves in the first game will serve in the third game and the partner of the person who serves in the second game will serve in the fourth game. The sequence is established after the first two games and continues through the set. At the beginning of each set, each team can change the order of servers.

Order of receiving (in doubles) The team who is going to receive serve first decides which side of the court each player will receive serve from (the forehand side or the backhand side). Similarly, in the second game, the other team makes this same decision. The side of the court from which each player will receive serve is determined after the first two games and shall remain that way throughout the set. At the beginning of each set, each team can change the sides on which the players receive serve.

Line calls The player/team on the side of the court where the ball bounces is responsible for calling a ball in or out. If the ball touches the line at all, it is in. Line calls must be made vocally but may also be accompanied by hand signals. Line calls can not be made until the ball touches the court(it can not be called in the air). If a line call is questionable, a player can ask the player making the line call, Are you sure?, but after that, the call is final. You must respect one anothers line calls. You have registered for fun, recreational, and yes, competitive tennis, so be respectful of your opponents and practice fair line calls.

Error in line call When the player/team receiving the ball disagrees on a line call, the ball is assumed to be good. If however, the player/team disagrees but still is able to return the ball onto the court, then a let can be called and the point should be replayed with the server doing first serve.

Let Any player can call a let during a match and this call requires the point to be started over. A let can be called because of another ball rolling on the court, or other extraneous circumstances (a cell phone going off) that causes a significant distraction.

Service let A service let is called when a serve touches the net or any part of the net but is otherwise considered good, or touches the net and then touches the opponent before hitting the ground, or if the opponent was to not ready to receive serve. When a let is called, the server should serve the ball again. (If it was the second serve, then the redo is the second serve, but if it was the first serve, then the server starts with the first serve again). If the server is interrupted during the second serve, then the server is entitled to two serves. If however, there is a delay between the first and second serve, it depends who caused the delay. If the server caused the delay, he/she must continue with the second serve. But if the receiver caused the delay, then the whole point may be redone.

Cell phones and pagers Out of courtesy to all players on the court, cell phones and pagers should be turned off during a match. If a cell phone or pager does go off during a match, any player (except the player who left the device on) may call a let.

Player hit by the serve If the server hits his/her partner with the ball, it is a fault. However, if the ball is served and goes over the net and hits the opponent, the point is awarded to the serving team. As a receiver, the ball can not hit you before it hits the ground or you lose the point.

Player hit by the ball If the ball hits any player on the court, the point is awarded to the other team. Even if the ball is clearly out and the player is standing outside the court when the ball makes contact with the person, the ball must make contact with the ground or the other team is awarded the point. This rule also applies to catching a ball even if it is clearly going out. It must bounce before being touched by a player.

Fault When the server serves the ball, if it does not go over the net without touching anything (including the server's partner) and lands in the service court, it is called a fault. Each serve is entitled to two serves for the point. If the second serve is also a fault, it is called a double fault and the serving team loses the point.

Foot fault The server may not touch the baseline or the court with his/her feet during the serve. He/she must also stay between the imaginary extension of the center mark and the outside line. If his/her feet move outside these boundaries or touch the line, it is considered a foot fault. Each serve is entitled to two serves for the point. If the second serve is also a fault, it is called a double fault and the serving team loses the point.

Error in receiving In doubles, if the two players receiving serve accidentally switch sides on which they are receiving, they must finish the game that is started in that position and then resume their appropriate sides for the remainder of the set.

Error in serving (out of sequence) In doubles, players must decide which partner is going to serve from which end of the court. However, they have the power to switch the sequence at the beginning of each new set and are responsible for maintaining that sequence throughout the set. If for some reason the partners are out of sequence (even if it is in the middle of a game), they must correct the situation and the correct player should take over serving immediately. All points previously played remain as played. So, players should fix the situation at that point and just continue play. If a game has been completed and then the players realize they had been out of sequence, then the sequence is considered change and they resume alternating the serve. The same rule applies during a tie-breaker. Once it has been realized that the sequence is altered, it remains that way for the rest of the tie-breaker.

Hitting objects on the court If the ball is hit and comes in contact with a court fixture other than the net (for example a light, or a post, or a trash can), the player/team who hit the ball loses the point.

Touching the net during play If a player or his/her racquet touches the net during a point, that person is responsible for admitting that he/she touched the net and the opponent would win that point.

Volleying a ball before it goes over the net If a player is at net, waiting to receive a volley, they must wait to make contact with the ball on their side of the court. If the player reaches over the net and makes contact with the ball before it crosses the net (technically, on the other side of the court), that person is responsible for admitting that he/she reached over the net and the opponent would win that point. However, if the net player does not think that they reached over the net, it is that players call and the honor system comes into play.

Double-bounce If a ball bounces more than once before it is returned to the other side of the court, that team loses the point. However, it is up to the players on that side of the court to admit that the ball bounced more than once before they hit the ball. This can sometimes pose some discretion and the final call is from the player that hit the ball.

Adult Leagues Men’s singles, Women’s singles, Men’s doubles, Women’s doubles. A player may register for more than one league during a season.

Level Self-determined ability level of play. Levels are based on National Tennis Rating Program ratings with 2.5 being the lowest and 5.0 being the highest.(2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, and 5.0).

Division A division consists of 6 players (or teams for doubles), all of whom will be scheduled to play one another in a given season.

Season The time frame determined to play 5 matches. Each regular season is followed by tournament play for those who opt-in and are winners in their division.

Tournament Optional play at the end of each season, players must opt-in to compete in tournament play. The tournament will follow the same flexible format with a one week timeframe by which to complete the match. It is single elimination (only the winners continue), and will have a maximum of four matches. Tournament winners will receive prizes and will automatically be promoted to the next level for the next season.

Tennis balls The home player/team is responsible for providing a new can of tennis balls for the match.

Late Pass Each player/team is granted one late pass to use per season. The late pass should be used if circumstances arise that prohibit the teams from playing the match and the teams agree to play the match late. The teams must agree on which team will use their late pass if a match could not be played by the play-by date. The late pass may be used any time throughout the season, but must be used by midnight on the last play-by date. It can not extend beyond the last date of the season. If a player/team needs to use a late pass, just e-mail contactus@matchplaytennis.com with the match information and the scores.