Philadelphia Area Junior Team Tennis Girls League Rules
Spring 2024
1. Dates, Time, Location
a. Matches will take place on Saturday afternoons.
b. Match times are set at 1pm for all Saturday matches, unless otherwise requested for home matches. Requested home match times cannot start later than 3pm or earlier than 12pm. Requests must come in before schedule is made.
c. Coach/Captain’s are responsible for securing 2 courts for their match for 2 hours.
d. Home teams are responsible for providing balls for the match. Each match should require 2 cans of balls.
e. Matches should be played at their scheduled time unless weather interferes, no matter how many players a team has. If a team doesn’t have enough players to play the match, the coach/captain can request from their opposing coach/captain to reschedule the match for another time. However, both coach/captains must agree. If the opposing captain says they cannot do this, then the match goes on as scheduled with the remaining players.
i. Example: John is Team A’s Coach, and Joe is Team B’s coach. John only has 3 girls to play against Team B, who has 5 girls to play, so he requests to reschedule the match. Joe’s players are not available at any other time, and cannot due so. Therefore, Team A plays Team B with 3 girls, defaulting the 2nd girls doubles.
2. Scoring, Standings, and Players
a. Each match consists of 3 8-game pro sets (No-Ad scoring) each of girls singles and 2 sets of girls doubles.
b. A 12- Point Tiebreak is to be played at 7-7.
c. The team that wins the most games wins the match.
d. If the score is tied at the end, then the result is a tie.
e. Standings are based on games won. If there is a tie at the end of the season, the team with the best win-loss record, wins the league.
f. In one team matches, a player may play in no more than 2 individual matches.
g. If a team has only 3 players, they are to default the 2nd doubles match.
h. Every player should be registered on TennisLink in order to play. If a player is not registered on TennisLink, the player’s coach has until the Wednesday after the match happens at 11:59pm to register the player. If that time has passed and the player has still not registered, the opposing coach should put the score for the player as a defaulted loss.
i. This league does not advance to any championships.
j. Home teams are responsible for reporting scores through TennisLink, although away teams also have this ability to do so if they choose.
k. All matches scores MUST be entered by the Friday at 11:59pm after the match has been scheduled to enter the score. Otherwise, the score will be entered as a double default by the league coordinator. The only exceptions would be:
i. If a match has not been played due to weather or other circumstances. However, it’s one of the coaches responsibility to notify the league coordinator that the match has been rescheduled. Otherwise, it will be a double-default.
ii. If the home team has the scorecard and the away team does not have the scores or opposing players, then the away team must let the league manager know. In this case, it will be a defaulted match for the away team.
l. Each coach/captain should bring a scorecard for the match.
3. Communication and Weather
a. In the event of inclement weather, the home team coach/captain is responsible for making the decision on a match. Matches due to weather should be called no EARLIER than 3 hours beforehand. He or she can:
i. Book indoor courts to play the match at a nearby club. Note: Both teams must agree to play the match indoors, and if so, cover the cost of the courts. Either team can reschedule instead if they don’t want to deal with the cost.
ii. Reschedule the match for another day and time (Sunday afternoons might work well for rescheduled matches). Matches must be made up by the end of June.
iii. Note: If the home team already plays their matches on indoor courts, away teams are not responsible to share the cost of courts.
b. Coach/Captains should communicate with their opposing coach/captain at least 48 hours before the match to coordinate details such as directions, number of players, etc.
4. Player Eligibility
a. There is no limit to the level of play that a girl can be as it’s an “Open” Division. However, to make things competitive, try to work out with your opponents what level of play you have at each position.
b. Players may not be shared amongst teams in the same flight.
c. All teams must have at least 3 girls registered for all-girls divisions.
5. Coaching Responsibilities
a. Coaching can be done at every changeover by assigned coaches only, and should be no longer than 60 seconds. No other coaching may be done during the match.
b. Only the assigned coach there may coach during the match.
c. Coaches are in charge of their team and their team number. Players can always be moved from team to team. However, if a player registers and then it turns out that the player is not able to play after the fact, refunds from the league and organization will NOT be granted.
d. The person at the match representing your team is in charge of your team and the lineup. If last minutes changes need to be made, it is up to this person to make the decision.
e. Coaches are to stand and watch outside of the court of play during a match. The only exception would be if it’s not possible to view the match in attempts to coach at changeovers OR if a match needs help with scoring or calling lines. This may only be done with the approval of the other coach or person in charge of that team.
6. Player/Parent Guidelines and Responsibilities
a. Parents should do all viewing outside the court of play, preferably outside the fence. No parents are permitted to sit on benches or seats on the court or inside a fenced-in area. The only exception would be with help of scoring in matches with beginner players.
b. Cheering is acceptable in between points. Please do not cheer during points and do so in a positive manner.
c. Players may sit on court, but may be requested to be removed if they cause a distraction for matches.
7. OTHER
a. All other guidelines will be put forth in the 2024 USTA MS Jr. Team Tennis Regulations. Each team should get a regulations book. If there are any other issues, do not hesitate to contact your Division Coordinator. He or she and the Area League Coordinator will be the final decision maker on all other issues.