Rules

Philadelphia Area Junior Team Tennis League Rules Fall 2023

    • Dates, Time, Location

        1. Matches will take place on Saturday afternoons.
        2. Match times are set at 1pm for all Saturday matches, unless otherwise requested for home matches. Requested home match times cannot start later than 3:30pm or earlier than 12pm. Requests must come in before schedule is made.
        3. Coach/Captain’s are responsible for securing 2 courts for their match for at least a 2-hour period.
        4. Home teams are responsible for providing balls for the match. Each match should require at least 2 cans of balls.
        5. 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.
          1. Example: In an 14u Intermediate Match, John is Team A’s Coach, and Joe is Team B’s coach. John only has 2 players to play against Team B, who has 4 players 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 both of Team A’s players playing doubles together followed by 2 singles matches.
    • Formats
          1. All divisions will have 1 match per week.
          2. It is up to the home team to determine the order of play, although they are encouraged to work with the away team to maximize the number of matches that go out.
          3. The High School and 14 and under divisions will use new cans of yellow tennis balls.
          4. The 12 and under divisions will use new cans of green dot tennis balls.
          5. The 10 and under division will use Orange Dot Balls.
          6. Each match consists of 3 8-game pro sets (No-Ad) each of singles and 2 8-game pro sets of doubles. Tie-break to be played at 7-7

       

    • Scoring, Standings, and Players
        1. The team that wins the most games in an a team match wins the team match.
        2. If the score is tied at the end of a team match, then the result is a tie.
        3. 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.
        4. In all team matches, a player may play in no more than 2 individual matches.
        5. If a team only has 3 players, and the other team has 6 or 7 players, then the default should come at 3rd singles to maximize the amount of players that a team can play.
        6. 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.
        7. League winners in the 12u and 14u Divisions win the right to advance to the Philadelphia District  or Section Championships in Summer 2024. To play in these, each team must pay a team registration fee and have 6 players available that have played in at least 2 team matches played on 2 different dates.
        8. Home teams are responsible for reporting scores through TennisLink, although away teams also have this ability to do so if they choose.
        9. 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:
          1. 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.
          2. 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.
        1. Each coach/captain should bring a scorecard for the match.

       

    • Communication and Weather
        1. 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:
          1. 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.
          2. 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 October.
          3. Note: If the home team already plays their matches on indoor courts, away teams are not responsible to share the cost of courts.
          1. 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.

       

    • Player Eligibility
        1. In the 10 and under and 12 and under divisions, there are no rating restrictions on who plays in these divisions. However, please keep in mind that the league is for players that are at least an Intermediate level and have had tennis experience before, preferably with match play. All players should be able to rally, serve and score on their own.
        2. The 14 and under and 18 and under divisions are based on WTN ratings of players.
          1. In the 14 and under Intermediate division, all players must be rated no lower than 25.
          2. In the High School division, all players must be rated no lower than 22.
          3. NO APPEALS will be taken for ratings.
        1. Players can play on two different teams in different divisions and/or flights, but a maximum of 5 players may be shared between teams. For example if Club A has a 14 and under Team and a 12 and under team, then no more than 5 players may be shared between these teams. Please note that players may not be shared amongst teams in the same flight.
        2. All teams must have at least 3 players registered by the season’s team registration deadline.  This may be different for different coaches that have defaulted a certain number of courts in a previous season.
        3. All players must be that age division or below until June 25th, 2024.  For instance in the 14 and under division, a player cannot turn 15 until after June 25th, 2024.

       

      Coaching Responsibilities

          1. 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. This includes “cheer-coaching,” which is cheering while giving advice.
          2. Only the assigned coach there may coach during the match. This person may change hands mid-match, but only one person should be communicating to their opposing coach.
          3. Home coaches are in charge of setting the order of play for individual matches.       They are encouraged to work with opposing coaches to determine the order of play, sometimes even setting it and communicating it a couple days before a match.
          4. 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.
          5. 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.
          6. 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.

       

    • Player/Parent Guidelines and Responsibilities
          1. 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.
          2. Cheering is acceptable in between points. Please do not cheer during points and do so in a positive manner.
          3. Players may sit on court, but may be requested to be removed if they causes a distraction for matches.

       

    • OTHER
      1. A Coaches and/or clubs total number of teams will be assessed for eligibility for their next Spring or Fall season based on a percentage of their total defaulted individual matches divided by total individual matches.       Coaches should keep these in mind when registering teams and players:
        1. If they have a 17% or more default percentage, they must have 3 boys and 3 girls registered by the team registration deadline (4 total players if single-gender divisions).
        2. If they have a 25% or more default, they must have 4 boys and 4 girls registered by the team registration deadline (5 total players if single-gender divisions).
        3. If they have a 33% or more default percentage (1 of every 3 individual matches), they can only put 1 team in the next season they participate AND must have 4 boys and 4 girls (5total players if single-gender divisions) registered by the team registration deadline.
        4. Please note that these will not apply to the winter season as that season uses different scoring formats and eligibility.
  • All other guidelines will be put forth in the 2023 USTA Middle Sttates 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 rules.