Ladder Rules

 

  1. Groups will ideally consist of 4 or 5 players - all players in the group must play each other once.
  2. The bottom group may sometimes contain up to 6 players - in this scenario, players still only have to play 2/3 of their games, however, playing more may increase their chances of promotion.
  3. Players joining the ladders after the start date will have to wait until the start of the next iteration, if there is no last group waiting to be filled. It causes too much disruption to existing groups if players are added late.
  4. New players joining at the start of a month will be allocated a group based on the BEST GUESS of where they belong. Apologies if mistakes are made with group allocation, we are sure they will work themselves out really quickly.

  1. Arrange to play the matches as early in the iteration as possible, as weather, injures and schedules could make it more difficult at the end of the iteration.
  2. In iterations of 2 months, the administrator will apply a penalty and deduct 2 points from players that have not played any of their matches at the end of the first month.
    1. This may be deferred in iterations where the weather is exceptionally bad or where courts are un-bookable due to maintenance or championships etc. taking place.
    2. Players injured, on holiday or working/studying away for the majority of the first month, with an unavailability notice set, and who have notified the administrator, may be exempt from this deduction.
  3. Once you play your match, either player can enter the score via the application.
  4. Please try to enter the score as soon after the match as possible.
  5. If a mistake is made entering a result, just let an admin know and they can remove it easily.
  6. We will only accept the first result, please do not play and then decide that you would like to replay with a different result.

  1. The player at the top of Group 1 will be crowned the Champion and will have a special gold crown against their name(s) for all to see and everyone must bow before them.
  2. The player who tops each of the other groups will be promoted and the player or players(s) at the bottom will be relegated.
  3. You must play at least 2/3 of your games to be considered for promotion.
  4. Groups will be reset at the end of the month, players promoted and demoted, new players added, and then we all start again!
  5. Sometimes at the start of a new month, new players need to be added to the ladder, or a new group is required to be created in the middle of the ladder. In these scenarios, we will do our best to still promote anyone who has topped their previous group, however, this might mean that 2 players will get relegated in the groups below. To avoid this your best bet is not to finish in the bottom two (or three), and make sure you play all of your games!
  6. At the end of the month the player with the HIGHEST Total ("RT") will be promoted and the player with the LEAST Total will be demoted.
  7. If Points equal at the end player with highest "Games For" will be placed higher (** unless walkovers have been taken in the group **).
    1. If matches in the group have been given as walkovers, the "Games For" total will not be taken into account for tied players.
  8. If points still equal then player who won the match between the two players will be placed higher.

  1. Matches are 13 games in duration. Please play ALL 13 GAMES as game totals may help determine promotions and demotions.
  2. Match games are standard tennis scoring, so including deuce and advantage.
  3. If the match is tied at 6 games each then the final game will be decided by tie-breaker (first to 7 and win by 2, after 6 each it must be win by 2). Please familiarize yourself with the rules of a tiebreaker.
  4. Scoring Awarded Per Match Result:
      By More Than 5 Games By 5 Games By 3 Games By 1 Game
    Win against lower or same rank 6 6 5 4
    Lose against a lower or same rank 0 0 1 2
    Win against higher rank 7 7 6 5
    Lose against a higher rank 0 1 2 3

    Example 1) Two players of the same rank, match ends 7-6, winner gets 4 points loser gets 2 points.
    Example 2) Two players of the same rank, match ends 8-5, winner gets 5 points loser gets 1 points.
    Example 3) Player 1 is lower rank than player 2, match ends 7-6, winner gets 5 points loser gets 2 points.
    Example 4) Player 1 is lower rank than player 2, match ends 8-5, winner gets 6 points loser gets 1 points.

  1. **If a match has been started but can not be finished due to injury, the non-injured player can choose to either allow the game to be replayed or take the score (or an adjusted score) at the time of the postponement.
    If the game can not be replayed, or the game is only partially played:
    If 6 games or more have been played: The score of the injured player will be taken as it stands and the non-injured players score will be increased up, so that the total games recorded equal 13.
    (E.g. The games ends 5-3 with an injury to the player on 5 games. The score of the game would then be 5-8 to the non-injured player.)
    If less then 6 games have been played: The game will be scored as a walkover, please contact the administrator to apply the result.

  1. We generally do not want to give walkovers, as there is usually no fair way to resolve the score to give if games have already been played.
  2. A player is NOT ALLOWED to give a walkover to another player. You should contact the administrator to discuss the issue.
  3. Each request for a walkover will be considered in isolation and if allowed will result in 1-0 win. Note: The player giving the walkover will be deducted 2 ranking points and the player getting the walkover will be given the ranking points equivalent to that if they were playing a player of the same rank. In this way, all players getting a walkover would receive the same points, and players giving walkovers will be penalized.
  4. If a player pulls out of the ladder due to injury or unavailability:
    • If the player has played any games, we will give 1-0 walkovers to the remaining players
    • If the player has not played any games, we will simply remove the player from the ladder
  5. If you have made 3 attempts (over multiple weeks) to arrange a game but your opponent is repeatedly and unreasonably unavailable, or does not reply to texts etc. then please contact the administrator and we may award a walkover in these cases.
    • The person who is unavailable may have to be removed from the ladder and adjustments made to the existing results of matches concerning them.
  6. Not answering your texts or what's app messages is the same as being repeatedly unavailable. Please let your fellow group members know if you are not available. There is an unavailable feature on the app to tell people you are out for a period, please use it when possible.

  1. In some instances the club will allow Junior players who are deemed to have the tennis ability and the required maturity, to play against adults on the ladders.
  2. Ladder games must be arranged with the Parent or Guardian of the junior.
  3. If you are involved in a game with a junior, please treat them like any other player.
  4. The junior must be able to handle the mental side of the game, this includes being gracious in defeat and humble in victory!
  5. Any misbehaving from the junior or demonstration by the junior that they can not handle the circumstances will mean expulsion from the ladder.
  6. The parent or legal guardian must be court side for the entire match
  7. The parent or legal guardian can not interfere with the game in any way, this means:
    • No coaching of the junior by the parent or guardian.
    • No line calls or discussions about the score of the game from the parent or guardian.
  8. If you are in any way uncomfortable with the way the junior or the guardian is behaving, please end the game and report it to the ladder admin.
  9. Remember, Boris Becker won Wimbledon at 16 years old. Juniors can be extremely good at tennis.

  1. Players must change ends after the first game and then after every odd game (as per normal tennis rules).
  2. Players must agree what balls are played with, if no agreement can be reached, the game must be played with 2 balls from each player (I can't believe this would be a problem, we are a civilized club!).

  1. Players who do not complete their game requirements (and are not injured or with good excuse) the following rules will apply
    • If you do not play 2/3 of your games for 2 months in a row you will be removed from the ladder and have to re-apply!
    • If you do not play any of your games in a ladder iteration without good cause and having let an administrator know, you will be removed from the ladder and have to re-apply!
  2. If you need to drop out for a month or two, its no problem, just let us know when you want to re-join and we will try to add you back into the same group or the one below when you return! Please, try to avoid dropping out in the middle of a monthly period if at all possible.

  1. Each doubles player should be of the same standard as their partner. You can mix standards if you agree to start at the bottom of the ladder, as otherwise we will not know where to place you.
  2. No substitutions are allowed in games on the doubles ladder.
  3. In the case of long term injury etc. If a partnership needs to change a player then they must pull out of that months games and a new doubles partnership must be registered.