Rules

NIGHT LEAGUE RULES

 

The Goal: To provide a competitive doubles night league for the men and women in South Florida.

Seasons: The Palm Tennis Night League is offered 3 times a year: Fall, Winter/Spring, Summer

• Each season is 12 - 14 weeks in length.

Levels and Days of Play:

• Women’s League- for women only:
• Queen = 4.0-4.5 (4.5 in line #1 only). This division will play on Wednesday evenings: 4 doubles positions. New year-end USTA ratings will be applied at the end of the Fall season
• Princess = 3.5. This division will play on Tuesday evenings: 3 doubles positions.

 

• Men’s League - for men only:
• Royal = 3.5-4.0. This division will play on Tuesday evenings: 3 doubles positions.
• King Palm = 4.0-5.0. This league will play on Thursday evenings: 4 doubles positions.
• The King Division is for players rated 4.9 and under. Either a players' USTA, computer rating, or the USTA's self-rating  guidelines  will be used to determine eligibility.
• 4.5-5.0 players may play in line #1 only.
• Home teams will provide balls for the matches. Drinks are the responsibility of individual players.
• Matches are two out of three sets. Where necessary a full third set will be played.  A 10 point tie-breaker in lieu of a third set may be played if all four players are in agreement, or at facilities that close at 9:30, or if the players feel that inclement weather is approaching or if you split sets and you are almost at 9pm.
• There may be playoffs at the end of the season.

The Format:

• Matches will be played at 7 p.m. (Please see schedules for any changes).
• Matches should start promptly. If a player is more than 15 minutes late, the team must forfeit that position. When teams are lacking players and must default positions, they must begin by defaulting the lowest positions and moving remaining players up.
• Home team will provide courts and balls.
• All matches will be 2 of 3 sets with a 7 point tiebreaker (first to 7 points by 2) in any set at 6–6.  A third set WILL be played unless all four players agree to play a match tiebreaker (first to 10 by 2).  However, at clubs that require a start time later than 7 p.m, the rule will be that a match tiebreaker (first to 10 by 2) will be played unless all four players agree to play a third set. This decision should be made at the start of the match.
• All lineups must be prepared in writing for exchange prior to the start of a match.  Once exchanged a lineup may not be altered.

Teams:

• Team rosters should have a minimum of 8 players. Rosters are unlimited.
• Players must be 21 years of age.
• Players new to the system (that do not have a Palm Tennis record) need to be submitted one week prior to a match in which they plan to play.
• Final determination of level placement will be made by the League Directors and in consultation with the Tennis Professional and Captain.
• Team movement from one division to another will be based on the most recent team history as well as on the addition of new players and the loss of other players. The goal is to match teams with comparable abilities within the same divisions.
• A division consists of a minimum of four teams.

• Participation in any Palm Tennis activities is governed by our Liability Waiver

Substitutes:

• A player may sub up to a higher division but not down. A player subbing down will not be awarded any points for games/ matches won.
• All players and substitutes must be added to the roster prior to participating in a match. When an ineligible player is found to have participated in a match, the offending team will be penalized by forfeiting all points from the point of the infraction down.

Scoring:

Women’s League - The K-SWISS Scoring System will be used.

•The winner of each court receives 14 points for a 2-set win and 12 points for a 3-set win. The loser receives
a point for each game won in their two highest scoring sets up to a maximum of 8 points for each match
played. Example #1 - match score 6-4, 6-2, winner = 14 pts. & loser = 6 pts. Example #2 - match score 6-2,
4-6, 7-5, winner = 12 pts. & loser = 8 pts

•In the event of a default, teams will receive 14 points for each line forfeited to them

Men’s Royal League – Weighted scoring will be used.

Court 1 =  4 points

Court 2 = 3 points

Court 3 = 2 points

Men’s King League – Weighted scoring will be used.

Court 1 =  6 points

Court 2 = 5 points

Court 3 = 4 points

Court 4 = 3  point

Home Captains are required to enter the scores online at www.palmtennis.com within 72 hours. All rainouts must be reported to: orly@palmtennis.com. Unrecorded matches will be double defaulted if we are not advised of their status. Results and standings are published at www.palmtennis.com.

• Playoffs: a player must have played once during the regular season to qualify for playoffs.
• Rain makeups: if every team in your Division was rained out, that match will be removed from the schedule. Partial rainouts will have to be made up within two weeks. Contact orly@palmtennis.com as soon as possible to let me know if your team was rained out.

 

Defaults:

• If a team has excessive defaults, the team may be suspended for the next season. Excessive defaults are when a team defaults all positions for a given match or averaging more than one default per match.

Final Match and Play-offs

• New players participating in a final match must have the approval of the league directors.
• Play-offs may be held at the end of the season depending on the number of teams participating and the length of the season. Players must have played in two matches during the season to be eligible for playoffs.  Exceptions must have the approval of the league directors.

Coaching:

• Coaching is only permitted during the breaks between sets.

Rescheduling Matches and Inclement Weather:

• In the event of rain, the captains and players should make arrangements to complete the match within two weeks. If the match has not begun, the lineups and/or players may be changed. Once play has begun, then all four players on a court must continue THAT match in THAT position. Rained out matches will be continued at the point of interruption by the same four players. All players should keep a complete record of the score, server, sequence of serve, side, etc. at the time of interruption. Each foursome will choose a day convenient to all four as long as it is within two weeks. In the event that a partnership has given the other team at least 2 days to choose from in the specified time frame and the date still cannot be decided, both teams will be defaulted.
• If the temperature is above 95 degrees or below 45 degrees at the court at match time and both Captains agree, the match may be played. Once a match has begun it must be completed except in the event of rain. If the match is not played due to the temperature, the captains and players should make arrangements to complete the match within two weeks.
• A match can only be rescheduled if it rains or there are extreme weather conditions (heat/cold/potential hurricane).
• Rescheduled matches are to be made up within two weeks.
• Once a day for rescheduling has been set, it cannot be changed (unless it rains). The party that is unable to play on that day will retire that line.
• If the Final match is rained out, it must be completed within one week.

Additional Information:

• Palm Tennis rules govern play. In cases not specifically covered by these rules, USTA Rules govern play.
• Palm Tennis reserves the right to make any rule modifications and/or other changes during the course of the league whenever it deems such action necessary and proper.
• Palm Tennis reserves the right to ban any player, coach, spectator, or participant from further participation for an indefinite time period due to any misconduct and/or unsportsmanlike conduct.
• Pros/Captains are responsible for assuring that players are placed on teams appropriate for their level.
• Current tennis teaching professionals and ranked players may not participate unless approved by the League Directors.
• Refunds are not offered once the schedules have been published.
• All grievances and protests are to be submitted in writing via email within 2 days of the contested match to:orly@palmtennis.com.

Awards:

Awards will be given to the two teams in each division with the greatest point total at the end of the season.

Palm Tennis Management Group LLC reserves the right to exclude any player from participating in any associated team or league.