Rules

Peoria Tennis Ladder - Rules for 2022

SAFETY ADVISORY

You are welcome to play at your own discretion and at your own risk.

The Peoria Tennis Ladder or the Coordinators will NOT be held responsible for any injuries sustained by the players during the match.

If the state or national guidelines develop that suggest tennis is inherently unsafe, or we have a stay-at-home order, then we reserve the right to shut down the league.

Please follow COVID-19 guidelines by wearing face-mask during non-playing time and social distancing.

GENERAL RULES

  1. A time and place for the match should be agreeable to all players/teams. If an agreement can’t be reached, the challenged player/team may choose the place to play. Any court costs must be mutually agreed to and should be shared equally.

  2. The challenger will provide new balls.

  3. A match suspended due to weather or darkness should be completed as soon as possible. It should resume at exactly the same point where it was suspended. Scheduling of the interrupted match, to the extent practical, should take precedence over the scheduling of any new matches. The suspended match is reported as being played on the date it is completed.

  4. Before the match begins, scoring and format must be agreed upon. The best of three sets using regular scoring is the default norm, but no-ad scoring may be used. A 10 point tie break may be played as the third set. Comen or regular tie break formats are acceptable. A single first-to-10 games (win by 2) Pro-Set* is also acceptable. Remember, if both cannot agree, then regular scoring is used.

Defaults and Withdrawals:

  1. If any player/team is late by more than 15 minutes or cancels a scheduled match less than 24 hours prior, the player/team will be deemed in default. This counts as a match and a win for the non-defaulting player/team. It will not count as a match for the player/team who defaulted.

  2. Withdrawal: Once a match has begun, if a player/team cannot continue, for any reason, the player/team must default. This is a win for their opponents and a loss for them. It counts as a match for both players/teams.

  3. ALL DEFAULT OR WITHDRAWAL SCORES MUST BE REPORTED DIRECTLY TO THE APPROPRIATE LADDER COORDINATOR (see the Contact Us page for the appropriate name and contact info). Default or withdrawal scores cannot be reported at the web site or on the ladder voice mail - doing so will result in the match not being counted as a match played for either player/team.

  4. The PTL Board reserves the right to review ladders and, if they feel that a player or team is more skilled than the ladder they are playing on, may ask them to move to a higher ladder or prohibit them from playing in the playoffs.

CHALLENGES

  1. You move up the ladder by challenging and winning over someone higher up the ladder. You may also challenge players below you in your division (in case you want more matches).

  2. If you play a ladder opponent in any other venue, such as the Cubs Tournament, USTA matches, or regular season leagues, you may count the match as a ladder match as long as both players/teams agree to do so before the match begins.

  3. Challenges may be issued by telephone or email or texts to the individuals. Emails/Messages to multiple opponents are invitations, not challenges. The Board recommends that all challenges be acknowledged and responded to the challenger; however, it is not a requirement to accept all challenges. Do not wait until near the end of the session to challenge, because by then many players’ schedules will be full.

  4. No more than 3 singles or 2 doubles matches may be counted towards qualifying for the playoffs if played against the same player or team unless there are fewer than 14 singles or 10 doubles entries in the given division.

REPORTING LADDER MATCHES

  1. Scores of matches must be reported by the winner within 24 hours via the internet at https://www.peoriatennisladder.com/report-a-match. If reported late, the match will be counted as a match played, but the winner (who is responsible for reporting) will not move up.

  2. Note: On the last day of the session, match results must be posted or called in by 10 PM.

  3. As noted earlier, ALL DEFAULT OR WITHDRAWAL SCORES MUST BE REPORTED DIRECTLY TO THE APPROPRIATE LADDER COORDINATOR (see the PTL home page for the proper name and telephone number), who will confirm with both players/teams. Default or withdrawal scores cannot be reported via the web site or on the ladder voice mail.

  4. It is your responsibility to keep a personal record of your matches, as sometimes mistakes are made and computer glitches occur.

LADDER UPDATES

  1. The database which controls the website ladder postings at www.peoriatennisladder.com. Ladders are updated at least twice a week. Access to the ladder listings is via the web.

PLAYOFFS

  1. The playoff schedule for the number of rounds in a ladder playoff will depend on the number of qualifiers in that ladder. This will be communicated at a later time when we know the number of players participating.


AWARDS

  1. All awards will be presented at the Clubs at River City. Date will be announced shortly.

  2. Awards will be given to the 1st and 2nd place playoff winners of each ladder division.

  3. The Iron Man Award is given to the individual man and woman player who played the most matches overall for the entire season.

  4. There may also be recognition of significant contributions to our ladder, to our organization, or to the sport of tennis in general.