Ann Arbor Tennis Club: Sunday Doubles Rules

League Objective

The Ski Club Tennis League is first and foremost a social activity. The league is not intended to serve as an extended tennis tournament. The ladder system of court assignments is designed to provide a compatible level of play for best enjoyment of all players on all courts. Don't be carried by the "win" and "lose" columns - consider any night when you had good time and no injuries as a "win".

COVID procedures

Follow up any posted Chippewa procedures and signs

Scoring System

Play 3 sets of 7 games with each of the 3 other partners. Players with 2 highest combined (over 3 sets) scores win. If all games are played, sum of combined scores for all 4 players should equal 42. Please make sure that you accurately recorded your score before you leave. The scores on the same court are either ALL EVEN or ALL ODD (before substracting a point for subs)

Reporting Scores

Use the AATC app below to report the game scores within two days to expedite court scheduling for next week
  • AATC (Android)
  • Ann Arbor Tennis Club App (Android and Iphone)
    • You can also email scores to aatennisclub@gmail.com

    Order of Pairing Up

    The first set of 7 games: the highest seated player plays with the lowest seated player
    The second set of 7 games: the highest seated player plays with the second lowest seated player
    The third set of 7 games: the highest seated player plays with the second highest seated player

    Order of Serving

    Spin for serve on first two sets to keep it random since one team serves 4 times and the other - 3 times. For the last set - if there is only one player who did not get to be on the team with 4 service games - his/her team gets to serve 4 times. Otherwise - spin for serve again.

    Court Assignments

    The winners on the UP court move up a court, the losers on the DOWN court move down a court, locations of UP and DOWN courts change every week. Generally, it takes two consequent losses to move down or two consequent wins to move up. The schedule with court designations and assignments is posted     here and a hard copy is brought to the game.

    Warm-Ups

    If the courts are open before the official start - it may be possible to use these courts for warm up as long as the rules below are followed:
    1. Do not exceed four players per court
    2. Do not cross any courts during play or between points - wait for an end of game
    3. Do keep the warm-up quiet as not to disturb any matches that may be on-going
    4. Remember - we are guests of the club and should follow the club rules

    No-Shows and Late Shows

    If only three people show up then you still should play 3 sets of 7 games playing 2 against 1 (the one player serves 4 times). The no-shows get "0" score. If a player is more than 10 minutes late to the start of the match, the other players have the option of forfeiting the late person's score.

    Injuries or Defaults

    First of all - let's hope that nobody gets hurt. However, if a player retires from the court before the rotation is complete - the rest of the games 3 times 7 still need to be played out. The player whose partner retires has the choice of finding a sub or continuing alone (1 against 2). A new sub will be given a 5-minute warm up. This may seem unfair, but it is a better option than stopping play early or defaulting the player without a partner)

    AUDIBLE OBSCENITY and BALL or RACQUET ABUSE

    Players shall not use audible obscenity (spoken clearly and loudly enough to be heard by the club officials or cause complains from other players). Players shall not violently or with anger hit, kick or throw a tennis ball except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match (including warm-up). Players shall not violently or with anger hit, kick or throw a racquet or other equipment.
    If a violation occurs - the player shall be penalised a score point. Repeated violations would result in loss of good standing and ineligibility to participate in tennis leaugue

    Subs

    Please arrange for a sub if you can't come, please let organizers know if you can't come and can't find a sub so that they find one for you to avoid empty courts. See the list of subs and please ask people with the skill level similar to yours to keep games even. Subs' score is reduced by one point. If all the regular players on the sub's court feel that the skill level of the sub was much higher than appropriate for their court level (for example the sub wins with everybody by a margin > 1 game) they can appeal to disqualify the sub's score completely.

    Exhibition Weeks

    If a Sunday falls on a date of a major holiday, sport event, or other memorable occasion for many players (such as Easter, Superbowl, Thanksgiving) so that more than 25% of the players are not expecting to be present - the scores for the week would not count. Instead the week would be considered "exhibition week" with players either self-arranging on courts or being scheduled randomly on the spot without recording the scores.

    Finishing up

    If your game runs a little late (1 or 2 games), please try to finish within ~ 5 min -- you may consider switching to "no ad" games to speed it up (the receiving side gets to pick the direction of the serve and one point decides the game). If you are significantly late (more than 2 games) -- please try to figure out a way to resolve the score and assign winners within the allotted time.

    Game Rules

    For game rules please follow The Code: The Players’ Guide for Unofficiated Matches located at
    http://www.usta.com/rules/default.sps?iType=924&icustompageid=2518

    Line Calls

    You call the balls on your side of the court. Like it or not, the other side has to accept it. The Code states that you should call it "in" if you are not sure. (it is also a matter of courtesy and good sportsmanship). Remember, that it is "in" if it touches any part of a line, even the smallest portion. Also see "If partners disagree"

    If the other side is making bad line calls, you can gently remind them that if the ball touches the line it is in. Since we don't have any line judges, you have to accept their call. It is far better to accept the call than to rant and rave and get upset. You will shortly have this person as a partner, so you best keep it civil.

    If partners disagree (expanded)

    If partners disagree about the call (serve or during play) and the play was interrupted by their conflicting calls then:
    a) if the ball was not returned in play - they lose the point;
    b) if the ball was returned and play continued - the point is played out;
    c) if the ball was returned weakly but play stopped because of the conflicting calls - they still lose the point;
    d) if the ball was returned well but play stopped because of the conflicting calls - point is replayed.
    Basically, the opposing side can't lose a point because they stopped playing due to conflicting call (but they can also be nice and offer to replay the point per "d")

    Foot faults

    It is okay to call a foot fault on a server if the server steps into the court (including baseline) before the contact with the ball is made. The best person to call a foot-fault is the receiver's partner.

    Calling on yourself

    It is your responsibility (or your partner's) to call the following things on your own play: a) double bounces, b) touching the net, c) hitting the ball before it cleared the net over to your side, d) deliberate double hits, e) getting hit with the ball, and f) touching the opponent's court - so please be honest about it!