Challenge Ladder Rules

  1. Participants may only challenge any player positioned up to 6 places higher or up to 4 places lower on the ladder.
  2. Matches may be played either outdoors, or if both players agree, indoors.
  3. Players must confirm with each other the agreed upon location, day, and time the day before the match to avoid awkward situations like going to the courts on the wrong day, the wrong time, or the wrong location.
  4. If playing indoors, players will split the cost of indoor court time and any guest fees equally. Players should try to select a club where there are no guest fees for either player and where total costs are minimized. Most clubs including Woburn and Winchester have lower court fees during the summer months. (FYI, Tennis4All has a contract agreement with Winchester where members can play without paying guest fees. Players should mention Tennis4All when booking and paying for the court at Winchester.) If playing at a club other than Winchester and one player is a member of the club and the other is not and must pay a guest fee, the two players should split the guest fee.
  5. Both players are responsible for providing an unopened can of yellow tennis balls. The winner gets to keep the unopened can.
  6. If a player is more than 10 minutes late, the late player shall forfeit 1 game for every 5 minutes he or she is late after the first ten minutes.
  7. If a player must cancel, the player should try to cancel at least 24 hours in advance and MUST give the other player at least 4 hours notice. If canceling the day of the match, the canceling player should CALL the other player, not just email or text, and get confirmation that their message was received. If the a player cancels within 4 hours, the other player shall be awarded a default win. If any court costs have been incurred due to the cancellation and the other player cannot use the court, the canceling player must pay the full cost of the court time.
  8. Players may warm-up for up to 15 minutes. There is no time limit to the matches. If players are unable to finish the match due to weather conditions, light, or court availability, players should reschedule the match. However, players may agree in advance that the winner shall be the person who has the most total games at the end of the available court time (90 minutes or more).
  9. Players may not have more than two matches scheduled at a time. If a player challenges a second player and wins, and the second player moves on the ladder between the time of the challenge and the match, the first (winning) player will assume the new position of the second player.
  10. Participants who are challenged have two weeks to accept the challenge and schedule a match unless injured or on vacation (and the challenge ladder director has been notified ahead of time of the injury or vacation). The challenger is awarded a default win if the challenged player cannot play the ladder match within the 2-week period.
  11. If a player issues a challenge to someone who already has two matches scheduled, challenger may request to be next in line for a challenge.
  12. Two players may not challenge each other (in either direction) more than once a week, or until one of the two players has played someone else, whichever comes first.
  13. Matches played for any other purpose (e.g., singles league) cannot be counted toward the challenge ladder.

Scoring Rules

  1. Play will use ad scoring (“deuce”).
  2. Winner will be decided by winning two out of three regular-scoring sets with standard tiebreaker played at at 6-6. The tiebreaker will be first to 7 by 2
  3. If both players agree in advance, any shorter match format can be used. Examples:
    • 3rd set super-tiebreak
    • no-ad scoring
    • one-ad scoring
    • 8-game pro set
    • 10-game pro set
  4. If time runs out and players have agreed in advance, the winner shall be the player with the most total number of games (90 minutes or longer). If the final buzzer rings during a game that will determine the outcome of the match, players should finish the game. If you are unable to finish the game then the game is awarded to the player who is ahead, if tied then the match is a tie.
  5. If tied in number of games, both players will earn one point and retain their original ladder positions.
  6. The winner must notify the ladder director of match results within 24 hours by email with the following information: (i) date of the match, (ii) who issued the challenge, and (iii) match score.
  7. Players shall be awarded the following points:
    • 1 point for accepting a challenge
    • 2 points for issuing a challenge
    • 3 points for winning the match
    • 1 point each for a tie
    • 2 points for a default win

Exemption Rules

  1. Players may request leaves of absence of up to three weeks from the ladder for the purposes of injury, work, or vacation without losing their ladder position. Players must email the ladder director to request this.
  2. If a player requests a leave of absence totaling more than three weeks, the player may stay on the ladder, but will be required to reenter the ladder at the 11th, 21st, or 31st position, similar to new players.
  3. Players on leave will be noted in the ladder and will not be counted for purposes of challenging 4 spots up or 2 spots down.