Rules

Rules & Guidance

No serious competition seems possible without formal rules!  We have plenty of them on the national, regional and local levels, as listed below:

2018 AATL Adult League Regulations

2018 SC MIXED DOUBLES REGULATIONS

2016 USTA League Regulations

2016 Southern USTA League Regulations

2016 South Carolina USTA League Regulations

2016 AATL Singles League Regulations

 

Tennis sportsmanship and etiquette guidelines may be found online in Friend at Court. These guidelines cover the size of the court, legal rackets, how to keep score, etc. They can come in handy when you find yourself in odd situations.  Click here for several examples of such tennis situations and the appropriate rule interpretations. Situations like these and others are covered in The Code, which is included in Friend at Court.  The Code is a summary of procedures and rules which custom and tradition dictate all players should follow.

Another useful USTA online feature is The Final Word, where members have received definitive rulings though Q&As with the USTA Director of Officials.  Also check out the CSRA Women’s League handy online Court Advisor.

What the heck is a Coman Tiebreak Procedure? If you have a SET TIE (6,6), the tiebreaker game is first to seven points, win by two. The first server serves one point from the deuce court. Immediately change ends of the court and the deuce court. The next server serves two points – add court followed by deuce court. Change ends of the court after these four points are played and every four points thereafter (i.e., after 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, etc.) until one player or doubles team reaches seven points and wins by two. If you have a MATCH TIE (both sides won a set), use the same format but play to ten, win by two.

Grievances & Appeals

Click here for information on procedures for filing grievances regarding the actions of USTA members or teams.  Click below to get a copy of the appropriate forms (in Microsoft Word) you can use for filing or appealing a grievance.
Local Grievance Form
Grievance Appeal Form
Championship Grievance Form

To learn how to appeal a bump in your NTRP rating, click here.

If you believe someone has abused their National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) self-rating, you may  file a complaint using the NTRP Grievance Protocol.

A medical appeal may be requested by a player for reconsideration of his/her NTRP rating based on a permanently disabling injury or illness that has occurred since the player generated the year-end or early-start NTRP Rating. Click here for more info and form (Microsoft Word document) on NTRP medical appeals.