Bay Area Tennis Association

BATA – Bay Area Tennis Association

P.O. Box 851502

Mobile, AL 36685-1502

Adult League Rules

(Updated June 2022)

I. Purpose

1. The Bay Area Tennis Association (BATA) is established for the purpose of promoting recreational tennis throughout the Mobile Bay area.

2. BATA will strive to create a sense of fellowship among tennis players and hospitality among the tennis clubs and public courts.

3. The intent of BATA is that all persons are given the opportunity to compete against other players of similar ability. This rule will strongly guide all BATA leagues.

II. Definitions

1. Pair: Two persons assigned to play a doubles match against a pair from another team.

2. Match: A tennis singles or doubles event between two players or two pairs.

3. Dual Meet: A series of matches between the counterpart players or pairs of two teams scheduled by BATA as part of BATA’s League Play.

4. Team: The set of players listed on an approved roster for BATA League Competition.

5. League: An announced schedule of Dual Meets among BATA teams in competition designed to determine team champions based on play during that schedule.

6. Level: Ability levels into which teams are grouped for league play.

7. Division: A sub-grouping of teams within each level.

8. NTRP: National Tennis Rating Program of the U.S. Tennis Association. Deions in Paragraph VIII are an aid to establishing ratings.

9. USTA Rules: The current printing of Tennis and Cases and Decisions.

10. The CODE: The current printing of The CODE by N. E. Powell. This specifies standards of acceptable tennis customs and behavior to guide the ethics of BATA match play.

11. Default: The forfeiture of a match or matches by failing to be present for play not later than 20 minutes from the scheduled starting time.

12. Forfeiture: The automatic loss of a match and the points attendant thereto where expressly provided herein for a violation of these rules.

13. Penalty: The loss of points or other action expressly imposed by these rules or by the League Vice-President for a violation of these rules.

14. BBD: Bata Board of Directors. See Paragraph VII.

III. Membership

1. Registration fees will be charged for each season. The amount will be determined by the BATA Board of Directors (BBD). Registration fees are neither refundable nor transferable.

2. Participation in BATA leagues will be on a team basis. The home team must provide tennis courts (as its courts) on the day or night of league play.

3. A player may play in only one match per dual meet.

4. If a player in his/her first ever BATA season finds himself/herself substantially misplaced, he/she may request to be placed on another team prior to the third (3rd) week of the season.

5. Each team will have a designated Team Captain and/or Co-Captain who are members of the team.

6. BATA will record and maintain a PAR rating for each member. Ratings will be updated each season.

7. Prior to joining BATA, players will have their rating determined based on various information utilized by the appropriate League Vice President (LVP) and/or other means available to help determine the rating. Any player’s rating is protestable during their first season of BATA play.

8. All players must be 19 years of age to participate in the BATA Adult Leagues.

9. All players must complete a Player Profile Sheet (PPS), available on the BATA website, before playing in their first BATA match. The completed and signed PPS must be submitted and approved by the appropriate LVP to be eligible to play. Any player registering for a team without a valid Play Profile Sheet will be disqualified. If a player participates in a league match while in disqualified status the match will be recorded as a forfeit. It can take up to 72 hours for a player account to made active.

IV. Leagues

1. Teams are entered into league play by submitting a roster with a minimum of 10 players to the BATA website on or before the announced deadline dates. Registration fees are paid electronically at the time of registration for persons playing during the current season.

2. Players may only play on a team at their level or one level above their current rating. Any further exceptions will be outlined by the LVP.

3. Schedules are available on the website.

4. A player is eligible for playoffs if he/she plays at least one (1) regular season match. A forfeit will not count as a match played.

5. Leagues will be directed by an LVP. The LVP will oversee scheduling, team placement, scorekeeping, league play, and playoffs (if any). He/she will make decisions on issues not covered by the rules and impose appropriate penalties where needed.

6. Team Captains may file protests to the LVP in writing, which must be received within forty-eight (48) hours following the dual meet under protest. The LVP will act on the protest within forty-eight (48) hours from its receipt. Captains may file appeals of the LVP’s actions within forty-eight (48) hours from the date of the notification of the decision. Such appeals must be filed with the BATA President and will be considered by the BBD within seven (7) days.

7. The LVP will announce the winning teams at the end of each season. Ties are resolved in the following order.

1. head to head match points won

2. season record

3. season sets won

4. season games won

5. coin toss

8. In the event that a team forfeits all five points, all previous matches played by this team will be non-events, and the team will be out of the league for the rest of the season.

V. Dual Meets

1. Each Dual Meet between two BATA teams will consist of 4 matches (in some divisions, the Dual Meet may consist of 3 matches).

2. If a player not on an official BATA roster plays in a Dual Meet, his/her team forfeits only the court involved.

3. Unless courts are unplayable, matches must be played on the date and at the place scheduled. A decision that courts are unplayable may not be made in advance of the match time without prior permission of the LVP, or agreement between both Captains. If the temperature is below 35 degrees at the time of the Dual Meet, the matches may be rescheduled.

4. Visiting teams are guests of the home team and pay no guest fees. Home teams must provide a new can of balls for each match. The home team Captain should contact the visiting team Captain prior to the meet to confirm the time of play.

5. The team Captain or his designee must be present at the designated starting time to exchange scorecards with the official lineup for each match.

6. If team members in the lineup are not present, substitutions may be made prior to the start of the match from other members of the official team roster. After twenty (20) minutes from the designated starting time, matches must be defaulted. When default occurs, one pair must be present in order to win the point, although this does not apply to individually scheduled make-up matches.

7. In the event of postponement due to circumstances beyond the control of the players (rain, power failure, lightning):

a. Completed matches stand as played. Incomplete matches will be resumed at the exact point at which play ended. The same players must be used or the match must be retired.

b. Teams should be prepared to wait thirty (30) minutes if interrupted by rain to see if courts will be playable.

c. Matches postponed due to weather must be completed before the next scheduled match. If weather again forces rescheduling, the Dual Meet may again be rescheduled any time during the following week. If weather again causes rescheduling, or in the event of multiple matches to be made up on the same day, the team Captains will work out an agreeable schedule of make-up matches with the teams affected. If the Captains are unable to agree on a certain time and date, the LVP should be notified, and a decision will be reached with the assistance of the LVP.

d. Pairs may schedule play at separate times, or all together on a mutually agreed make-up. Once both Captains or both pairs agree on a time for the make-up match, then rules apply to the match just as if it were a regularly scheduled BATA match. In particular, neither side may change the time and place of the match except due to unplayable conditions.

8. At the conclusion of the Dual Meet, both Team Captains will confirm scores. Both captains are responsible for reporting the scores on the BATA website within forty-eight (48) hours.

9. In a 4-match Dual Meet, a fifth (5th) point will be awarded to the team winning the most games. In cases of a forfeit or a default, the match will be scored 6-0, 6-0. In case of a tie in games, the players in the last match to finish will play a set tiebreak (the first to 7 by 2 points) to determine the awarding of the fifth point. If a player must retire, the score will stand at the time of retirement. A game in progress will be awarded to the non-retiring player(s).

10. If rule violations are observed by the Team Captain, they must be reported in writing to the LVP within forty-eight (48) hours of the occurrence. See IV.6.

VI. Match Rules

1. Matches will be the best 2 out of 3 sets with all ties broken at 6-all through a set tiebreak (the first to 7 points winning by 2), unless altered by the LVP. BATA League play will follow the Coman tiebreak procedure. The winner of any match earns one (1) point for the team.

2. If there is a contention that one competitor is foot-faulting, the player in question must first be given a warning. The Team Captain may be requested to provide an impartial observer on the sideline to make the calls of a foot fault.

3. If there is a doubt whether a ball is in or out, the ball is IN.

4. Coaching by spectators or teammates is not allowed.

5. All warm-ups must be completed before play begins, including serves.

6. If a ball touches a player or his racquet before hitting the ground, it is considered to be in-bounds.

7. If a serve is out, the ball should not be intentionally returned over the net.

VII. Operation of BATA

1. A “BATA Board of Directors” (BBD) is established to govern BATA. It consists of the BATA Officers listed in VII.3, and the Past President. The BBD elects and supervises officers, maintains BATA rules, adopts an annual budget, sets fees, monitors expenditures, and acts on proper written appeals by BATA members of officer actions. The BBD will meet at least four (4) times a year as scheduled by the President. It will elect officers annually.

2. Organizations that belong to BATA are Medal of Honor Park (Cottage Hill), Lake Forest, Lakewood, Lyons Park, Mirror Lake, Mobile Country Club, Oakwood, Point Clear Tennis Club, Heron Lakes Country Club, Mobile Tennis Center, Timbercreek, Fairhope Stimpson Field, Lott Park and Spanish Fort Spirit Park.

3. The officers are the President, Past President, Vice-President of Administration, Vice-Presidents of Men, Mixed, and Ladies Leagues, and Secretary/Treasurer. These officers are elected from a slate presented by the nominating committee and are voted on by the current BBD. Membership in BATA does not include voting privileges. Only Board members shall have the right to vote in all matters concerning BATA.

VIII. NTRP Ratings

All members of BATA will be rated on the NTRP scale as follows:

2.5 This player has more dependable strokes and is learning to judge where the ball is going; has weak court coverage or is often caught out of position, but is starting to keep the ball in play with other players of the same ability.

3.0 This player can place shots with moderate success; can sustain a rally of slow pace but is not comfortable with all strokes; lacks control when trying for power.

3.5 This player has achieved stroke dependability and direction on shots within reach, including forehand and backhand volleys, but still lacks depth and variety; seldom double faults and occasionally forces errors on the serve.

4.0 This player has dependable strokes on both forehand and backhand sides, has the ability to use a variety of shots including lobs, overheads, approach shots and volleys; can place the first serve and force some errors; is seldom out of position in doubles game.

4.5 This player has begun to master the use of power and spins; has sound footwork; can control depth of shots and is able to move opponent up and back; can hit first serves with power and accuracy; and place the second serve; is able to rush net with some success on serve in singles as well as doubles.

5.0 This player has good shot anticipation; frequently has an outstanding shot or exceptional consistency around which a game may be structured; can regularly hit winners or force errors off of short balls; can successfully execute lobs, drop shots, half volleys and overhead smashes; has good depth and spin on most second serves.

5.5 This player can execute all strokes offensively and defensively; can hit dependable shots under pressure, is able to analyze opponents’ styles and can employ patterns of play to assure the greatest possibility of winning points; can hit winners or force errors with both first and second serves. Return of serve can be an offensive weapon.

Revised June 2022

2024 Combo Information

Player Profile Sheet