Palo Alto Tennis Club

Complete Ladder Rules

Rules Summary

Complete

1. Eligibility: All players on the ladders must be members of the PATC.

2. Ladder Organization

2.1 All ladders shall be of the vertical type.

2.2 The singles ladders shall consist of a men's and a women's division.

2.3 The doubles ladders shall consist of three divisions: Mixed, Men's, and Women's.

2.4 The position of the participants on the ladders is determined by their records in the ladder matches.

2.5 The current Master Ladders will be maintained at the PATC website, if available, and if not, by the Ladder Chair.

3. Participating and Movement on the Ladders

3.1 Joining

3.1.1 After checking at the PATC website, if available, and if not, the Ladder Chair, newcomers may challenge any of the bottom 7 players, of any singles or doubles ladder.
3.1.2 Newcomers who lose 2 successive challenge matches on a ladder will be placed at the bottom of that ladder.
3.1.3 New partnerships (Doubles): If one member of an existing team should drop out, the remaining member may obtain a new partner and still retain the original pair ranking. Substitution of partners (Doubles): If one member of a team goes inactive, another partner may substitute for that inactive period. The same substitute must be used during any single ladder period.
3.1.4 Each team after being placed on the ladder may make 4 wild card challenges (challenge anyone on the ladder) per calendar year.

3.2 Advancing. It is the responsibility of the challenger to check at the PATC website, if available, and if not, the Ladder Chair, before making a challenge to be sure it is a legitimate one. A participant may advance on a ladder by challenging and defeating in match play, or by match default, a player in a position up to 7 places above (excluding inactive players) the challenger's current position at the time the challenge is made. If by the time the match is played, more than 7 places separate the challenger and the person being challenged, and the challenger wins, he would still advance to the current position of the person being challenged, assuming, of course, that the challenge was legitimate.

3.3 Removal from a ladder

3.3.1 Ladder participants will have four months from their last ladder match played to play another ladder match or they risk being dropped from that particular ladder.

4. Challenges

4.1 All challenges must be played off within 60 days of the challenge.

4.2 If the challenge cannot be played within this time period, a technical default (see Rule 6.2) will be called regardless of the reasons for not being able to play.

4.3 A match postponed due to rain may be rescheduled by the challenger on the day it was rained out for play within a 30 day period.

4.4 Members of the ladders who will not be available for two weeks or more must request an Inactive Status (see Rule 6.3) by notifying the Ladder Chair. Failure to notify the Ladder Chair of an Inactive Status may result in technical defaults if a person is unavailable for challenges. It is not proper to respond to a challenge by becoming Inactive; in this case, the challenged player must first accept a technical default.

4.5 All ladder players must make time available to accept at least one weekend challenge match for each ladder period. If a weekend match cannot be scheduled, notify the Ladder Chair to determine if a technical default is in order.

5. Match Rules

5.1 The player challenged has the ultimate right to determine the place of play; however, the time should be mutually agreeable to both participants. All matches must be played on Palo Alto public courts, except by mutual agreement of the players to play on another court.

5.2 A technical default may be called 15 minutes after the scheduled time, if one player is not present.

5.3 The challenger must furnish three new matching tennis balls (USTA-approved) for the match.

5.4 A match shall consist of two out of three sets with a twelve-point tiebreaker if a set score reaches
6-6. By mutual agreement, a 3rd set 10 point tiebreaker may be played.

5.5 If court time has expired and others are waiting for a court (or if the match is interrupted by rain, darkness or other factors beyond both players' control): Players should make arrangements to complete the match within 30 days at a mutually agreeable time and place. When play is resumed the game/set scores shall be the same as when the play was interrupted.

5.6 A match default may be called if one side cannot complete the match play.

5.7 Results of the match, including names of participants, date played, and set scores, must be reported by the winner to the PATC website, if available, and if not, to the Ladder Chair by mail or telephone within 4 days of the match. If mailed, postmark must be within the 4-day period. Failure to report match may result in a technical default.

5.8 Challenge matches shall be played in accordance with the Official Rules of the United States Tennis Association.

6. Definition of Terms

6.1 Match Default: Failure of one side to complete the match is scored as a loss of match by the defaulting side.
6.2 Technical Default: Failure to accept a challenge, or to play off the challenge within the specified time period. Failure of the winner of the match to report to the Ladder Chair within 4 days. Failure of one player to be present for the match within 15 minutes after the scheduled time. If the person challenged receives the technical default, the challenger shall advance to the position of the defaulted player.
6.3 Inactive Status: Players who, for reasons of health, extended absence, etc., will not be available for matches, for a period of two weeks or more, may request an Inactive Status by notifying the Ladder Chair by telephone or mail, giving a future date when he will be active. If the player wishes to extend his inactive date he shall notify the Ladder Chair prior to the original date given. If the inactive player wishes to become active again before the end of his inactive date, he shall notify the Ladder Chair. Inactive players will be denoted by "i" on the ladders and will retain their positions on the ladders; however, inactive status does not prevent a player from being removed from the ladder in accordance with Rule 3.3, as stated. Active players below an inactive player may challenge above as though he were not on the ladder.
6.4 Ladder period: A ladder period runs from the latest publication date of Netnotes to the next.

7. In the absence of a Ladder Chair, a participant or newcomer may contact the Ladder Director. Any problem that the participants cannot resolve with the help of the Ladder Chair will be referred to the Ladder Director. The Ladder Director's decision may be appealed to the PATC Board.

8. Courtesy and good sportsmanship shall prevail at all times.

9. The purpose of these rules is to facilitate ladder play.

DOCUMENT HISTORY:

Adopted June 21, 1967.
Revised August 4, 1975.
Revised June 15, 1976.
Revised November 2, 1978.
Revised November 11, 1982.
Revised February 2, 1989.
Revised March 3, 2005