BYLAWS/TENNIS
10.1
SCHEDULE
10.1-1 Boys tennis will be a spring sport. Girl’s tennis will be a fall sport.
10.1-2 Boys tennis will be played on the same day as baseball. Girls Tennis will be played on
the same day as volleyball
10.1-3 A tennis match requiring postponement will be rescheduled.
10.1-4 The host school will make the final decision on the postponement of a match due to
inclement weather. Matches must be made up on the first available open date.
10.1-5 When the singles or doubles match is called off due to inclement weather or darkness,
said match will be resumed at the earliest date which is mutually agreeable to both
coached with the exact score as set at the last completed game.
a. When the match is resumed the same lineup must be used. In the absence
of a player the individual match which the absent player was involved in
must be forfeited. No substitute may be used.
10.1-6 If a player is late for a match and the coach thinks the player will be there, then the
fifteen-minute default rule will apply. No match at his number or below will begin
before: a) he/she arrives; b) it is 3:45. If the player is a no show, the other players must
be moved up on the roster in order of the ladder. (Refer to rule 10.2-8)
10.1-7 The number of contests in which a team may participate must be in agreement with the
Sac-Joaquin Section Rule 519.1 (See General Rule 0.13).
10.1-8 If during a match, one of the players asks for a linesman, a player or assistant/head
coach from each team will be chosen by the head coach and positioned at each net
post. Each linesman will be responsible for line calls, only when appealed by the current
players, on the sidelines or service boxes nearest their positions.
10.2
GAME ADMINISTRATION
10.2-1 Teams must field (6) singles players and (3) doubles teams for conference matches.
10.2-2 No-ad scoring will be used in all contests. All matches must be played as best two out of
three matches with a full third set if the overall contest is still in doubt. Once one team
has won the overall contest- all remaining matches which go to a third set will use a
super-tie breaker (first to 10 by 2) in lieu of the third set.
10.2-3 The best player shall at all times play as the first single player. The 1st through 5th singles
positions must be played in order of your team’s ladder. Each coach shall establish a
boys and girls ladder of their players in ranking order. Ladders will be emailed to the
league representative before the beginning of each of the three rounds of league play.
Once ladders are emailed to the league rep they may not be changed until the next
round starts. Positions on the ladder shall be determined by the player’s ability and the
results of inter-squad challenge matches. The number 1 boy and girl must play #1
singles; the number 2 boy and girl must play #2 singles and so on through #5 singles.
The #6 singles can be played by anyone on the ladder who is below the #5 position. The
doubles teams will be played by any combination of players below #5 on the ladder.
However, your #1 doubles team must be better than your #2 doubles team and your #2
doubles team must be better than your #3 doubles team. A player may not move up
the ladder more than three (3) spots between league rounds unless: The coach must
petition the League Rep who will poll the remaining coaches with a simple majority
necessary to move more than three spots. A tie vote in this process will result in the
player not being allowed to move more than three spots.
10.2-4 A position on the ladder (individual school’s lineup) may not be earned by default. Once
a challenge match is started, a winner must be determined from said match. Players
can only challenge up one spot at time on the ladder. A school’s ladder will remain the
same for each round of league play.
10.2-5 A player’s position on the ladder may not be lowered as a disciplinary action by the
coach (This includes absences, inappropriate court behavior, player conduct, etc.). A
player’s position on the ladder cannot be lowered due to illness or injury (player must
play in his ladder position or not play).
10.2-6 If it is discovered that an ineligible player has competed in a match, the entire contest is
forfeited. Final score will read 9-0 for the other team.
10.2-7 The winning school in tennis shall be that which has won the greatest number of team
matches during a season. A team match is a series of nine (9) matches between schools.
If two schools are tied for first, both teams will be named co-champions. Playoff seeding
will be determined by head to head results if each team has played each other three
times. If each school plays each other only twice and two schools are tied for first, and
there is time for a playoff, home court advantage will be determined by the number of
sets won from the two conference matches. If sets are tied, number of games won will
be counted. If still tied, a coin flip will be used. This system will also be used if there is no
time left for playoffs, or if there is a tie for second and only two teams go to Sac-Joaquin
Section Playoffs.
10.2-8 A lineup giving the order of ability for singles and doubles players must be exchanged
simultaneously by the coaches prior to the conference matches, and the 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
singles players may not be forfeited. Number six (6) singles may be played by any team
member. If a player is absent from singles, all players must move up the ladder to fill in
for the positions. For example, if your #1 singles is missing, #2 becomes #1, #3 becomes
#2 and so on through #5 singles. This means that if you are missing two of your top six
players you may have to break up your #1 doubles team and move a player to singles.
Any forfeits in singles must start at #6 singles. After the first five singles, any
combination of players may be used for doubles, provided the first doubles team is
stronger than the second and the second doubles stronger than the third. If a player is
absent from doubles a coach may use his own discretion on substitution as long as the
above rules are followed. Any forfeits in doubles begin at #3 doubles.
10.2-10 SIDELINE COACHING
a. When the players change sides and/or between sets, the coach may confer with
the team players for a maximum of 90 seconds. Change time will be enforced;
b. Players must play two sets before taking a break, which shall not be longer than
ten minutes.
c. Injured players are limited to a total of fifteen minutes recovery time before
defaulting. Injury time is cumulative during a match.
d. The home coach is responsible for game control.
e. Each team may only have two coaches which are designated to coach athletes
on change-overs. A team with more than two coaches must identify the two
who will physically coach change-overs before the match.
f.
Players may not coach other players during a match or on switch-overs.
g. All calls must be made by the players on the court. Opposing coaches, parents
and players outside the match should not interfere. A coach may override a bad
call of one of their own players if they determine a mistake has been made.
10.2-11 The Home coach has complete authority to assign singles and doubles match to any
court.
10.2-12 Players are encouraged to limit their warm-ups before each match to five minutes.
10.2-13 Play will be governed by the USTA Rules unless otherwise noted. When a set is tied at 66 (all) the 12-point tiebreaker will be used.
10-3
EQUIPMENT
The home coach has the discretion of providing or not providing new balls at the beginning of
the third set. Only USTA approved tennis balls may be used in competition.
10-4
LEAGUE TOURNAMENT10.4-1 At the end of the season a league tournament will be held for both singles and doubles.
The purpose of the league tournament is for individual advancement to the Sac-Joaquin
Section tournament. The SCAC league tournament is not a team event like our league
match are. Therefore, the league tournament will have no bearing on all-league voting.
Each team 1st through 4th place will be permitted to bring 3 singles players and 3 doubles
teams to participate in the tournament. 5th and 6th place will only be allowed to bring 2
singles players and two doubles teams to participate in the tournament. Each team
must bring a can of balls for each entry in the tournament.
10.4-2 Singles through the semi-finals will be held on the first day of the tournament. The
singles final and all doubles will be held on the second day of the tournament. Players
who competed in the singles tournament and who do not qualify for the section
tournament may play doubles on the second day.
10.4-3 Seeding will take place on the morning of each tournament prior to play. Draw sheets
will be completed at this time. Nominations for All-League players will take place on the
first morning of the tournament. Coaches and players must be present and prepared to
play in order to be included in the official draw. Doubles teams should be seeded to
their ability.
10.4-4 Winners and finalists of the tournament will be the league representatives for the Sac
Joaquin Section individual section tournament as defined by the section.
10.4-5 ALL-LEAGUE
a. The All-Conference players shall be determined by coaches’ nomination of their
own players and then the voting of coaches for players other than their own. 9
boys and 9 girls will receive all league status by gaining the most votes from
league coaches other than their own. Each coach will vote for 9 boys and 9 girls
with their top pick getting 9 points, their second pick getting 8 and so on down
to their last pick getting 1 point. Points will be added up and the 9 greatest point
winners among both boys and girls will receive All-Conference status and
receive patches. The top point getter for both boys and girls will be named
League M.V.P. Any player receiving points but not in the top seven shall be
awarded honorable mention. At the end of the voting process each coach can
award one of their players honorable mention regardless if the player received a
vote or not.