Newsletter #7

Hello everyone

We are midway through the playoffs part of session I. For some reason, number of matches played usually drops significantly during this phase each year. Past week we had 10 forfeits out of 28 scheduled matches. Injuries contributed to this as well, we have 5 players who are still on the schedule but they will have to forfeit all their reminding matches.

Session II

It looks like we have 45 players signed up for session II in the men's/co-ed league. Sixteen players who played session I, won't be able to play session II. We got 5 new players that haven't competed in the league before.

Hopefully we will get 3 more, and end up with 48 which would be a good number for our format. We would be able to create 6 divisions with 8 players in each. Since we are losing good number of people who played session I , some players will be bumped up a level if they desire to do so. For example , we are losing 2 players who qualified to play division I , so most likely whoever wins 9th and 10th place will be able to move up to D1 if they want.

Session II will have a round robin format, you will get to play everyone in your division once.

Your feedback

I am getting a lot of positive feedback about the league this year. It's very nice to hear that it has been an enjoyable experience for so many players. Thank you all for your dedication , commitment, and help spreading the word about this competition.

I also wanted to thank Dave P and Ashley for helping me input scores this session. It worked out well, and I am sure everyone is appreciating their efforts and time they committed to this.

The Code

Here is a copy of a code of conduct for tennis matches when officials are not present. This is passed to USTA captains and I thought it would be nice to pass it to you as a reference.

PLAYERS’ GUIDE FOR MATCHES WHEN OFFICIALS ARE NOT PRESENT

The Code is not part of the official ITF Rules of Tennis. Players shall follow The Code in all unofficiated matches.

Courtesy is expected. Tennis is a game that requires cooperation and courtesy from all participants. The game of tennis is more fun when an opponent’s good shots are praised. It is not so much fun when:

• Loud postmortems are conducted after points;

• Complaints are made about shots like lobs or drop shots;

• Weak opponents are embarrassed by a player’s being overly gracious or condescending;

• Tempers are lost, vile language is used, rackets are thrown, or balls are slammed in anger; or

• Sulking occurs when losing.

Opponent gets benefit of doubt. When a match is played without officials, the players are responsible for making decisions, particularly for line calls. There is a subtle difference between player decisions and those of an on-court official. An official impartially resolves a problem involving a call, whereas a player is guided by the unwritten rule that any doubt must be resolved in favor of an opponent. A player in attempting to be scrupulously honest on line calls frequently will keep a ball in play that might have been out or that the player discovers too late was out. Even so, the game is much better played this way.

Out calls reversed. A player who calls a ball out shall reverse the call if the player becomes uncertain or realizes that the ball was good. The point goes to the opponent and is not replayed. However, when a receiver reverses a fault call on a serve that hit the net, the server is entitled to two serves.

Partners’ disagreement on calls. If one partner calls the ball out and the other partner sees the ball good, they shall call it good. It is more important to give opponents the benefit of the doubt than to avoid possibly hurting a partner’s feelings. The tactful way to achieve the desired result is to tell a partner quietly of the mistake and then let the partner concede the point.

Time between points: 20 seconds; Time on a change over: 90 seconds; Set break: 120 seconds;

After the first game of each set and during a tie-break game, play shall be continuous and without a rest. Players may take a sip of water but not sit down.

I would also add to this that players should bring a new can of balls to all matches. Use one can to play the match with and offer the unopened one to the winner.

So long for now , good luck in your next matches and have fun out there.