Grading of Players

Rule 12

(A) Grading of players as submitted by Clubs will be reviewed by the LMC whose decision is final.

(B) Players registered with one team may not play for another team in the same or lower Division. No player shall be permitted to play in a lower Division than his/her grading indicates.

(C) A Club may on behalf of a player apply to LMC for re-grading. The application shall be accompanied by the player’s written consent and must be substantiated by valid reasons. An administration fee at such amount as the LMC may determine from time to time shall be charged for application of each player.

(D) For demoted teams, the grading of players who are registered as players on those teams and who have played in 2 or more matches for those teams will be those of the Divisions to which those teams are demoted, e.g. all players who have played in 2 or more matches in a team demoted from A Division to B Division will be designated as B players whatever their current grading may be. For promoted teams, the grading of players who are registered as players on those teams and have played in 2 or more matches for those teams will be those of the Divisions to which those teams are promoted.

The grading of A+ players may also be based on criteria other than their performance in League matches. A player will be graded A+ if any of the following conditions applies:

a) He is ranked in the top 20 in the HKCTA Men’s Singles Ranking, or

She is ranked in the top 15 in the HKCTA Women’s Singles Ranking.

b) He is ranked in the top 20 in the HKCTA Junior Boys’ Singles Ranking, or

She is ranked in the top 15 in the HKCTA Junior Girls’ Singles Ranking.

c) The player, in the opinion of the LMC, is at the A+ standard.

Similarly, players already graded A+ may, at the discretion of the LMC, be re-graded as A if none of the above conditions are met.

The grading of A players may also be based on criteria other than their performance in League matches. A player will be graded A if any of the following conditions applies:

a) He is ranked between 21 – 50 in the HKCTA Junior Boys’ Singles Ranking, or

She is ranked between 16 – 35 in the HKCTA Junior Girls’ Singles Ranking.

The grading of B players may also be based on criteria other than their performance in League matches. A player will be graded B if any of the following conditions applies:

a) He is ranked between 51 – 80 in the HKCTA Junior Boys’ Singles Ranking, or

She is ranked between 36 – 60 in the HKCTA Junior Girls’ Singles Ranking.

(E) Any player who has no current grading will be given a provisional grading. Any provisional grading is identified by an asterisk in the League Handbook. A provisional grading shall remain provisional until a player has played two or more matches in any one season.

(F) A provisionally graded player who has not played in any league matches in the season in which he/she has been given a provisional grading may apply to the LMC for provisional re-grading in a lower division, subject to fulfilling sub-clause (C) above.

(G) Provisionally graded players are subject to review and re-grading by the LMC at any time. Such re-grading decisions may immediately render provisionally graded players ineligible to continue to play in their current teams.

(H) For any player who holds or previously held a tennis world ranking(including ranking in any age group) or plays or had played or has been named as a playing member in any NCAA, Davis Cup or Fed Cup / Billie Jean King Cup match, the Tennis Convenor must declare this when submitting the application for registration of team. The player’s grading will be determined by the LMC. Any such player who has not been so declared shall be treated as an ineligible player referred to in Rule 17(C).

(I) Any Tennis Convenor may request a re-grading of any player from another club based on evidence of level of play.

Fixture List

Rule 13

(A) The date and location of every League match to be played shall be fixed by the LMC. The Fixture List shall be drawn up with details of participating Clubs and the names and telephone numbers of each Team Captain. These particulars shall be made available to each participating Club.

(B) Should any Club find it impossible to entertain two or more visiting teams simultaneously on the same day, the home team shall be responsible for providing an alternative venue.

Tennis Balls

Rule 14

The Home Team shall provide new balls for every scheduled fixture. Such balls may be of any standard make complying with the regulations of the International Tennis Federation.

Rules of Play

Rule 15

(A) For all League fixtures, the Home Team shall make the match courts available for warm-up not later than 7:00 p.m. and the first game of the match on each court shall commence at the official starting time of 7:15 p.m. If any pair of players are not ready on court to commence the first round of play within 15 minutes of the official starting time they shall forfeit the first set to the opposing team, and if the same pair are not ready to play within 45 minutes of the official starting time (i.e. by 8:00 p.m.) they shall forfeit the remaining sets to the opposing team.

(B) Any player arriving after the official starting time of 7:15 p.m. shall be entitled to only 5 minutes warm up on court.

(C) The Home Team shall ensure that all League competition courts must be adequately fitted with floodlights. These lights should be turned on before 7:00 p.m. and remain properly lit for the entire duration of the match.

(D) The match should be played on the same surface as declared in the league book throughout the league season. If a change of surface is necessary during the course of the match prior consent of the opposing team Captain must be obtained.

(E) The Home Team shall provide courts as stated under the list of registered Clubs in the League Handbook. Home Clubs shall ensure that the courts are fit and safe for play. In the event that one or all of such courts are unavailable the home team may either arrange to play at another venue, or apply to the LMC to play on fewer courts, subject to the following:-

(i) The Home Team must inform the Away Team and the LMC of any proposed changes (with adequate reason) in writing at least one week in advance.

(ii) The LMC will decide whether to accept or reject the request and will notify the two teams of its decision in writing at least four days prior to the fixture date.

(iii) In the event that the Away Team disagrees with a proposed change or the LMC does not approve of the change of courts, then the scheduled match shall be forfeited by the Home Team unless the original courts are made available for play as scheduled.

(F) A Club may apply to the LMC for permission to conduct matches on 2 courts under circumstances beyond its control. The Club has to submit its application at least one week in advance of the scheduled match and the LMC has full discretion to decide whether or not to grant the permission.

(G) In addition to the requirements under Rule 16(B), in all HKCTA officiated matches the Team Captains are required to submit to the HKCTA official the names of their players 10 minutes before the official starting time.

(H) Teams are obliged to play all scheduled matches and all nine sets in each match must be completed.

Format of Play

Rule 16

(A) Each team shall field three pairs for each fixture. For the Men’s A+ Division, each team should field at least 3 A+ players (provisional A+ players are not deemed to be A+ players for the purpose of this rules). Each pair shall play one tie-break set against each and every pair of the opposing team. If any team should be in breach of this rule in 30% of the scheduled matches, the team will not be accepted for entry to the Men’s A+ Division in the next season.

(B) Prior to commencement of a fixture, each Captain shall insert the players’ name in the online system before the match starts. For the first round, pair A of the Home Team will play against pair A of the Away Team, pair B of the Home Team will play against pair B of the Away Team and pair C of the Home Team will play against pair C of the Away Team. From the second round onwards, the Home Team Captain shall decide the order of match rotation.

(C) Player substitutions after declaration may be made, subject to agreement by the opposing Team Captain and on the understanding that any sets played by a substituted player shall be deemed forfeited. Particulars of all substituted players and, if there is any unregistered player playing (whose sets would be deemed forfeited), that of the unregistered player must be clearly indicated on the League score sheet to be submitted by the Captain of winning team in addition to uploading the score in the online system.

(D) Declared players in all League fixtures are required to produce photo-bearing identity documents for verification by the Captain (or his/her delegate) of the opposing team and/or a LMC official. Failure to produce such photo-bearing document(s) when requested shall render the player(s) ineligible for the tie and result in disqualification.

Scoring

Rule 17

(A) Advantage games will be played in each set, and a 7 point tie-break will be played at 6 games all.

(B) The team winning at least 5 sets in a match shall win the match and be awarded one League point. In the event that :-

(a) each team is only able to win 4 sets in the match, each of the 2 teams shall nominate 2 of the players registered for the match to play a final set scored on the basis of a Match Tie Breaker (10 Points) in accordance with the ITF Rules except that the order of service for this set shall be determined by a toss;

(b) neither team is able to win 5 sets in a match, neither team will be awarded any League point.

(C) Any ineligible or unregistered players fielded must be declared on the League score sheet and agreed to by the opposing Team Captain, failing which the whole fixture match shall be forfeited 0-9 to the opposition, and the offending Captain and/or player may render himself/herself liable to suspension by the LMC. Any set played by a declared but ineligible or unregistered player shall be deemed forfeited. The score of the match will be counted in the determination of a team’s position in a Group or Division pursuant of Rule No 24(D) to (G).

(D) Any undeclared replacement of player(s) shown in the score sheet to be fielded in a fixture match shall result in the forfeiture of that match 0-9 to the opposition. The offending player(s), team and club may render themselves liable to be suspended or disciplined in other manners by the LMC.

Score-sheet

Rule 18

(A) The Captain of the winning team must upload the score in the LMC online system within 3 days of the completion of the match save that for matches played after the last fixture match of their Group or Division of the League, the score must be uploaded within 24 hours of the completion of the match.

(B) Unreported or late submission of scores may not be entered in the results register and may result in forfeiture of matches won.