L.P.T.A. Team Tennis Match Night Schedule

L.P.T.A. Team Tennis Rules

The PRIMARY purpose of L.P.T.A. Team Tennis is social! We want everyone to be able to join together as a community at 6:15 or as close to that time as possible. This is not the venue for a match dragging on at the expense of good company, food and adult beverages! 

For that reason, the rules are as follows:

1. Competitive play will consist of one hour of play (5:15 to 6:15) or a pro set (first to eight games by two), whichever comes first.
   1. If at 6:15 a game is still in progress, finish the game.
   2. Play a tiebreaker only if the game score is tied. If a team is up by at least one game, the match is over.
   3. Overall team standings will be based upon total number of games won, NOT total number of matches won. So, if a team is up by one game, the match is over and the games are tallied.
2. Play out the first deuce. The second deuce is sudden death. At first deuce, play it out. At the second deuce, it’s sudden death.
   1. In a mixed doubles match, if a woman is serving, she serves to the opposing woman. If it’s a man serving, he serves to the opposing man.
   2. If it’s same- sex teams, the returning team decides who will accept the serve. 
3. Teams switch sides every odd game.
4. Tiebreaker: At seven all or in the event of a tie at 6:15, a twelve-point tiebreaker will be played to determine the winner (first to seven by two points)
   1. Teams switch ends of the court every six points (for example when the tiebreak score is 3-3).
   2. The first team to win seven points by two (for example, 7-5 or 8-6) wins the tiebreak.
   3. The tiebreak will count in the overall team tally as a game won.

Groups of 8 players on two courts.

Play one mini-set with each of the other 7.

Play against each of the other 7 twice (different pairings).

4-game “mini-sets”—no-ad scoring.

At 40-all/deuce, the receiving team dictates which partner will receive the serve for the game-deciding point.

Mini-set scores will be 4-0, 3-1, or 2-2.

Tally up the 7 rounds, and the top point totals advance.

A field of 16 gentlemen will compete in the tournament, which will use a standard Round Robin format. Eight (8) men will be assigned to each of two flights playing on adjacent courts. Each player is partnered with each of the other seven men in his flight during the tournament, playing seven rounds for a total of 28 games. Flight composition and court assignments will be provided at the start of the tournament.

Player check-in is at 3:15 PM; play will start at 3:30 PM.

1. A round will consist of four games on the designated court with each player serving once. Teams will switch ends after TWO games.  Scoring is NO-AD. If a game goes to 40-40 (Deuce), the receiving team will choose whether to receive on the deuce or advantage side of their court. That point will decide the game.
2. At the end of each round, one player from each foursome will report the score to a tournament official.   
3. At the end of seven rounds, the two players with the most total points (games won) from each flight will advance to the final four. Ties will be determined by head-to-head results. If there is still a tie, a coin flip will be used.
4. The final will be played on Thursday, September 7, at a time to be set later. Seeding generally will be determined as follows: Of the four finalists, the player with the highest score in the round robin will be the #1 seed, the next highest the #2 seed and so on. Seeds #1 and #4 will compete against #2 and #3.

The initial and semifinal rounds of the Mixed Doubles Tournament take place over two weekend days, with the championship match scheduled for a later date.

A maximum of 32 players (16 men/16 women) will participate.

On the Saturday, three groups of 4 men/4 women will play from 8:30am to 11:00am, and a 4th group will play from 1:00pm to 3:30pm.

Each man will play 3 rounds of 8 games, playing once against each of the other men in his group. Each woman will do the same vis-a-vis the other women. The first deuce and ad points in each game will be played out. If a second deuce point is reached, a deciding point will be played with a gender-to-gender serve. 

The top-scoring (most games won) man and woman from each group will move on to the semifinals on Sunday morning, 8/13, 8:30am-11:00am (same format). The top scoring 2 men and 2 women from the semifinal round will play in the finals on a mutually agreed upon date, preferably a weekend.

In the finals, the top-scoring man will pair with the 2nd place woman, and the top scoring woman will pair with the 2nd place man. They will play a normal best of 3 sets match.

The tournament is played using a standard Round Robin format with eight (8) women in each of three flights playing on two adjacent courts.  Each player is partnered with each of the other seven women in her flight, therefore playing 28 games for the morning. Each player will receive an instruction sheet that morning specifying pairings and court assignments. Play will begin at 8:30 AM, so we plan to check in no later than 8:15.

1. A round will consist of four games on the designated court with each player serving once. Teams will switch sides after TWO games.  Scoring is no-ad. At 40-all, the receiving team will choose the side.
2. One player from the foursome will report the score at the end of each round to one of the monitors. If they wish, players can record the number of games won on their individual score sheet for their own records. 
3. At the end of seven rounds, the two players with the most points (games won) from each flight will advance to the semi-final which will be played on Sunday morning at 8:30 AM.
4. A total of eight players will advance to the semi-finals. The two players needed to complete the semi-final eight will be chosen by total points (games won) and at the discretion of the event chair.

Registration for the Member-Guest Tournament Begins Now!

The inaugural LPTA Member-Guest Tournament is set for Friday, September 22nd and Saturday September 23rd.

Tournament Details

• Entry Fee: $150 per team, payable by check (made to LPTA) or Zelle (sent to treasurerLPTA@gmail.com). Your entry fee goes towards a Friday night tournament dinner, snacks, and cash prizes for the winning teams. We’ll be using a mix of the public and private courts. 
• Schedule:
  • Friday (9/22) – 2 afternoon sessions starting at 1PM and 3:30PM. Teams will only play in one of the two sessions. Refreshments and a Tournament Dinner provided.
  • Saturday (9/23) – Afternoon session starts at 1PM, “Championship” Match immediately following. The top 2 teams from each pod will play in the final “championship” match.  
• Guest Partner: Please choose someone of roughly your skill level (as a guideline, think +/- .5 of your USTA level). This is not intended to be a “ringer” tournament. Teams can be same gender, mixed gender, whatever you like.
• Skill Levels: This tournament is intended for players across ALL SKILL LEVELS. You’ll be placed into a group with players of roughly your level, so don’t worry about having to play against players much better or much worse than your level!
• Matches: All teams will be placed into one of six 6-team “pods” and be guaranteed five 8-game matches (one against each other team in your pod).

Registering
Please only sign up if you believe you can make both the Friday and Saturday sessions.

Register on YourCourts, here. 

• Add your guest’s name to the “enter an optional comment” area, along with estimated USTA level, if you already know it.
• If you have a preferred starting time, also enter it in the “optional comment” area.
• There will be a subsequent request to all participants for their guests names and estimated USTA levels.
• If you would like to play, but do not anticipate having a guest – we may form a waiting list for member/member teams to compete as well, depending on the sign-up volume.

Further details on the tournament structure/scoring system will be sent out to tournament participants soon.  

We’re excited to launch this fun, new event! 

Questions? Contact Rush Howell.