USTA Junior Team Tennis State Championships Format of Play for 2013 – Alabama

1. Site – Date – Entry Fees a. Yarbrough Tennis Center, 777 Yarbrough Farms Blvd. Auburn, AL, 334-501-2920 b. July 19 – 21, 2013 c. $20 per player, On-line Registration (8under and 10under beginner $10 per player)

2. Team Structure a. 8 and Under &10 and Under Beginner (Cannot Advance to Sectionals) 1. 8 or 10 years old and under 2. 2.5 NTRP and below 3. Any number of boys or girls, recommended at least 4 players, no maximum b. 10 and Under Intermediate 1. 10 years old and under 2. 3.0 NTRP and below 3. Minimum 3 boys and 3 girls per team, no maximum c. 10 and Under Advanced 1. 10 years old and under 2. 3.5 NTRP and above 3. Minimum 3 boys and 3 girls per team, no maximum d. 12 and Under Beginner (Cannot Advance to Sectionals) 1. 12 years old and under 2. 2.5 NTRP and below 3. Minimum 3 boys and 3 girls per team, no maximum e. 12 and Under Intermediate 1. 12 years old and under 2. 3.0 NTRP and below 3. Minimum 3 boys and 3 girls per team, no maximum f. 12 and Under Advanced 1. 12 years old and under 2. 3.5 NTRP and above 3. Minimum 3 boys and 3 girls per team, no maximum g. 14 and Under Beginner (Cannot Advance to Sectionals) 1. 14 years old and under 2. 2.5 NTRP and below 3. Minimum 3 boys and 3 girls per team, no maximum h. 14 and Under Intermediate 1. 14 years old and under 2. 3.0 NTRP and below 3. Minimum 3 boys and 3 girls per team, no maximum i. 14 and Under Advanced 1. 14 years old and under 2. 3.5 NTRP and above 3. Minimum 3 boys and 3 girls per team, no maximum j. 18 and Under Beginner (Cannot Advance to Sectionals) 1. 18 years old and under 2. 2.5 NTRP and below 3. Minimum 3 boys and 3 girls per team, no maximum

k. 18 and Under Intermediate 1. 18 years old and under 2. 3.0 NTRP and below 3. Minimum 3 boys and 3 girls per team, no maximum

l. 18 and Under Advanced 1. 18 years old and under 2. 3.5 NTRP and above 3. Minimum 3 boys and 3 girls per team, no maximum m.

3. Format of Play (See separate attachment for 8 and Under & 10 and Under Beginner) a. Boys Singles b. Girls Singles c. Boys Doubles d. Girls Doubles e. Mixed Doubles

4. Scoring (See separate attachment for 8 and Under & 10 and Under Beginner) a. Best 2 of 3 short sets (first one to 4 games) with a tie-breaker played at 3-3 in the first two sets (first to 7 win by 2 points). b. A match tie breaker (first one to 10 points win by 2) if a third set is needed. c. Total number of games won determines winner of each match and division (or group if division is split into groups with playoffs). d. In the event that 2 teams are tied at the end of a match, a match tiebreak (first to 10 and ahead by 2 wins) will be played. 1. This match tiebreak will be mixed doubles. The boy and girl playing the match tiebreak will be chosen by the team captain, and must have played during the match. 2. The match tiebreak will be recorded as a game won. e. In the event that teams are tied at the end of division (or group) play, the following tiebreak will be used: 1. If two teams are tied: head-to-head results. 2. If three or more teams are tied: the least number of games lost, then a spin of the racquet if needed. f. If a division is divided into 2 groups, playoffs will be played by corresponding teams from each group (1st versus 1st, 2nd versus 2nd, etc.). 1. The team winning the most games in the 1st versus 1st playoff will be the division winner. 2. If the teams are tied after the 1st versus 1st playoff match, a match tiebreak will be played to determine the division winner.

5. Division Formats a. 1 Team – Team is Division Winner b. 2 Teams – Triple Round-Robin (3 matches per team) c. 3 Teams – Double Round-Robin (4 matches per team) d. 4 Teams – Round-Robin (3 matches per team) e. 5 Teams – Round-Robin (4 matches per team) f. 6 Teams – Round-Robin (5 matches per team) g. 7 Teams – Round-Robin (6 matches per team) h. 8 Teams – 2 Groups of 4 play a Round-Robin with a Playoff Round (1st versus 1st, 2nd versus 2nd, etc.) (4 matches per team) i. 9 Teams – 1 Group of 4 and 1 Group of 5 play a Round-Robin with a Playoff Round (excluding 5th place team) (4-5 matches per team) j. 10 Teams – 2 Groups of 5 play a Round-Robin with a Playoff Round (5 matches per team) k. 11 Teams – 1 Group of 5 and 1 Group of 6 play a Round-Robin with a Playoff Round (excluding 6th place team) (5-6 matches per team) l. 12 Teams – 2 Groups of 6 play a Round-Robin with a Playoff Round (6 matches per team) m. Divisions will be closed after 12 teams have entered. (If 14-16 teams enter tournament director may decide to use round robin/playoff format.)

6. Player/Team Eligibility a. To be eligible, a player must have played in at least 3 team matches (maximum 1 default) in the local USTA Junior Team Tennis season from which his or her team is advancing in the current championship year (September 1 through August 31) and be registered on TennisLink. Teams must play at least 3 local matches in a season. b. Players with a sectional (12-18’s standings 1-300 and 10 standings 1-100) standing in any age group as of July 31, 2012 must enter at the advanced level (NTRP 3.5 & above). 10 year olds with a 10's standing playing in the 12's, 14's or 18's may only play in Intermediates or Advance and if they do not have a standing of 1-300 in the 12's 14's and 18's. Players with a 1-100 standing in the 10's who are playing in the 10's must play Advance. Standings are referring to the July 31 date previous to the Championship year. c. A team advancing to the State Championships can add a maximum of 1 boy and/or 1 girl to its roster IF the team drops down to 2 boys and/or 2 girls. The added player(s) must also meet the 3 team match requirement (maximum 1 default) in the local USTA Junior Team Tennis season from which the advancing team is advancing. d. It is up to each local league’s jurisdiction to use the NTRP rating system to determine placement of teams at the State Championships. 1. 3.0 - Player is getting better at moving to the ball and is improving court coverage, can sustain a rally with consistency on slow to moderate-paced shots. Player serves with fair consistency with few double faults. On groundstrokes, player needs to improve control of height, depth, direction and speed. Player attempts to move opponent from side to side and hit to the opponent’s weakness. 2. 3.5 - Player can sustain a rally and is beginning to develop directional control and depth of groundstrokes. Player is starting to recognize opportunities to attack short balls by coming to the net. Player is developing more spin and power on the serve and seldom double-faults. Player is becoming more aggressive and applying basic strategy in singles and using teamwork in doubles. e. USTA Junior Team Tennis age eligibility requirements for the State Championships, USTA Southern Section Championships, and the USTA National Championships are by the player’s age on August 31, 2013.

7. Rules and Regulations a. If a team is found to be out of level, it will continue to play. However, it will not be eligible for any awards or medals. If this ineligible team were to win, then the second-place team will automatically move up to the first-place slot. b. USTA rules will be enforced during tennis play. A USTA official will be present on site during tournament. c. 1 captain and 1 coach per team can coach during changeovers, but must do so from outside the fence. The name of each team’s captain and coach should be reported to the tournament desk prior to the tournament. d. No adults are allowed on the court (unless there is an injury or illness during play) in any division. e. Team rosters may NOT be changed once turned in at tournament desk, unless there is an injury or illness prior to the first ball of the team match being put in play. f. Substitutions of players may NOT be made once first ball of the team match has been put in play. g. On a team with at least 4 boys and 4 girls, a player may not play twice in a team match unless a teammate is ill or has been injured in a previous match. If a player is forced to play twice in a team match (due to illness, injury, or the fact that there are only 3 boys or 3 girls on the team), that player MUST play Mixed Doubles (i.e. not singles and doubles) and may not play twice in a second team match until every other player on the roster of the same gender has played twice in a team match. The order of doubling-up starts over for a playoff round. h. No player can sit-out two matches in a row, unless the player is injured or ill. i. Tournament director has last say in any tournament questions, concerns or debates. USTA Referee will handle all on-court procedures.

8. Reporting Line-Ups a. Each team MUST have an adult team captain. b. Each team captain MUST check in at site 30 minutes prior to match time with match line-up prepared. c. Each team captain returns signed scorecards and balls at the conclusion of the team match. d. Once signed scorecards are turned-in, the team match is considered to have been played in good faith, and no changes will be made.

9. Awards a. 1st place and 2nd place teams will receive medals. b. 1st place teams from all 8 divisions will be eligible to advance to Sectionals. This is subject to be changed by the STA. c. Sportsmanship awards will also be handed out. Sportsmanship nomination forms will be included in your packet; we would like the team captains and/or players to nominate players on opposing teams for the Sportsmanship award. There will be a boy and a girl award given in each division or groups of a division.

10. Captains’ Conference Call a. A mandatory team captains’ conference call will be held the week of the tournament to discuss rules/regulations of the event. b. Tournament t-shirts, player gifts, and captains’ gifts will be distributed when team captains check-in for their first match.