SAFETY ADVISORY

You are welcome to play at your own discretion and at your own risk. 

The Peoria Area Telugu Association or the Coordinators will NOT be held responsible for any injuries sustained by the players during the match.

If the state or national guidelines develop that suggest tennis is inherently unsafe, or we have a stay-at-home order, then we reserve the right to shut down the league.

Please follow COVID-19 guidelines by wearing face-mask during non-playing time and social distancing.

All players are required to sign this mandatory Waiver form, to be able to participate in the tournament. The signed waiver form to be sent to  sportspata@gmail.com.

GENERAL RULES

1. This year the PATA Tennis tournament will be conducted in a League format that starts from June 1st and continues until July 31st.
2. For more information about League format please refer to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hCQwowJF8Q. For any questions about the format please contact sportspata@gmail.com.
3. Men’s Singles Players can sign up in one of the three age divisions
   1. 18 to 34 years
   2. 35 to 49 years
   3. 50+ years
4. Men’s Doubles Players can sign up in one of the two age divisions
   1. 18 to 49 years
   2. 50+ years

(If you are interested in playing doubles, but cannot find a partner, please reach out to the coordinators.  As a courtesy, PATA may help to find you a doubles partner)

4. All participants have to register themselves and mention their doubles partners (if applicable) before May 30th.
5. Late entries may not be considered.
6. Minimum of 8 singles players or 8 doubles teams need to sign up to be able to conduct the league tournament in the given category and given age division.

LEAGUE RULES (LADDER RULES)

1. At the beginning of the League season, the players will be ranked within their division in the order of receipt of registration.
2. A player can challenge any other player for a match.
3. The objective for a player is to reach the highest ranking within their division.
4. If the lower ranked player wins the match, then that player gets the position of the higher ranked player.  The higher ranked player moves one position down.
5. Player rankings are pertinent only with their specific age division.  When a player challenges someone outside their age division, their rankings will not be impacted.
6. The competition proceeds by a system of challenges.
7. You move up the ladder by challenging and winning over someone higher up the ladder. You may also challenge players below you in your division or any player outside your division (in case you want more matches).
8. These challenges generally should not be declined.
9. In order to stay at the top of the ladder, one must constantly accept challenges and continue to win the matches.
10. Every player must play every other player in their respective ladder at least once.  In order to provide a fair chance to lower ranked players, it is highly recommended that every player accepts at least two challenges from lower ranked players.
11. There is no limit on how many challenges a player could make.
12. The date, time and place of the match should be agreeable to all players/teams.
13. It is recommended that the challenger provides new balls for the match. PATA is not providing balls or any other items during league matches.
14. Before the match begins, the players should agree upon the scoring and format. The best of three sets using regular scoring is the default norm, but no-ad scoring may be used.  A 10-point tie break may be played as the third set.
15. A match suspended due to weather or darkness should be completed as soon as possible. It should resume at exactly the same point where it was suspended.
16. Defaults and Withdrawals:
    1. If any player/team is late by more than 15 minutes or cancels a scheduled match less than 24 hours prior, the player/team will be deemed in default. This counts as a match and a win for the non-defaulting player/team. It will not count as a match for the player/team who defaulted.
    2. Withdrawal: Once a match has begun, if a player/team cannot continue, for any reason, the player/team must default. This is a win for their opponents and a loss for them. It counts as a match for both players/teams.
    3. All default or withdrawal scores must be reported to the Ladder Coordinator.
17. In the event of a player or a team continuing to default or decline challenges from other players, the Ladder Coordinator reserves the right to move the defaulting player/team down the ladder.
18. Players may play any number of matches against the same opponent (or team). However, in order to encourage playing with everyone in the ladder, we will only consider 3 singles or 2 doubles matches towards qualifying for the Playoffs, if played against the same player (or team).

REPORTING SCORES

1. Scores of matches must be reported by the winner within 24 hours via email to Ladder Coordinator. Winner to send email to sportspata@gmail.com and CC their opponents.
2. Any dispute in scores need to be reported within the subsequent 24 hours.
3. It is recommended that you keep a personal record of your matches, as sometimes mistakes are made and computer glitches occur.

PLAYOFFS

1. The playoff rounds are conducted at the end of the League season (July 31st)
2. The playoff schedule and the number of rounds in each division will depend on the number of qualifiers in that division.
3. All Playoff matches will be scheduled by PATA. A sufficient advance notice will be provided. Players need to make themselves available during the scheduled time to be able to play the match.
4. Each playoff match will be a knock-out match to determine the qualifiers for next round.
5. Playoffs will be scheduled immediately following the end of League session, and the qualifications for each division will be:
   1. Singles: record at least 8 matches AND finish in the top 16 positions.
   2. Doubles: record at least 6 matches AND finish in the top 16 positions.
6. As mentioned above, the number of qualifiers will depend on the number of registered participants in each division.
7. The player who wins all the playoff matches in their respective division becomes the Division Champion.
8. PATA will provide balls and water for playoffs.

REGISTRATION FEE

1. Registration Fee is $15 per person for either Only Singles or Only Doubles.

2. If playing both Singles & Doubles, then the Registration Fee would be $25 per person.

AWARDS

1. All awards will be presented at the annual meeting held in October.
2. Awards will be given to the 1st, 2nd & 3rd place Playoff winners of each ladder division.
3. A special Iron Man Award is given to the individual player who played the most number of matches overall for the entire season.
4. There may also be recognition of significant contributions to our league, to our association, or to the sport of tennis in general.