General Philosophy:

– All Premier League Tennis decisions, activities, etc. will be in the best interests of the league and the continued promotion of tennis.

– All play and interactions between Premier League Tennis members will be be conducted with goodwill, sportsmanship, and camaraderie. All players will also treat outside organizations and its members with this level of respect.

– Premier League Tennis will maintain an inclusive attitude towards all players who wish to join the league, particularly those that have been marginalized by outside organizations.

– This is a non-for-profit league. All funds generated from league fees, etc., will be used to pay for league expenses and/or will be reinvested back into the league.

– All league fees will be held in a bank account maintained by a League Administrator.

– Every season, the league will devote 15% of all league fees, etc., to a designated charity organization.

League Members:

– Members will be male players of any age and ability level.

– Neither USTA membership nor a USTA rating is required.

– Players cannot switch teams during the season if they have already played one match.

– All players that sign up for the league do so with the knowledge that this league is primarily composed of NTRP 4.5-5.0 players and that play is consistently at that level.

– As such, no member will, at any time, have any grounds to complain that any player is playing “out of level” or question the right of any male member to play in the league.

– No player will be paid or offered significant incentives (i.e., favors) for joining the league. Any player found playing in the league that has been offered such favors will be removed from league play for the present season and all results from that player reversed. Any captain found to have violated this rule will be removed from captaining duty for 1 year.

Decision-Making Structure:

– The head administrators of the league will jointly make business (e.g, sponsorship, financial-management) decisions for the continued promotion and betterment of the league and its members.

– All major league play decisions and disputes will made by a “Captain’s Council,” which is composed of all current league captains. All captains will elicit feedback from their players and present this feedback. Their vote should be reflective of the feelings/wishes of the majority of their team and not simply reflective of their own feelings. All captains will have 1 vote each. In the event of an even number of captains a tie vote, the tie will be broken by the vote of the Head League Administrator. League Administrators will participate and organize all discussions, but will have no voting rights (except in the event of a tie), as they are not captains.

– Any current League Administrator will not have the option of captaining a team, as this would represent a conflict of interest.

– All captains will attempt to resolve any issues between them before bringing these issues before the Captain’s Council.

Structure/Rules for Play:

– Every team will play each other twice (one home, one away).

– Home teams will pay for all expenses (e.g., courts, lights, balls).

– 2 singles, 3 doubles matches

– Matches will be best 2 out of 3 sets, regular scoring*
(*only possible exception is the Village and Indian School Park, so if players split sets, a 10-point tiebreak will have to be used for those two matches only – please score the winner 7-6)

– Regular scoring will be using on all end-of-set tiebreakers.

– Coman scoring will be used on all Coman tiebreak, if Coman tiebreak is used in leui of a 3rd set. If a Coman tiebreak is used, the set will be scored 7-6.

– The winning captain will enter all scores on-line at www.PremierLeagueTennis.com within 24 hours.

– Prize-money will be rewarded for 1st and 2nd place teams.

– End-of-season standings will be determined by the following factors (in descending order):

1) Team matches won
2) Individuals matches won
3) Sets won
4) Games won

– All USTA Regulations (i.e., “the Code”) will govern league play. Re: default, if a player is more than 15 minutes late for a match, the opposing captain has the option of taking a set; if player is more than 30 minutes late, the match may be forfeited. That being said, please allow some flexibility for your fellow players.

– Players who continually do not abide by the USTA Code of Conduct and/or exhibit continued poor sportsmanship in the league will be subsequent to the following penalties:

(1) Written warning
(2) 1-match suspension
(3) Season suspension
(4) Permanent suspension

– Please note that this is continuous throughout the course of a player’s play in the league, and does not reset after each season. So a player receives a written warning for a season they are subject to further, more severe penalties (e.g., a 1-match suspension) in any future season.

– Only players that are listed on the roster at the time of the match and have paid their dues (i.e., “Active”) can play. Please keep in mind that it takes approximately 8 hours for a player to become “Active” after they have paid. If captains play with with a non-registered or non-active player, this will result in an automatic default.

– Players must play a minimum of approximately 25% matches to qualify for the end-of-the-year playoffs. (Only one of these matches may be a default and ONLY if its a Default Win. No Default losses will be eligible for Playoffs).

With 8 teams, there will be 14 matches played, so a player must play in 4 matches to qualify for the end-of-the-season playoffs (4 matches or 3 matches and 1 Default Win).
With 7 teams, there will be 12 matches played, so a player must play in 3 matches to qualify for playoffs (3 matches or 2 matches and 1 Default Win).
With 6 teams, there will be 10 matches played, so a player must play in 2 matches to qualify for playoffs (2 matches played, a default match wont count).
– All teams will play in a end-of-the-season playoff at Phoenix Tennis Center. Seeds will be determined based on # of wins during regular season.

– Match times and/or locations CANNOT be changed, expect in the case of inclimate (i.e., unplayable) weather.

– Captains must exchange lineups simultaneously at the beginning of each match. No exceptions.

– Players may play in any part of the lineup that is designated by their captain. There is no rule against stacking.

– Matches can only be canceled due to bad weather. Both captains must agree that the match should be canceled. In the event of bad weather, matches must be made up by the last team match of the season at a mutually-agreed upon time. The match will be played in its original location, except if both captains agree to move the match.

– If the match is not made up by the last match of the season, then the match will be scored a double defeat. No team will be awarded points.

– Any player suspected of providing less than full effort during a match will be subject to disciplinary action by the League Administrators. Not giving full effort includes, but is not limited to, giving games to ones opponent and/or intentionally losing a match. Any match in which there is evidence of the above actions will be scored an automatic default for the offending player.

– If a team takes a team default (i.e., more than 3 matches defaulted in a team match) than that team cannot qualify for the playoffs., regardless of end-of-the-year standings.

– No coaching allowed at any time during the match. This includes coaching from any fellow players or any outside agents. Coaching before or after is allowed.

– Matches that do not finish must be completed within 2 weeks of the original match date. If a match is not completed by that date, the match outcome will stand and match scores will be entered as is. Both parties must make reasonable accommodations to complete the match.

– Any complaints/disputes that are not able to be resolved by Captains should be reported to [email protected], with satisfactory details re: the situation. All complaints should be made in writing within 24 hours. Any player can issue a complaint. All complaints will be mediated by the League Administrators and, if necessary, taken to the Captain’s Council for discussion and vote.