PLAY IT AGAIN…. OR NOT?
My opponent hit a serve that I thought was long, so I called it out. However, as I hit my return, I realized the ball had actually caught the back of the line. I immediately corrected myself and told the opponent, “Sorry, it was actually good! Let’s just replay the point.” My opponent claimed that since I corrected my call to good, the point was hers. Who is correct?
Drew Meyer, Men’s League Vice President
In this situation, your opponent is correct. According to USTA Friend at Court, The Code (Page 39, Making Calls #12), if a player calls a ball out and then realizes it was good, the point is over. You cannot replay a point based on your own mistake. By calling the ball out, you effectively stopped play. Once you corrected that call to good, you conceded that the opponent’s shot was a winner. You do not get a second chance to play the point just because you changed your mind.
SANDBAGGING?
Can you please explain what “sandbagging” is?
Kim Freeman, Junior Leagues Vice President
When a lineup violates the ALTA sandbagging rules, points can be taken away. Using the lineup checker will alert a manager/captain of any illegal player movement. See page 16 of the Junior Leagues Team Manager Handbook.
Sandbagging occurs when a winning player/pair is moved down, and a losing player/pair is moved up. This rule applies even if the player/pair has only played once. Winning and losing are determined by the results of matches played to date.
A pair that has won more times than it has lost is a winning pair. A pair that has lost more times than it has won is a losing pair. A pair that has won as many matches as it has lost has no winning or losing record. A pair that has not yet played together during the regular season has no record. Please note: Singles and doubles winning and losing records are considered separately.
NOTE: The ALTA sandbagging rules also apply to the adult tennis leagues. See page 24 of the Adult Tennis Captain/Member Handbook.
WE SPLIT OUR ROSTER. NOW WHAT?
We had so many people on our roster, we decided to split into two teams to give each person more playing time. What happens to our teams’ levels?
Nicole Jennings, Mixed Doubles League Vice President
If a captain’s goal is to take a large roster and split the team into two teams (each with different abilities), entering two separate rosters at roster submission would result in both teams being leveled at the final adjusted level of the original team. Refer to the Team Placement section in the Adult Captain/Member Handbook that states, “If a team is made from two returning teams, the system will use the higher final level flight as the returning team.
The following constitutes a returning team:
- Men, Sunday Women, and Thursday Women – 6 returning players
- Senior Men and Senior Women – 5 returning players
- Senior Day Men and Senior Day Women – 4 returning players
- Mixed Doubles – 3 returning men and 3 returning women
- Senior Mixed – 3 returning men and 3 returning women”
If a captain’s intent is to make two teams that will compete at different levels, the captain of the team wanting to compete at a lower level would submit a Request for Review at roster submission, citing ‘Split Team.’ The Request for Review would then be evaluated by the overall coordinator and league vice president to determine the player history of those submitted. In most cases, the level would be adjusted during the leveling process to suit the abilities of the players on the roster.
