By Diane Royston, Sunday Women’s League Vice President
Happy New Year! Hoping this New Year brings you health and happiness!
I would like to review some of the less frequently seen or understood rules of ALTA/USTA. As you should be aware, ALTA’s rules cover many of the situations that might be found courtside, and those that are not covered by ALTA revert to the USTA Friend at Court or USTA’s rules. Here are a couple of examples from USTA that apply in ALTA matches:
13. BALL TOUCHES A PERMANENT FIXTURE (Friend at Court, page 8): If the ball in play touches a permanent fixture after it has hit the correct court, the player who hit the ball wins the point. If the ball in play touches a permanent fixture before it hits the ground, the player who hit the ball loses the point.
USTA Comment 13.1: What happens if a ball hits an object attached to the net or post (such as a scoring device) or the top of the net outside the singles stick and then lands in the court? The player who hit the ball loses the point because it hit a permanent fixture before landing in the court. Friend at Court 13.
29. CONTINUOUS PLAY (Friend at Court, page 15): As a principle, play should be continuous, from the time the match starts (when the first service of the match is put in play) until the match finishes. a. Between points, a maximum of twenty-five (25) seconds is allowed. When the players change ends at the end of a game, a maximum of ninety (90) seconds is allowed. However, after the first game of each set and during a tie-break game, play shall be continuous, and the players shall change ends without a rest.
USTA Comment 29.1: The 25-second time limit does not apply if a player has to chase a stray ball.
USTA Comment 29.2: The 90-second changeover limit and 120-second set break limit does not apply when a Quad wheelchair player needs extra time to re-strap a racquet. See USTA Regulation III.G.2. At the end of each set, there shall be a set break of a maximum of one hundred and twenty (120) seconds. The maximum time starts from the moment that one-point finishes until the first service is struck for the next point.
There are many such situations that that could come up during any match. You may wish to print or download a copy of the USTA Friend at Court, The Code, and ALTA Rules and keep them in your tennis bag for quick reference. Remember, only the four players on the courts can resolve a dispute during their match, whether it is the correct score, or a rule issue.
If you have questions about rules at any time, even during your match, please contact your coordinator. We are here to help you enjoy your tennis experience!
