CTG OPEN SEASON 13 -GUIDELINES & RULES

Welcome everyone to CTG Open Season 13!!
Thanks for choosing to join CTG Open this summer.

Code of conduct

League format:

1

Tennis, whether played professionally or recreationally, demands the highest respect and regard both on and off the court.

1

There will be 10 teams, each consisting of 13 players. These teams are divided into two divisions: Division A and Division B, with 5 teams in each division.
The competition will include 7 league matches, followed by semifinal and final matches.
For detailed information on Teams/Captains/Team members, please refer to the "Teams & Line Information" section.

2

Spectators are welcome at all games, but please exhibit game sense while the game is in play. Both players and spectators are expected to demonstrate good sportsmanship and conduct. Coaching between points is permitted, but please maintain silence during active play.

2

Each team will play against 4 teams in the division and 3 game against a team in the other division. During the league phase, teams have to play 5 lines. See Match schedule section for details.

3

Team pairings are determined by individual captains for their respective teams, based on player strengths and league rules. Always support your captains, partners, and opposing teammates.

3

Each player will participate in a minimum of 5 matches during the league division. The maximum game rule has been deprecated.

4

Taking a picture of the Playing 4 and sharing it in the WhatsApp group is appreciated.

4

The line formation rules remain the same for all stages of the competition.

Match rules:

1

Match week starts on Monday and ends on Sunday. Matches should be played according to the schedule. If matches are not completed as scheduled, they will be considered forfeited by both teams, and zero points will be awarded for the unplayed lines. If both teams cannot agree on a time to play, the default match time will be Sunday evening at 7:00 PM. Points will be awarded to the team lineups that show up on the courts.

2

Captains are required to publish the lineups for the upcoming week according to their schedule. The lineup is due by Saturday at 11:59 PM.

3

Each week, 10 players from each team must participate, with 3 players resting. Group 1 will consist of 2 players. The following rules apply:

1. Both Group 1 players cannot play in Line 2 together.
2. Both Group 1 players cannot be rested in the same week.
3. When both Group 1 players are included in the lineup for the week, then the highest ranked player (R1) should play in L1.

3a

Line Formation Rules

a) Each player will belong to one of the Groups: 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.

b) Group 1 players can play in L1 or L2. There are 2 players in Group 1. Both Group 1 players are allowed to play in Line 1 together, but they cannot play together in Line 2. Additionally, both Group 1 players cannot be rested in the same week. When both Group 1 players are in the lineup for the week, then the highest ranked player (R1) should play L1. This rule aims to prevent sandbagging, addressing a previous season's complaint.

c) Group 2 players can play in L1, L2, or L3. There are 3 players in Group 2.
d) Group 3 players can play in L2, L3, or L4. There are 3 players in Group 3.
e) Group 4 players can play in L3, L4, or L5. There are 3 players in Group 4. Two Group 4 players cannot play together in L5.
f) Group 5 players can play in L4 or L5. There are 2 players in Group 5.

4

The home team captain should initiate discussions and court bookings with the visiting team captain once the lineups are shared. It is encouraged to finalize the schedule for all lineups by Wednesday and update it in the Match tracker sheet.

5

The home captain is responsible for submitting the scores to the CTG EC team before the end of the week.

6

Team players should collaborate with team captains to resolve any conflicts that may arise.

7

There is no provision for the replacement of players.

8

Player Group Replacement Rule Before Tournament Start:
The ECs will consider genuine requests from captains for player replacement, group replacement/adjustments of group assignment (besides the allowed swap rule) before the start of the tournament. Such changes require consent from the player involved and other team captains. Once the tournament begins on July 13, 2024, there is strictly no provision for player replacement or group adjustment.

8a

Player Replacement Rule (League Games only). Playoffs have no replacements.
For medical emergencies, urgent travel, and extremely genuine cases, the EC will verify with the player and consider replacement, subject to a maximum of 1 permanent and 2 temporary replacements. Please note that temporary replacements are not eligible to play in the playoffs.

Please consider this as a limited review system in cricket. If you use your replacement option in the early stages of the league and exhaust all 3 options, no further replacements will be granted, even in genuine cases.

8b

Player Replacement Rule (League Games only). Playoffs have no replacements.
Any replacement request must be made in the Captains Group. The EC will contact and verify with the players. The EC reserves the right to provide replacements with players of equal or lower rank from within the registered players only. No external players will be called in for replacement.

If player has not played any matches, then replacement will be treated as rule #8. These requests won't count against permanent and temporary count rule.

8c

Replacement Rule Before Playoff Start: No replacements will be provided after the playoff start.

"Congratulations on reaching the playoffs! By making it to this stage, you've demonstrated yourself as one of the best. In the playoffs, the ranking of players within a group does not hold value. Please understand that all players in a group are considered equal during this phase."

RULE 1). For Groups 2, 3, and 4, each group consists of 3 players. Therefore, no replacements will be provided in any situation.
Players have completed competitive tennis during league games to qualify for the semifinals. Therefore, it is recommended for captains to utilize existing team players for lines 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Here are some Scenarios :-
- If one L2 player is not available for the playoff and Group 2 still has 2 eligible players, these players will play Line 2.

- If two L2 players are not available for the playoff, one player from Group 2 and one player from Group 3 who are still eligible will play Line 2. Other lines with eligible players will continue as scheduled.

- If all three L2 players are unavailable for the playoff (a rare scenario), two players from Line 3 will move up to play Line 2, and Line 3 will be played by one player from Group 3 and one player from Group 4. Group 2, 3, and 4 have provided one extra player for this specific reason, to allow captains flexibility without needing replacements.

- If all three L2 players and one L3 player are unavailable, the captain must forfeit Line 2 but can continue to play the remaining lines.

Rule 2). For Line 1 players, as there are only 2 players in the group, in cases of medical emergencies, urgent travel, or very genuine circumstances, the EC will verify with the player before considering a replacement.
The EC will provide 3 choices of equal or lower rank players from the remaining teams that are not in the playoffs, specifically for Line 1 / Group 1 players. The captain must choose one of these options and cannot suggest a player.

Please note:
- This rule applies exclusively to Line 1 / Group 1 players.
- If a replacement is requested, the remaining original Line 1 player will play in Line 1 and cannot move down to play in Line 2.

Rule 3). Once the playoffs have started, there will be no replacements, and the captain will have to forfeit the particular line

These rules ensure flexibility while maintaining fairness and adherence to team compositions during playoffs.

8d.

There will be no replacements provided after the playoff start. If a player is unable to play, the captain must forfeit the line.

9

A 20 minute default rule will be enforced for all games. If one team is not available after 20 minutes from the mutually agreed start time, that team will be considered to have forfeited the game, and the opposing team will be awarded the points.

10

At the end of each set, there shall be a set break of a maximum of 5 minutes.

11

No extra time is given to allow a player to recover condition. However, for any treatable medical condition, one 10-minute treatment timeout is allowed.

12

Player lineups must adhere to the lineup rules specified in the lineup rules section.

13

All matches are best 2 out of 3 sets. A set is completed when one pair wins 6 games with a margin of at least 2 games. If the set score reaches 6-6, a 7-point tiebreaker with a margin of 2 will be played to determine the winner of that set.

14

By default, play a complete 3rd set. If all 4 players agree before the start of the game, then a 12-point tiebreaker will be played instead of a full 3rd set.

15

If a match is not played in the match week, both teams must agree and provide a fixed date for play from the following week. If rain occurs on the play date and it is the last date for that week, the toss will be conducted in the presence of the EC to decide the winner.

16

There will be no replacement once the lines are published to both teams.

17

There will be no replacements allowed during the semifinal and final matches of the playoff.

18

Temporary replacement players will not be eligible to participate in the playoff matches.

19

Permanent replacement players will be eligible to participate in the playoff, provided they have played a minimum of 2 league games. If replacement request came on week 6 or before for permanent replacement then that player has to complete the minimum 2 league games. if Permamnent replacement request came at game 7 , then we undersatnd player can not play 2 games , and as its permanent repalcement , He will be eligible to play in playoff as its permanent replacement.

20

Teams earn points as listed in the table below

21

If Match is not plated in

Match Out Come

Points won

Winner of Match

1

Losing team with 1 Winning Set

0

Losing team with 0 Winning Set

0

Fofeited Matches or matches not completed as per schedule

0

Team that shows on Default day Sunday evening 7:00 PM

1

Group Vs Line - See Rule 3 for specific line formation rules for Group1, 4 and 5 players

Group 1

L1, L2

Group 2

L1, L2, L3

Group 3

L2, L3, L4

Group 4

L3, L4, L5

Group 5

L4, L5

Play Off Qualification rules

Play Off rules

1

4 teams, comprising the top 2 from each division, will move on to the semifinals and then the final.

1

In the playoffs, there will be semi finals and finals.

2

The total number of points earned at the end of the league stage will determine the teams eligible for the playoff.

2

Playoffs will consist of 5 lines (same as league phase). Player lineup rules are the same (review table above).

3

In cases where the total number of points earned by teams are tied within the division, the team that has won a higher number of points head-to-head between them during the league matches will qualify for the next phase.

3

For the Semi Final and Finals, all 5 Lines have to be completed within the dates decided. The Team winning 3 lines is declared as winner

4

Playoff Teams Pairing

Semi Finals Matchup

SF1

1st Team of Division 1 Vs 2nd team of Division 2

SF2

2nd Team of Division 1 Vs 1st team of Division 2

Finals Matchup

F

Winner of SF1 vs SF2

NOTE

ALTA (Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association) rules will be followed in cases where a rule is not clearly published here.