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Friend atCourt 2022HANDBOOK OF RULESAND REGULATIONS

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FRIEND AT COURTTHE HANDBOOKof T ENNIS R ULES andREGULATIONS2022 EDITION

We welcome your comments and suggestions and especially solicit yourhelp in identifying errors in the index. Please feel free to write us at:Officials Chair, c/o Officiating Department, USTA National Campus, 10000USTA Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32827.Senior Editor: Steve GerdesEditors: Patrick Dennis, Brett Haberstick, Staciellen Stevenson Mischel,Allon Lifshitz, Andrea Norman, Eric Perkins, Jack Schubert, AndrewWalker, and Verne Weber.The Friend at Court editing team acknowledges the contributionsof Jack Stahr throughout his years of service to the sport of tennis.Mr. Stahr created Friend at Court as a guide for helping officials conducttennis matches under the fairest possible conditions.United States Tennis Association70 West Red Oak LaneWhite Plains, NY 10604-3602USTA.com 2022 by the United States Tennis Association Inc. All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the writtenpermission of the United States Tennis Association.Printed in the United States of AmericaProduced for the USTA by H.O. ZIMMAN, Inc.

ForewordThe ITF made no changes to the Rules of Tennis. The USTA made minorchanges to the Scheduling Guidelines in Table 9 and the Minimum Rest betweenmatches in Table 11.Players and administrators are reminded that www.usta.com contains additionalregulations that apply to: Net Generation Programs; Adult and Family tournaments; Junior tournaments; and Wheelchair tournaments.Where substantive changes have been made since the last publication of Friendat Court, the editors have included a vertical line in the margin to call your attentionto it.For amendments that become effective after press time, please refer to theRules page of the usta.com/officiating website.Friend at Court (FAC) is not a training manual. The gray highlighted areas are ablend of commonly accepted answers to questions about the rules, officiatingtechniques, and officiating procedures derived from several sources, includingthe ATP, ITA, ITF, and WTA tour. If you wish to learn more about acceptedprocedures, you should take a USTA-approved training module for officials.iii

ContentsIntroduction. ixSummary of Important Changes for 2022 Edition of Friend at Court.xPART 1 ITF RULES OF TENNISITF Rules of Tennis.1Table of Contents.1Rules of Wheelchair Tennis.18Amendment to the Rules of Tennis. 19Appendices to the ITF Rules of Tennis.20Plan of the Court. 29Suggestions on How to Mark Out a Court.30PART 2 THE CODEPreface. 37Principles1. Courtesy is expected. 382. Points played in good faith are counted. 38Warm-Up3. Warm-up is not practice.384. Warm-up serves are taken before first serve of match. 38Making Calls5. Player makes calls on own side of net. 386. Opponent gets benefit of doubt. 387. Ball touching any part of line is good.388. Ball that cannot be called out is good. 389. Either partner may make calls in doubles. 3810. All points are treated same regardless of their importance. 3911. Requesting opponent’s help.3912. Out calls reversed. 3913. Player calls own shots out.3914. Partners’ disagreement on calls.3915. Audible or visible calls.3916. Spectators never make calls. 3917. Prompt calls eliminate two chance option. 3918. Let called when ball rolls on court. 3919. Touches, hitting ball before it crosses net, invasion of opponent’s court,double hits, and double bounces.3920. Balls hit through net or into ground.4021. Making calls on clay courts.40Serving22. Server’s request for third ball.4023. Avoid foot faults.4024. Calling foot faults. 4025. Service calls in doubles. 4026. Service calls by serving team. 4027. Service let calls.4028. Obvious faults.4029. Receiver readiness. 4030. Delays during service. 40Scoring31. Server announces score. 4132. Disputes.41Hindrance Issues33. Claiming a hindrance. 4134. Talking when ball is in play. 4135. Body movement. 4136. Let due to unintentional hindrance. 4237. Grunting. 4238. Injury caused by player. 42iv

When to Contact Official39. Withdrawing from match or tournament. 4240. Stalling. 4241. Requesting officials during play.43Ball Issue42. Retrieving stray balls.4343. Catching a ball. 4344. New balls for third set. 43Miscellaneous45. Clothing and equipment malfunction. 4346. Placement of towels. 43PART 3 USTA REGULATIONS (INCLUDING FAC COMMENTS)I.Pre-Tournament Regulations. 44A.Applicability of USTA Regulations. 44B.Application for Sanction and Appointment of Tournament Committee. 45C.Tournament Committee. 45D.Tournament Appeals Committee. 47E.Match Formats and Scoring.50F.Balls and Ball-Change Pattern. 51G.Player Eligibility. 52H.Entry Process. 57II. Draw Regulations.60A.Seeding.60B.Making the Draw. 62C.Changes in Draw.76D.Scheduling Matches.84III. Conducting the Tournament. 89A.Tournament Committee Responsibilities Once Tournament Starts.89B.Referee Responsibilities After Draw Made. 89C.Rest.94D.Suspension or Postponement of Play. 94E.Medical Timeout and Bleeding Timeout.99F.Toilet/Change of Attire Breaks.100G.Special Provisions for Wheelchair Tennis Players.100H.Shortening Tournaments. 100I.Ball-Change Errors, Ball Replacement, and Practice Balls. 101IV. Player Responsibilities and Conduct. 103A.Checking in at Tournament. 103B.Player Responsibilities Under The Code. 103C.Standards of Conduct.103D.Point Penalty System. 107E.Defaults and Disqualifications. 112F.USTA Suspension Point System. 113V.Post-Tournament Regulations. 118A.Responsibilities of Tournament Committee and RefereeAfter Completion of Tournament.118B.Grievances.118C.Suspensions by Sectional Associations.118VI. Red, Orange, and Green Ball Tennis. 120A.Purpose. 120B.Definitions of Red, Orange, and Green Ball Tennis. 120C.Junior Divisions Required to Use Red, Orange, and Green Ball Tennis.120D.Authority for Committee to Adopt Regulations for USTA Net GenerationPrograms That Use Red, Orange, and Green Ball Tennis.120E.Adult, Family, and Wheelchair Divisions May UseRed, Orange, and Green Ball Tennis. 120v

VII. Officiating . 124Safe Play.124A.Betting. 124B.Certification of USTA Officials.124C.Procedure for Official to Appeal Certification Decisions.124D.Officiating Procedures and Techniques.124E.Court Monitors. 125F.Sectional and District Officials Committees. 125G.VIII. General Ranking Regulations. 126Junior Rankings.126A.Adult and Family Rankings.126B.Wheelchair Rankings.126C.Eligibility for Rankings. 126D.IX. Junior Tournaments and Rankings.127National Junior Tournament Schedule.127A.Junior Rankings.127B.Eligibility.127C.Sanctioning of USTA Junior National Tournaments. 127D.Authority for Committee to Adopt USTA Junior Tournament, Ranking,E.and Sanctioning Regulations. 128Eligibility for ITF International Team Competitions. 128F.X. Adult and Family Tournaments and Rankings.129National Adult and Family Tournament Schedule. 129A.Adult and Family Rankings.129B.Eligibility for Ranking.129C.Sanctioning National Adult and Family Tournaments. 129D.Authority for Committee to Adopt USTA Adult and FamilyE.Tournament, Ranking, and Sanctioning Regulations. 129Eligibility and Selection for ITF International Team Competition.129F.XI. Professional Rankings. 131Men’s Division. 131A.Women’s Division. 131B.Eligibility for Professional Ranking. 131C.Review. 131D.XII. Collegiate and Scholastic Tournaments and Collegiate Rankings.132Method for Making Draw. 132A.Scoring. 132B.Eligibility for Collegiate Ranking. 132C.Collegiate Rankings.132D.XIII. Wheelchair Tournaments and Rankings.134National Wheelchair Tournament Schedule. 134A.Wheelchair Rankings.134B.Eligibility for Rankings. 134C.Sanctioning of National Wheelchair Tournaments.134D.Authority for Committee to Adopt USTA WheelchairE.Tournament, Ranking, and Sanctioning Regulations. 134XIV. Medals and Prizes. 135Gold, Silver, and Bronze Balls.135A.Gold Davis Cup Insignia. 135B.Billie Jean King Cup Charm. 135C.Restrictions on Trophy and Award Presentations. 135D.XV. USTA League.136Description.136A.Rating System.136B.Eligibility.136C.Authority for Committee to Adopt USTA League Regulations. 136D.vi

XVI. USTA Junior Team Tennis. 137A.Description.137B.Eligibility.137C.Authority for Committee to Adopt USTA Junior Team Tennis Regulations.137XVII. Sanctioning.138General Information.138A.B.USTA League and USTA Junior Team Tennis Approved WithoutNecessity of Sanction. 140C.Sectional and District Tournaments and Leagues Other ThanUSTA League and USTA Junior Team Tennis.140D.Junior National Tournaments.141Adult and Family National Tournaments. 141E.F.Wheelchair National Tournaments. 141G.Hosts and Titles for USTA National Championships. 141H.Television, Cable, Satellite, Internet, Radio, Film, and Video Rights. 141I.ITF Junior Tournaments. 142J.Role of USTA Board in Sanctioning US Open, USTA NationalChampionships, and Certain Other Tournaments. 142XVIII. Amateur and Professional Status.143A.Definition of Amateur.143B.Loss of Amateur Status. 143C.Acts That Amateur May Engage in Without Losing Amateur Status. 143D.Expenses That May Be Reimbursed Without Causing Player to LoseAmateur Status. 144E.Reinstatement to Amateur Status. 145XIX. Amendments.146A.Those Who May Adopt Amendments.146B.Those Who May Submit Amendments. 146C.Deadlines for Submitting an Amendment to Be Voted on by theVoting Members or Executive Council.146D.Deadline for Submitting an Amendment to Be Voted on by the Board. 146E.Notice Requirements.146F.Amendments Passed by Executive Council and USTA Board AreSubject to Amendment at Next Meeting of Members.147G.Secretary-Treasurer of USTA Shall Provide Certain USTA Officialswith Copy of Amendment Within Sixty Days of Its Adoption.147H.Effective Date of Amendments.147I.Amendments to The Code, USTA Comments to ITF Rules of Tennis,and FAC Comments to USTA Regulations. 147XX. Requests for Waivers. 148XXI. Release, Waiver, and Indemnity.149PART 4 USTA EMERGENCY CARE GUIDELINES. 150PART 5 UMPIRE ASSIGNMENT, SELECTION, CERTIFICATION,AND TRAINING.155I.USTA Policy. 155A.Diversity and Inclusion: A Key Element of the USTA’s Core Values. 155B.Assignment & Selection of Chair Umpires for Tournaments. 155C.Certification and Training of Chair Umpires.156II. Discrimination Complaint and Resolution Process.157A.Umpire Equal Opportunity Policy.157B.Umpire Complaint and Investigation Procedure. 157PART 6 GLOSSARY. 159PART 7 INDEX TO THE ITF RULES OF TENNIS, THE CODE,& USTA REGULATIONS. 171vii

iiPlan of the Court. 29Suggestions on How to Mark Out a Court. 30Positioning Seeds and Byes in Draw of 32 with 22 Players. 67Positioning Players in Feed-In Championship Draw. 71Compass Draw Sheet.77Players Omitted from Draw. 8136-Foot Court. 12160-Foot Court. 122Tennis Ball Specification. 20Responsibilities of the Tournament Committee. 46Responsibilities of Referee.48Junior Eligibility.53Criteria for Entering Wheelchair Divisions.56Positioning Seeds.64Scheduling Matches.84Scheduling Guidelines for Junior Divisions. 86Scheduling Guidelines for Adult, Senior, Family, and Wheelchair Divisions. 87Draw Sheet Terminology and Procedures.91Minimum Rest Between Matches.95Time Allowed Between Sets. 96Medical Timeouts, Bleeding Timeouts and Toilet/Change of Attire Breaks.97Point Penalty System. 109Time Violations. 110Penalties for Lateness. 110Suspension Points.114

IntroductionFriend at Court is the book of rules and regulations un

this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of the United States Tennis Association. Printed in the United States of America Produced for the USTA by H.O. ZIMMAN , Inc. We welcome your comments and suggestions and especially solicit your help in