Ultimate Tennis

Playoff Match Procedures

Check the playoff draw for your skill level to see if you have qualified for the tournament. From the main menu, select "Playoffs" and then "Tournament Draws". Use the quick hotlink "Take me to . . . Playoffs" to go directly to your draw. Use the selection box to view draws at other levels. If you see your name highlighted in yellow, congratulations you have made it to the Championship Tournament! Remember - Do not start the playoffs if you cannot complete all rounds of the event - default immediately! Defaults in later rounds ruin the tournament for other members.

Contact your 1st opponent immediately. Click the "Opponent Info" button at the top of the tournament draw to display your opponents contact information. Don't play phone tag! Leave a message on all possible contact numbers. Both players are responsible for contacting each other. If both you and your opponent have a "Bye" into the second round we recommend that you begin playing your next round ahead of schedule. To protect the privacy of our members, you can only view contact information for two rounds of the draw at a time.

If your opponent is unavailable to compete in the tournament for any reason: You must report the default. Select the "default" option under "Report Playoff Scores". This will advance you on to the next round. Contact your next opponent. Please do not contact the league office.

If your opponent is unresponsive after calling all listed phone numbers and you have reached the deadline, please default your opponent advancing yourself to the next round.

Select the match site The higher seeded player receives the "Home court" selection and provides the balls. The number next to each players name on the draw indicates a player's seeding position. In the spirit of the playoffs, players must be prepared to drive to away matches. As in all sports, the reward for hard work during the regular season is home court advantage during the playoffs.

Schedule the match The match is to be scheduled at a mutually agreeable time. The match should be scheduled as early in the period as possible to allow for rainouts. Once scheduled, a playoff match may not be rescheduled if it is within 4 days of the end of the round unless both players are in agreement. Due to the reserved dates of the semis & finals there will be no rain extensions in the playoffs. Don't let bad weather force a coin toss to see who advances.

Complete the match on time. Playoff matches must be completed within the given time periods, or one of the two players will be disqualified. In cases where players' schedules are in conflict, the player who was available for more days in the round will advance. To determine the player who is most available, both players must count the days they were not only available but actually offered to play. Only days that include reasonable and customary Match Start Times count towards availability. If players are available for the same number of days, you must contact the office for a coin toss to determine a winner. See notes below for a "Possible Playoff round Extension".

Report scores on time. The winner must submit the scores by midnight on the last day of each play-off period. Note - You may not use your "Late Pass" to report late scores in the playoffs. The Late Pass is only applicable during the regular season.

Contact your next round opponent. Draw sheets are updated instantly as match scores are reported. Contact your new opponent immediately. If you and your next opponent finish the previous round ahead of schedule, we recommend that you start playing your next round early.

If your next round opponent has not reported their match by the deadline: Contact one of the two players to see if the match was played but simply not reported. To access the contact information for your opponents, click the "Opponent Info" button at the top of your draw and then click the link at the bottom that says "Potential future opponent's contact info". If the match has not been played by the deadline then the two players in default must determine which player will advance and report a default in "Playoff Scoring". Players will not receive extra time to complete the match because they were not aware that they had made the playoffs. If the lack of match resolution has been due to scheduling, the player who has been more available will always advance.

Semi-Final & Final Round Matches The location and tournament format for the semi-final and final rounds will vary based on your city region. Refer to your playoff draw to determine whether your semi's and finals will be played out under the flexible format or held on site a host tennis facility.
Semi-finals and finals that will be held at the host facility are shown with a set date on the draw, (Saturday and/or Sunday). "When announced" the name of the host facility will be listed under the round. Semi's and Finals that are to be played under the flexible format will contain a range of match dates.

Once you determine your final round format from your draw, please select the appropriate link below for your match procedures.
Two day tournament - The semi finals and finals will be held at a host facility.
One day tournament - The finals only will be held at a host facility.
Flexible tournament - The semi-finals and finals are played at the higher seeded player's court
Start times for Championship matches played at a host facility may range from 8:00am-5:00pm and will be posted at least one week prior to the Championship Weekend. Start times will be located in the middle of the draw bracket and shown in red. Check the draw to confirm that there have been no changes. For host facility information and directions click the link at the top of your draw.

Important

We have limited access to host facility courts and in most cases all the courts are booked solid for the tournament. For this reason, we do not have the flexibility to schedule matches around other leagues, tournaments, or sporting events. If you are not going to be available all day during the entire Championship Weekend dates posted on your schedule, please make yourself "unavailable" for the playoffs. Defaults ruin the tournament for other members!

Atlanta Women's Events with Regional Finals:

The Atlanta Women's Day League and Women's Night League are separated into different halves of the draw to eliminate extreme driving and aid in match scheduling. The two halves of the draw merge together at the regional final round to produce the event champion. If your draw has a regional final it will be listed to the right of the league finals round. You will notice that the lower leg of the regional final bracket is unattached. This extra bracket leg will be filled by the player who advances from the other half of your draw that is not visable. To view the other half of a draw, from the main menu select "Playoffs", then "Tournament Draws" and choose the appropriate event.

Possible Playoff round Extension

To be used in extreme cases only. If you and your current opponent can not complete your match within the scheduled time due to rain or availability, you may explore the following option with your next round opponents. You may ask the players if they would be willing to let you utilize a day or two in the next round so you can complete your current match. If they agree to shorten their next round, the league office will permit you to play late with the following stipulations:

You and your current opponent must be in agreement to exercise this option. If both players are not in agreement to explore this option the more available player will advance if the match is not complete within the time limits.
Your next round opponent cannot be forced into giving up part of their playoff round. The days that you are asking them to give up may be the only days they have available to play the next round, so they have every right to decline your request. You can access the contact phone numbers of your future round opponents by clicking on the "Opponent Info" button at the top of your draw, and then click the link at the bottom that says Potential future opponent's contact info.
If they grant your request, make sure that you confirm they will be available to play in the remaining days of the next round. If the next round match cannot be completed for any reason, (rain, can't agree on a match time, etc.) then your opponent will advance by default.
If they decline your request, and your time period is over, then you and your current opponent must determine who advances in the draw. Our rules state that the player who was available for more days in the round advances. In the case of an even number of days, you must contact the office for a coin toss to see who advances.

We want to see matches decided on the court whenever possible. However, due to weather and personal schedules this is not always possible. The above option should only be used in extreme cases and when it does not inconvenience other members. We still support the rule "that matches must be completed within the specified time periods" and only allow this deviation at the discretion of both your current and your future round opponents.

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