Tennis House Ladders

The house ladders are an excellent way for players of all levels to meet other players of similar ability, and a great way for new members to get to know other players at the Club.

There are three ladders: Men's Singles, Women's Singles and Open Doubles.

Players are placed in houses of 4-5 players or teams, and have 3 weeks to arrange a game with each of the other players in the house. Players then move up or down the ladder for the next session according to their results.

You may sign up for more than one ladder (but please consider how many ladder games you are committing to play).

Singles Ladder Rules

The Basics

You have 3 weeks to contact and play a set with each of the others in your house. Then the top players move up and the bottom players move down for the next 3-week session.

Signing up

1. Players must sign up at the front desk and pay an annual entry fee of $10 per ladder. The contact information you provide will be made available to other ladder players for the purpose of arranging matches. The ladders are open to adult members and to juniors with Senior Playing Privileges.

2. Players entering the ladder will be placed according to their position last year, or by their player rating. (Players are strongly encouraged to consult with the tennis pros re ratings rather than relying on the self-rating guide).

Arranging and playing matches

1. Contact the other members of your house as soon as possible and arrange a mutually convenient time to play. Don't wait till the last few days to arrange your matches - you may get rained out! Sessions will not be extended except in truly extraordinary circumstances!
2. Both players should bring new or nearly new ITF-approved balls. Players must agree on the balls to be used.
3. Matches are to be played in one 40-minute booking period only. Try to limit your warm-up time to 5 minutes so you will have enough time to complete the set.
4. Play a regular 6-game set, tie-break at 6-all. If the set is not completed in 40 minutes, the winner will be the player who is leading in completed games. (Exception: if neither player has "broken serve" at any time in the set, it should be considered a tie). If a tie-break is started but not completed, the match should also be considered a tie.
5. Both players are responsible for recording the score on the sheet on the bulletin board. See the instructions on that sheet. Record only W=win. L=loss or T=tie.
6. Under no circumstances is a result to be entered unless the match is actually played. In particular there are no "default" wins! Players entering falsified results may be suspended from ladder play.
7. At the end of each session, players are ranked by giving 3 points for a win, 2 for a tie, and 1 for a loss. The top ranked players in each house will then move up and the bottom players will move down. Because of players entering and leaving the ladder, both the number of players moving and the size of the houses may vary.
8. You are expected to play all your matches - otherwise you disrupt the ladder play for the others in your house!
9. Because a player who does not make an effort to play all his/her matches spoils the ladder for the rest, players who are unable to play their matches must inform the coordinator of the reason; otherwise a player who plays no match in a session, or twice plays only once, will be removed from the ladder.
10. Players removed once may request re-instatement to the ladder, but if removed a second time may not return.
11. If you know you will be unable to play in a session because of injury, vacation, or any other reason please inform the coordinator before the end of the previous session. Players who voluntarily withdraw in advance may request re-instatement near their previous ladder ranking in a subsequent session.

OPEN Doubles Ladder Rules

The doubles ladder operates by the same rules as the singles ladders with the following considerations:

• A doubles team can consist of any two players: mixed, men’s, or women’s.
• Players must enter in teams - register as a team at the front desk.
• Entry fee is $10 per TEAM for the season ($5 per player).
• To assist members in forming teams there will be a sheet at the front desk where those looking for partners may be listed (no charge). It is the members' responsibility to contact others on this list to form a team and register - the coordinator will not form teams.
• A player may arrange a substitute (spare) if he/she is away or injured. Substitutes should be similar in ability to the players they replace. Anyone substituting may play only for one team in a house in each session. Both players cannot be substitutes (i.e. one player on each team must be one of the regular players).
• If you would like to register only as a spare, email the coordinator directly (see below) to include your name in the contact list. There is no charge to be listed as a spare.
• Players may change partners at the start of a new session. A new player joining an existing one will pay a $5 fee.

The best way to contact Don Armstrong, Ladder Coordinator, is via email at