Published on February 5, 2018

GTA Philosophy and Rules

Before we detail the rules that govern the Global Tennis Association, we should first discuss the overall philosophy (some would say "attitude") that has been prevalent in the league since the very beginning.

This is not your traditional tennis league. You will not see people (for the most part) wearing their tennis whites. This is not Wimbledon! You will find a bunch of players...men and women of all ages and skill levels who like to compete. But most of all, we love to have fun. Yes, we often "ball-bust" one another. Sometimes, some of us may even go too far with some of the ribbing...but it is all meant to be in good fun (or, at least it should be).

We don't take ourselves too seriously. We take our tennis somewhat seriously (i.e. we do like to compete). But when it comes to calling points that are questionable in nature, if you truly are not sure of where you saw the ball land...there are two options: 1.) Just give the point to your opponent (or opponents) since you are not certain whether or not the shot was in or out. 2.) Perhaps you feel it was one way while your opponent seems to think it may have went the other way. Maybe neither one of you are sure. In circumstances like these, play the point over.

We are not saying that you cannot defend yourself in these situations. If you feel you have made the right call, by all means state your case. And in singles situations, these calls can be particularly tough. But in doubles situations where there are three extra sets of eyes to witness where the ball landed, one should defer to the majority opinion.

With that out of the way, let us now move onto the way new players are integrated into the league.

When male and female players make their GTA debuts, if the match was a One-Setter of any sort, the result sees them get placed in either the Non-Competing Men's Division or the Non-Competing Women's Division. All that means is that the particular player in question has yet to compete in a full 2 out of 3 Set Match.

Beyond the "NCMD", we have two other Men's Singles Divisions: The Advanced Division and The Intermediate Division (at times, we have also had The Pro Division and perhaps that will need to be revived sometime in the future). We have a fair understanding of USTA skill assessment ratings, but many who come into the GTA don't even know what their rating is or would be. Skill level becomes fairly obvious after seeing a player compete a few times.

However, to move into one of those two other Men's Divisions, a player will have to compete in a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match. If the player feels he is just a Beginner (aka Novice) or Advanced Beginner (perhaps he once had a fair amount of skills, but hasn't played in awhile, etc.), he can just elect to face someone already ranked in the Intermediate Division or someone else in the Non-Competing Men's Division. Once that full match is finished (regardless of the result), they will then be able to move out of the "NCMD" and into the "I-M" Division.

Perhaps that player (and the rest of us watching him) are not entirely sure if this new player is at an Advanced level or is a true Intermediate. That player can opt to challenge one of the "bridge players". The bridge players are the ones who are currently ranked in both divisions: the Advanced and the Intermediate. If the new player defeats the bridge player, he jumps directly out of the "NCMD" and into the "A" Division. However, if the new guy loses that match, he will then be placed in the "I-M" Division. Once a player is ranked in the Intermediate Division, the way he will then have to make the jump up to the Advanced Division is to first become the GTA Intermediate Champion. Once a player becomes the I-M Champ, he can play anyone in the Advanced Division. Even if he loses that match, he will still be able to become part of the "A" Division and become another one of those "bridge players" that finds himself in both divisions at once.

In the past, if said player ever made it into The Top 5 of the Advanced Division, he would then be deemed as overqualified for competition in the Intermediate Division and removed from it accordingly. If he is the reigning GTA Intermediate Champion at that time (as has happened in the past), he would then vacate the Title and it would be put up for grabs in either a Tournament or a match between the Top 2 Contenders at that time in order to crown a New I-M Champ. All Championships in the GTA must be decided on court as the result of a match between two competitors. We will never award a Title to anyone.

Starting with the 2018 Season, given the fact that the league continues to grow and the overall Advanced Division and Intermediate Division rosters continue to expand, the new rules for over-qualification are such that if an Intermediate player ends up in The Top 10 of the Advanced Division, he can no longer compete in the Intermediate Division. This will help separate the two divisions further and actually allow for more opportunities for the players that are still truly "intermediate" in talent level.

Sometimes new players come into this league and it is obvious that they are at an Advanced skill level. In these cases, certain exceptions have been made (and will continue to be made) where they will be allowed to play a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match in order to move directly out of the Non-Competing Men's Division and into the Advanced Division. However, if they lose that match, then they will be placed in the Intermediate Division instead.

On the women's side, beyond the Non-Competing Women's Division there is just the Women's Division. It is not broken into Advanced and Intermediate Divisions. If a female player wants to get ranked, she will need to compete against another lady in a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match. It should also be said that, in the GTA, that is how you acquire rank. You defeat someone in a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match and take their rank. The defeated player moves down one notch (as does everyone else who was in between those two competitors prior to the match).

There is no points system and will never be a points system. It just doesn't work when you don't have people playing a similar schedule with an almost equal amount of matches. This is a league that operates under the philosophy of "play as often or as little as you like": we don't force people to play tennis with us. Some come to the GTA and see it as an opportunity to play a little bit of tennis once in awhile. Maybe they prefer the more social aspects of the league. Others like to get competitive and play for rank and Titles. We are a free tennis league that doesn't seek to make people commit to competition. This league is whatever you choose to make out of it for yourself.

The rankings system that we do have in place more often than not brings justice to the official GTA Rankings and we will discuss it now.

In the Men's Advanced and Intermediate Divisions as well as the Women's Division, there is a Monthly Rank Defense Review that takes place at the end of every month from April through October (aka "the peak season" while the complete official season runs from late February into midway through December). The Rank Defense Reviews will reward those who defended or simply put their rank on the line (even if they lost) and punish those who failed to engage in a match where their rank would be on the line (in the past calendar month). Those who have engaged in matches where their rank (not their higher-ranked opponent's rank) was on the line have the opportunity to leapfrog those that failed to be competitive in a full match (rank can only change hands during a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match, not just a One-Setter). More often than not, this process will bring justice to the ranks as it serves as a quasi points system whereby it rewards recent activity.

Championships in any of these three divisions can only be defended against competitors that are in The Top 10 of these divisions. Rank defenses, however, can be against anyone else in the division. Yet, starting with the 2018 Season, for it to be considered a "worthy" defense that will enable that competitor to "leapfrog" at the end of the month, it will need to come against a competitor that was within fourteen ranks of the higher-ranked opponent (it originally was within five ranks, then for many seasons it was within nine ranks...as the league continues to grow, we make adjustments)...unless the much lower-ranked opponent (i.e. more than fourteen ranks away) pulls off the upset and moves up in rank. Thereby, that previously lower-ranked player just proved that they were a "worthy" opponent.

Also, starting with the 2018 Season, the Divisions will now be bracketed by fifteen (rather than ten as it has been for quite some time) which means if you are at the # 16 ranked position (or # 31, or # 46, et cetera), you will not be able to leapfrog into The Top 15 or next higher bracket of fifteen. You will have to earn your way in (with a win) to get to the higher bracket. Referring back to the previous paragraph, you will still need to get ranked in The Top 10 in order to receive a title shot at the reigning Champ of any particular Singles Division.

The three Doubles Divisions (Men's Doubles, Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles) have always functioned somewhat differently. Rank will change hands on court as the result of a 2 out of 3 Sets Match. Heretofore, there was no Monthly Rank Defense Review at the end of each month as it is often hard to get four competitors scheduled accordingly in a calendar month. If a team had gone three months without teaming together in a full match, they would be eliminated for inactivity. Also, challengers did not have to be in The Top 10 of these divisions to get a shot at the Championships in that division. They just needed to be a ranked team. In order to get ranked, that team needs to play a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match against another team.

Late in the 2017 Season, however, with the debut of the first-ever Tinseltown Memorial Tournament where we allowed Men's Doubles Teams to compete against Women's Doubles Teams in order to get ranked in their respective divisions...we also then said any team could play a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match against any other team regardless of the difference in their divisions (Men's Doubles, Women's Doubles or Mixed Doubles) in order to then get ranked in their own respective divisions.

While this made it easier to get more teams ranked, it also led to an overcrowding situation in those divisions. So now two changes will be made going forward with respect to rank in all the Doubles Divisions. First, we are shortening the allowed inactivity period for teaming in a full match together as a team (a full match may include a 10-Point Super Tiebreak in lieu of a full 3rd Set, but then rank will no longer be on the line in that match) from three months to two months. Since we have made it easier to play matches to get ranked and/or remain ranked, the activity and commitment level should be increased.

Second, teams who play matches against other teams within their respective division to either put team rank on the line or acquire new rank will be rewarded over those that simply play full matches against teams in other Doubles Divisions in order to just remain active. These Monthly Rank Defense Reviews for the Doubles Divisions will not involve brackets of fifteen the way the Singles Divisions do. The Review will simply take all the teams that put rank on the line or acquired new rank and leapfrog all of those teams over all the teams that had failed to do either in the prior month.

In the GTA in general, as long as you play at least one One-Setter with us within a three month period, you will remain active in the GTA Rankings as an individual. If you are absent for more than three months, you are eliminated from the ranks. It does not mean you are permanently banned. You are welcome to join us again whenever you have the time. Playing another One-Setter will land you back in the Non-Competing Men's Division (or in the Non-Competing Women's Division if you are a female).

One thing that needs to be said about players returning to the league is that if they had previously qualified for the Advanced Division, they do not need to prove themselves again. Once they compete in another full 2 out of 3 Sets Match, even if they lose they will return to the "A" Division.

Champions need to defend their Titles at least once each calendar month during the "peak season" or else they face the possibility of being stripped of the Title. Sometimes exceptions are made. The GTA Champion sometimes has to wait more than a month for a winner to emerge from the annual Grove Cup Tournament (whereby we are crowning a new Top Contender and have told the reigning Champ to wait for the winner to emerge…this also holds true for the GTA Intermediate Champ when they are told to wait for a winner to emerge from the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament or the GTA Women’s Champ when she is told to wait for a winner to emerge from the annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Tournament).

Whenever there are Titles that are forfeited for inactivity or vacated as the result of a jump in divisions, that Title will then be declared as "Title Vacant"...and will remain that way until a Tournament or a Match with the Top 2 Contenders can be contested to establish a New Champion (as stated previously, Championships are never awarded to anyone). Titles must always be won on the courts.

Going back to the Doubles Divisions, sometimes we see a new team being formed that is seeking to enter a particular division. Often, they will end up in a match with the reigning Champions. The match will be contested as a Non-Title Match. If the new team emerges victorious, they cannot be crowned as the New Champions. Instead, they will become the New # 2 Team and considered to be the New Top Contenders that should receive the next shot at the Titles.

Also, whenever we have a situation where one half of a Championship team (regardless of division) feels the need to forfeit the Title (due to health circumstances, moving away, whatever), the other partner in that team has the right to choose a new partner to be in the match to reestablish the Titles. That new team does not have to qualify first since the partner who was left behind should not be punished for the actions of their former partner. The other team in that match should be the Top Contenders.

In the Singles Divisions, a similar scenario may play out where there is a competitor already in that division, but they are not in The Top 10. Thus, they cannot get an actual shot at the Title. However, they can play against the reigning Champion in a Non-Title Match and if they win they will jump up to the # 2 spot and become the new Top Contender. However, in these divisions, we prefer to see players get into The Top 10 first before they even compete against the Champ.

It seems we have covered everything. If not, we will make the necessary additions in the near future.

The Rules have been spoken...you have been warned...LOL!

One last thing, these are "The Rules" that seek to define the way the league is governed and how it functions. If you are seeking clarifications for the actual rules of the sport of tennis (scoring, double hits, ball bouncing back over the net, etc.), I would suggest doing a Google search or perhaps going to the USTA website for more information.

Tennis is meant to be enjoyed, not endured. Thank you for your anticipated participation in this philosophy.

Sincerely,
Frank Samara
February 5, 2018