WACC Board (approved 1/22/25)
1700.The rules of the U S Tennis Federation, as modified by the CIF, the NCS, and the WACC will govern competition.
1700.1 Each coach shall obtain a Friend at Court for the current year.
1700.2 Abusive conduct directed at an opponent or coach is unacceptable. The coach responsible for the student-athlete exhibiting the unacceptable conduct shall invoke an immediate disqualification when he/she observes this conduct or this conduct is reported to him/her.
1701. Home School Responsibilities
1701.1 The suggested ball is the NCS-adopted ball. The host school is responsible for obtaining new tennis balls for each match and warm-up practice balls.
1701.2 The host school shall provide water, visible scoring devices, center net straps or some device that serves the same purpose.
1701.3 It is recommended that schools provide 3’6” singles sticks for their courts.
1701.4 The host school coach shall notify the local media of match results.
1702. Match start times will be determined by athletic directors. Matches will start upon the arrival of the visiting team. In all cases coaches shall ensure that student-athletes have a ten-minute warm-up period and ten minutes of court practice before the beginning of the match.”
1703. Players shall wear an appropriate team uniform at all times. An individual match shall be declared “forfeit” for noncompliance. Warm-up suits are considered appropriate attire. Doubles teams’ members shall wear the same uniform.
1704. The teams in first place at the conclusion of the league play are the league champions and the WACC’s automatic representatives to the NCS. If there is a tie for first place, the teams in the tie shall share the co-championship and the WACC’s NCS representative(s) will be determined by the following prioritized steps:
1704.1 The records of the teams within the tie against each other.
1704.2 The records of the teams within the tie against the team immediately below them in the league standings.
1704.3 The records of the teams within the tie against the next lowest team in the league standings. This process shall continue using all teams in the league.
1704.4 If at any time in the above steps a team is eliminated from the tie, but a tie still exists (started with a three-way tie for example), the progression starts once again with 1705. 1 and continues until the tie is broken.
1704.5 The number of individual matches won between the tied teams
1704.6 The number of sets won in the two matches between the tied teams
1704.7 The number of games won in the two matches between the tied teams.
1704.8 A draw from a hat by the league’s athletic directors.
1704.9 Every effort shall be made to complete the league season. If inclement weather causes so many rainouts that the WACC is unable to finish the round robin season before the NCS seeding date, the NCS representatives shall be the teams with the greatest number of league victories.
1706. Conduct of Matches:
1706.1 Each contest shall consist of four singles matches and three doubles matches. Students may not participate in both singles and doubles matches against the same team on the same day. The suggested order of matches is Doubles 3, Doubles 2, Doubles 1, Singles 4, Singles 3, Singles 2, and Singles 1. Mutual consent between the two coaches can alter this order.
1706.2 Each match consists of the best of three sets with “no-ad” scoring, preceded by a maximum five-minute warm-up. Points are called 15, 30, 40, game and the first player to win the 4th point wins the game. If a 6-6 game score is reached in a set, the 7-point tiebreak outlined in the USTA rulebook is used. Two coaches may agree to change the structure of the 3rd set in any match except when it (they) may be the determining match(es).
1706.3 If a contest is stopped by rain, darkness, etc. before a school has won four matches, that contest will be continued on the next available date as determined by athletic directors. Play will be resumed at the point where the matches were stopped. The set, game, and points in the game stand until play is resumed.
1706.4 Coaching may take place according to USTA and NCS rules. Coaches must be listed on the team roster and shall be the only persons allowed to coach players. Schools may have up to two certified coaches at each match. Lineups shall be exchanged at the beginning of the match and the certified coaches must be listed on the team roster.
A coach may coach a player any time during the match so long as the coach does not interfere with play. Coaches shall not in any way distract or annoy, or talk to the opposing player. Violation of these provisions shall result in the player on the court where the violation occurred being assessed a point penalty. (Penalties for coaching are not treated as part of the Point Penalty System, and they do not accumulate). USTA has a maximum of 25seconds between points, and 90 seconds on changeovers.
Coaches may not sit or stand anywhere that interferes / obstructs with play. The coach’s movement shall be limited so as to not distract the players. A coach may change courts when the movement will not interrupt play. Coaches may coach within the lines of the court only during a changeover, set break or when changing courts. Only two coaches may coach at the same court at the same time.
1706.5 Matches without a neutral certified USTA official as chair umpire shall be considered unofficiated matches. All WACC matches are considered unofficiated unless both coaches agree on a USTA official.
1706.6 Coaches shall instruct players in the rules and etiquette of tennis. The procedures/violations/penalties outlined in the USTA rules shall be used when dealing with footfault violations, line call issues, etc.
1706.7New balls shall be used at the beginning of the third set unless all players agree otherwise.
1707. Team Composition and Rank Order:
1707.1 Before the first league tennis contest, schools shall conduct a series of challenge matches and shall have developed a singles’ “tennis ladder” ranking every player on the team according to his/her ability. The ladder shall be dated and given to the school’s A.D.
1707.2 Schools must conduct supervised challenge matches on a regular basis. Challenge match results from a Monday-Saturday time period shall take effect the following Monday and a new dated ladder shall be given to the school’s A.D. each Monday. Student-athletes may challenge only one rung up on the ladder; there is a limit of a two-rung movement per week once league matches have begun. Behavioral issues may not be reflected in a school’s tennis ladder.
1707.3 At each league contest the student playing at # 1 singles must be ranked higher on the current ladder than the player at # 2 singles; the student playing at # 2 singles must be ranked higher on the current ladder than the player at # 3 singles, the student playing at # 3 singles must be ranked higher on the current ladder than the player at # 4 singles.
1707.4 Three doubles teams may be created using any combination of the remaining players on the team. Doubles teams are ranked for league contests based on the singles ladder; the sum of the ladder positions of the players shall determine the higher-ranked team. If the sum of the ladder positions for two or three of the teams is equal, then the highest ranked player shall play on the higher ranked doubles team.
1707.4.1 If a school has an established doubles ladder based on doubles challenge matches on file with the school’s A.D., that ladder shall be used for ranking teams for league contests.
1707.5 Lineups may change from one match to the next provided the above rules are followed.
1707.6 Coaches are to exchange line-ups before each match. Questions about line-ups are to be resolved by the mutual consent of the coaches prior to the beginning of the match.
1707.7 If at any time a school has won four matches and therefore won the contest, a coach may substitute any player(s) on his/her ladder for any of the remaining singles or doubles matches. In addition, with the agreement of both coaches, a 10-point tiebreaker third set may also be used for players/teams that have split their first two sets.
1708. WACC Tournament:
1708.1 The suggested format is first and second rounds on the first day of the tournament and semifinal and final rounds on the second day of the tournament. Athletes must be able to participate on both days of the championships. The hosting school shall make inclement weather plans and list a third “rain date.” The fact sheet shall list a sequencing of singles and doubles matches. The suggested order of play is the four unseeded doubles matches, followed by the four unseeded singles matches, followed by the four seeded doubles matches, followed by the four seeded singles matches. Ten minutes shall be allowed for match warm-ups. A match shall be declared forfeit if a player/team is not ready to compete ten minutes after the match is called.
1708.2 Each of the teams in the two league tournaments has 2 singles entries and 2 doubles teams entries.
1708.3 Priority numbers will be drawn at the beginning of the year to fill any empty spots in the tournament bracket.
1708.4 Four entries in both singles and doubles shall be seeded; the other bracket spots shall be randomly drawn in. Participants from the same school shall not play each other in the first round. Coaches shall seed the tournament at the postseason meeting.
1708.5 Service and baseline officials will be furnished for semifinal and final matches if requested. Coaches may not officiate a match if one of their players is involved.
1708.6The tournament director’s decision is final in all disputes.
1708.7 The tournament champions will represent the WACC in NCS singles and doubles competition. If inclement weather makes it impossible to complete the tournament, WACC representatives to the NCS tournament shall be the highest seeded singles player/doubles team remaining in the tournament. If the entire tournament is cancelled, NCS entries shall be determined by the coaches’ seeds.
1709. The All-League Teams shall consist of six singles players and six doubles players.
1709.1 Each school is allowed up to three singles and four doubles nominations. Tentative nominations shall be made through the league website.
1709.2 Coaches must attend the meeting to formally nominate their players. Coaches may not vote for their own players.
1709.3 Coaches shall first select a “Player of the Year” from among those nominated.
1709.4 Coaches shall then select six singles honorees. A player must have played in at least one-half of his/her team’s league matches to qualify for singles nomination.
1709.5 Coaches shall then select six doubles honorees. Doubles players must have played in more than one-half of the league contests as part of a doubles team to qualify for nomination; extenuating circumstances may be taken into consideration and shall be listed on the nomination form. Doubles players are nominated as individuals, not as teams.
1709.6 Winners of the league singles and league doubles tournaments and the Player-of-the-Year shall be added to the all-league teams if they’re not otherwise selected.
1709.7 Coaches shall add two honorable mention honorees from their school after the balloting.
