How It Works

1. The ladders will be operated from April 15 to October 31 each year.

2. Players MUST register online via this website to join a ladder.

3. Players DO NOT need to be a Montgomery County resident to join a ladder.

4. Players must be a USTA member in order to join. Each player will be required to designate his/her level of play at the time of registration for initial placement on the ladder. If you are not a current USTA member, you can get information on membership and become a member at the USTA website. When you join you will be prompted to choose a rating level. Please carefully read the rating guidelines provided on the USTA website or ask a tennis pro to help guide you in choosing the correct rating.

5. The ladders are all self-administered through this website and email. All players joining must have readily available internet access and must have a practice of checking email at least every other day.

6. If both players agree that the match will not be played at one of the two facilities that the MCTA has made arrangements with (see item 7 below), the match must be played on any public or private court at any school, public park, private club, community facility or backyard court that is in good repair and within Montgomery County borders. While the player being challenged has the right to designate the match location, it is courtesy to select a court somewhere between the players if they live a significant distance apart.

7. In an effort to provide safe playing locations for matches, any player/team has the option to require that their match be played at one of two managed facilities that the MCTA has made arrangements with for play. The two locations are the Tennis Center at College Park (TCCP) or the West Winds Tennis & Fitness Center. Players who opt to play at either of these two locations may play at no charge for court time as the MCTA will pay the fees as part of your ladder membership. When reserving court time at either of these locations, the facility must be informed that the courts are being reserved in conjunction with the MCTA ladder program in order for the fees to be paid by MCTA.

8. Each Ladder will be organized as a "pyramid". The top tier, Tier 1, will have only one player in it which will be the current ladder leader. Tier 2 will have the two players in positions 2 & 3 on the ladder, Tier 3 will have the players in positions 4, 5 & 6 on the ladder, Tier 4 will have the players in positions 7, 8, 9, & 10 and so on. Players/teams may challenge any player within their own tier, and the two tiers above them. The only exceptions are that players/teams in position 10 or higher on the ladder (the top 4 tiers) may challenge any person/team to the top of the ladder, regardless of tier. One "Free Challenge" per season is offered to each player on the ladder to make challenge anywhere on the ladder(see Free Challenge Rule).
9. To make a challenge, a player comes to this website and logs-in where they can view the names, rankings, match histories and contact information of all members of the ladder. Once an opponent is selected, the challenger initiates an electronic challenge via the website. The electroninc challenge generates an email to all players with the details of the challenge. Any challenge made in accordance with the rules of the ladder must be accepted by the person being challenged and a match scheduled within 10 days, otherwise a forfeit is declared.

10. As soon as possible (preferably within 24 hours but not more than 48 hours) after being challenged, a challenged player must offer two reasonable days, times and locations for the match to be played that are within ten days of the date the challenge was made. The player being challenged will always have the right to designate the match location.

11. All matches will be best two out of three sets. A 7 point tie-breaker (first to 7) is played at six all in a set. If all players agree, but only if all players agree, a 10 point tie-breaker (first to 10 by 2) may be played in place of a third set.

12. The player that wins the match is responsible for entering the scores on the website. If the challenger wins, they take the ladder position held by his/her opponent and the opponent drops down one position. All other players are adjusted down accordingly. If the challenger losses the match, no change in ladder position is made for either player.

13. Each player must play one match in each required-play period to retain their current position on the ladder. Lack of play in a period results in being dropped down 5 position on the ladder. Players are always free to climb back up as desired if they get moved down. The required play periods are:

May 1 - June 30
July 1 - July 31
August 1 - August 31
September 1 - October 31

14. There is no dispute committee that will arbitrate or rule on disputes resulting from play. Players must resolve all disputes on their own to some fair and agreeable outcome.

This is just a summary of the ladder rules. More detail is contained in the complete Rules of Play that are accessible from a link on this page. All players are strongly encouragd to read the entire rules before scheduling a match.