World Championship Rules
RULES FOR THE LADIES' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
1. These Championships shall take place every two years and shall, starting in 2017, rotate round the following countries: USA, Australia, France and UK. They shall consist of a singles championship and a doubles championship and a plate for the first round losers of the singles. The host country’s governing body shall appoint a Tournament Committee. The Tournament Committee shall decide whether or not a plate is held for the first round losers of the doubles.
2. The responsibility for holding the Championships transfers immediately upon completion of one event to the authorities in the country where they will next be held.
3. The host country's governing body must nominate a court and approximate date in the first six months of the calendar year preceding the year of the Championships and shall notify same to the various governing bodies, i.e. the Ladies’ Real Tennis Association, The Tennis & Rackets Association, The United States Court Tennis Association, Comite Francais du Jeu de Courte Paume and the Australian Real Tennis Association.
4. These World Championships rules, along with home court rules, shall apply each time. ("Home court" rules are those which apply to the court only, for example, whether balls hit over roof beams are still in play or not.)
The Championships shall be played as knock-out tournaments; the best of three first-to-six-game sets shall be played in all matches.
Competitors shall not be required to play more than one singles match per day in the main event.
5. If competitors are required to play both a singles and a doubles match on the same day, the singles match shall be played first. There shall be a break of at least an hour between the two matches, the start of the second match being delayed if necessary to ensure an hour’s break after the conclusion of the first match.
6. Players shall play at times allocated by the Tournament Committee and shall be ready to play 15 minutes before the allocated time. The knock up shall be limited to five minutes. Late arrivals shall be scratched if not ready to go on court at the allocated time. If the Tournament Committee operate a ‘continuous play’ draw where no times are allocated other than a start time for the morning, lunchtime and evening sessions, players of the first match of each session shall be ready to play 15 minutes before the start time and the remaining players scheduled to play in each session shall be ready to play as soon as the previous match has finished. Any players not ready to play immediately following the end of the previous match will be scratched and in the case of doubles, a pair will be scratched if one or both players are not ready to play immediately following the end of the previous match. Decisions regarding the scratching of players shall be at the discretion of the Tournament Committee.
7. It is the responsibility of the Tournament Committee to decide on the availability of practice courts and to allocate these fairly between the competitors. The method for allocating and booking such courts and the cost (if any) shall be sent out to competitors, if possible, with the entry forms but certainly with the draw. If any courts become free unexpectedly during the tournament, these may be allocated for practice at the discretion of the Tournament Committee.
No player may use a court for practice in the hour immediately preceding a match in which they are playing.
8. A copy of the final draws shall be on public display at the court for at least 24 hours before the start of the tournament. This version of the draws is that to which the tournament shall be played and no change may be made to these draws once the first ball of the tournament has been struck. In the event a draw has been altered due to the withdrawal of seeds (see Rule 11.3 below) a copy of the draw(s) as sent to competitors will be displayed alongside the new draw(s) with a clear indication as to which draw is which and that the original draw has been superseded.
9. Play shall be continuous; players may only leave the court during a match with the express permission of the marker and then only for a good reason and for the shortest possible time.
10. The position of the marker shall be in line with the Laws of Tennis where the tournament is being held. It is desirable that the Marker shall stand in the Marker’s box at the entrance to the court.
11. Each country, with its Tournament Committee, shall be responsible for the World Championships when they are held in that country. The Committee shall be responsible for:
11.1 ENTRY FORMS
Entry forms are to:
11.1.1 be sent out to reach potential entrants at least 12 weeks before the start of the Championships. The closing date for entries shall be set not less than four weeks before the start of the Championships. The draw shall be sent to players not less than one week before the start of the Championships. The entry form shall state whether or not there is to be a Doubles Plate for first round losers in the Doubles tournament.
11.1.2 be sent to all clubs where ladies play and, in the case of the UK, all LRTA members. The method of distribution of the entry forms to be agreed with each country. Entry information should also be put on the major tennis websites.
11.1.3 state that:
11.1.3.1 in the case of UK, US and French resident players, all entrants must be members of the LRTA, USCTA and CFCP/FFT respectively
11.1.3.2 predominantly white clothing, excluding shoes, is to be worn, although coloured tracksuits are permissible during knock-ups. Clothing worn by amateur players may only bear a manufacturer’s small emblem, not exceeding 26 sq cms on shirts or shorts/skirts. Otherwise, Club logos and advertising on clothing shall be restricted to three separate areas of up to 26 sq cms and one of up to 52 sq cms.
11.1.4 show clearly the place, date and time of the draw.
11.1.5 state that late entrants shall not be accepted. (See 11.3.3 below.)
11.1.6 state whether or not professionals are required to pay an entry fee.
11.2 SEEDING AND DRAW
Singles:
For any size of Singles draw up to 32 entrants, either seven or eight seeds are nominated, depending on 11.2.1 below and placed in the draw as detailed in 11.2.2 below. The seeding positions shall be determined by Singles handicap as shown on the RTO (Real Tennis Online) handicap system on the date of the draw.
11.2.1 If the first seed’s handicap is ten or more points better than that of the next seed, she shall be given byes to the semi-final (being placed at the top of the draw) and only six further seeds shall be nominated. The section of the draw that would have included the first and eighth seeds shall be left empty up to the semi-finals. If the handicap difference is less than ten, seven further seeds shall be nominated. Seeds shall be placed in the draw as described in 11.2.2 below
11.2.2 Seeds shall be given byes to the round preceding the quarterfinals placing the first seed at the top (if not already given a bye to the semi-final), the second seed at the bottom, the third and fourth drawn in opposite halves and the fifth to seventh or eighth drawn. (If the first seed has been given a bye to the semi-finals, there will only be six seeds and twelve players in this round. There will be eight seeds and sixteen players if the first seed has not been given a bye to the semi-finals.) If there are insufficient entrants to fill this round, seeds shall be given byes to the quarterfinals in descending order, being placed as drawn.
11.2.3 Any remaining entrants shall play in preliminary rounds arranged to reduce the number of players to the number (either six or eight) required to fill the round preceding the quarterfinals.
Doubles:
For any size of Doubles draw up to 16 pairs of entrants, six seeds are nominated. The seeding positions shall be determined by Doubles handicap as shown on the RTO (Real Tennis Online) handicap system on the date of the draw.
11.2.4 The first seeds shall be placed at the top, the second seeds at the bottom and the third to sixth drawn.
If there are more than 32 entries in the Singles and/or 16 entries in the Doubles, a qualifier shall be held immediately preceding the World Championships. If any manual adjustments have been made to a player’s handicap, this shall only be accepted if sufficient match results have been recorded since the adjustment to justify the manual change.
11.3 WITHDRAWALS
11.3.1 If any seed in the singles withdraws from the Championship before it begins, the Tournament Committee shall, if practicable, alter the draw in the interests of balance, by moving lower seeds up to take their place and, if there are suitable candidates for the vacated lower seed positions, new seeds shall be created.
11.3.2 In the doubles, if one player of a pair withdraws, the pair withdraws. If a pair can then be made up of original doubles competitors forced by their partners to withdraw, this is permitted, but the new pair shall be placed in the draw in the initial position of the better handicap player. Under no circumstances shall a player be allowed to withdraw from a pair and be reinstated in another pair.
11.3.3 If there are withdrawals and the Tournament Committee need to do so to maintain a sensible draw, the Tournament Committee may invite competitors to enter as late entrants. Only such invited players may enter after the tournament entry closing date.
11.4 USE OF TOURNAMENT INCOME
It is up to the organising country’s Tournament Committee to decide how the Championships shall be funded when they are hosting them. It is their decision how any sponsorship money, entry fees, charges for entertainment or other donations are used.
For example whether funds are used for:
reducing the entry fees for amateurs;
providing trophies or permanent mementoes that may be kept by winners and/or runners up;
providing subsidised entertainment for all competitors;
paying prize money or appearance money to professionals;
providing tournament clothing/equipment/presents to competitors;
providing prize vouchers for amateurs
or any other use the host country deems suitable.
It must be ensured that any gifts or vouchers for amateurs do not break Amateur Status rules which vary between the different countries and that the host country’s rules should apply in this regard.
If prize money or appearance money is to be offered, the professionals who are eligible to receive it should be given the rules for its allocation at the time the entry forms are sent out. Again, it is up to the organising country’s Tournament Committee to specify what such rules should be.
12. The country holding the World Championships is responsible for:
13. The new host country is responsible for chasing the current holders of trophies to ensure that the trophies are passed to the new hosts in a timely fashion ready to be presented following the next World Championships finals.
Revised June 2018
2. The responsibility for holding the Championships transfers immediately upon completion of one event to the authorities in the country where they will next be held.
3. The host country's governing body must nominate a court and approximate date in the first six months of the calendar year preceding the year of the Championships and shall notify same to the various governing bodies, i.e. the Ladies’ Real Tennis Association, The Tennis & Rackets Association, The United States Court Tennis Association, Comite Francais du Jeu de Courte Paume and the Australian Real Tennis Association.
4. These World Championships rules, along with home court rules, shall apply each time. ("Home court" rules are those which apply to the court only, for example, whether balls hit over roof beams are still in play or not.)
The Championships shall be played as knock-out tournaments; the best of three first-to-six-game sets shall be played in all matches.
Competitors shall not be required to play more than one singles match per day in the main event.
5. If competitors are required to play both a singles and a doubles match on the same day, the singles match shall be played first. There shall be a break of at least an hour between the two matches, the start of the second match being delayed if necessary to ensure an hour’s break after the conclusion of the first match.
6. Players shall play at times allocated by the Tournament Committee and shall be ready to play 15 minutes before the allocated time. The knock up shall be limited to five minutes. Late arrivals shall be scratched if not ready to go on court at the allocated time. If the Tournament Committee operate a ‘continuous play’ draw where no times are allocated other than a start time for the morning, lunchtime and evening sessions, players of the first match of each session shall be ready to play 15 minutes before the start time and the remaining players scheduled to play in each session shall be ready to play as soon as the previous match has finished. Any players not ready to play immediately following the end of the previous match will be scratched and in the case of doubles, a pair will be scratched if one or both players are not ready to play immediately following the end of the previous match. Decisions regarding the scratching of players shall be at the discretion of the Tournament Committee.
7. It is the responsibility of the Tournament Committee to decide on the availability of practice courts and to allocate these fairly between the competitors. The method for allocating and booking such courts and the cost (if any) shall be sent out to competitors, if possible, with the entry forms but certainly with the draw. If any courts become free unexpectedly during the tournament, these may be allocated for practice at the discretion of the Tournament Committee.
No player may use a court for practice in the hour immediately preceding a match in which they are playing.
8. A copy of the final draws shall be on public display at the court for at least 24 hours before the start of the tournament. This version of the draws is that to which the tournament shall be played and no change may be made to these draws once the first ball of the tournament has been struck. In the event a draw has been altered due to the withdrawal of seeds (see Rule 11.3 below) a copy of the draw(s) as sent to competitors will be displayed alongside the new draw(s) with a clear indication as to which draw is which and that the original draw has been superseded.
9. Play shall be continuous; players may only leave the court during a match with the express permission of the marker and then only for a good reason and for the shortest possible time.
10. The position of the marker shall be in line with the Laws of Tennis where the tournament is being held. It is desirable that the Marker shall stand in the Marker’s box at the entrance to the court.
11. Each country, with its Tournament Committee, shall be responsible for the World Championships when they are held in that country. The Committee shall be responsible for:
11.1 ENTRY FORMS
Entry forms are to:
11.1.1 be sent out to reach potential entrants at least 12 weeks before the start of the Championships. The closing date for entries shall be set not less than four weeks before the start of the Championships. The draw shall be sent to players not less than one week before the start of the Championships. The entry form shall state whether or not there is to be a Doubles Plate for first round losers in the Doubles tournament.
11.1.2 be sent to all clubs where ladies play and, in the case of the UK, all LRTA members. The method of distribution of the entry forms to be agreed with each country. Entry information should also be put on the major tennis websites.
11.1.3 state that:
11.1.3.1 in the case of UK, US and French resident players, all entrants must be members of the LRTA, USCTA and CFCP/FFT respectively
11.1.3.2 predominantly white clothing, excluding shoes, is to be worn, although coloured tracksuits are permissible during knock-ups. Clothing worn by amateur players may only bear a manufacturer’s small emblem, not exceeding 26 sq cms on shirts or shorts/skirts. Otherwise, Club logos and advertising on clothing shall be restricted to three separate areas of up to 26 sq cms and one of up to 52 sq cms.
11.1.4 show clearly the place, date and time of the draw.
11.1.5 state that late entrants shall not be accepted. (See 11.3.3 below.)
11.1.6 state whether or not professionals are required to pay an entry fee.
11.2 SEEDING AND DRAW
Singles:
For any size of Singles draw up to 32 entrants, either seven or eight seeds are nominated, depending on 11.2.1 below and placed in the draw as detailed in 11.2.2 below. The seeding positions shall be determined by Singles handicap as shown on the RTO (Real Tennis Online) handicap system on the date of the draw.
11.2.1 If the first seed’s handicap is ten or more points better than that of the next seed, she shall be given byes to the semi-final (being placed at the top of the draw) and only six further seeds shall be nominated. The section of the draw that would have included the first and eighth seeds shall be left empty up to the semi-finals. If the handicap difference is less than ten, seven further seeds shall be nominated. Seeds shall be placed in the draw as described in 11.2.2 below
11.2.2 Seeds shall be given byes to the round preceding the quarterfinals placing the first seed at the top (if not already given a bye to the semi-final), the second seed at the bottom, the third and fourth drawn in opposite halves and the fifth to seventh or eighth drawn. (If the first seed has been given a bye to the semi-finals, there will only be six seeds and twelve players in this round. There will be eight seeds and sixteen players if the first seed has not been given a bye to the semi-finals.) If there are insufficient entrants to fill this round, seeds shall be given byes to the quarterfinals in descending order, being placed as drawn.
11.2.3 Any remaining entrants shall play in preliminary rounds arranged to reduce the number of players to the number (either six or eight) required to fill the round preceding the quarterfinals.
Doubles:
For any size of Doubles draw up to 16 pairs of entrants, six seeds are nominated. The seeding positions shall be determined by Doubles handicap as shown on the RTO (Real Tennis Online) handicap system on the date of the draw.
11.2.4 The first seeds shall be placed at the top, the second seeds at the bottom and the third to sixth drawn.
If there are more than 32 entries in the Singles and/or 16 entries in the Doubles, a qualifier shall be held immediately preceding the World Championships. If any manual adjustments have been made to a player’s handicap, this shall only be accepted if sufficient match results have been recorded since the adjustment to justify the manual change.
11.3 WITHDRAWALS
11.3.1 If any seed in the singles withdraws from the Championship before it begins, the Tournament Committee shall, if practicable, alter the draw in the interests of balance, by moving lower seeds up to take their place and, if there are suitable candidates for the vacated lower seed positions, new seeds shall be created.
11.3.2 In the doubles, if one player of a pair withdraws, the pair withdraws. If a pair can then be made up of original doubles competitors forced by their partners to withdraw, this is permitted, but the new pair shall be placed in the draw in the initial position of the better handicap player. Under no circumstances shall a player be allowed to withdraw from a pair and be reinstated in another pair.
11.3.3 If there are withdrawals and the Tournament Committee need to do so to maintain a sensible draw, the Tournament Committee may invite competitors to enter as late entrants. Only such invited players may enter after the tournament entry closing date.
11.4 USE OF TOURNAMENT INCOME
It is up to the organising country’s Tournament Committee to decide how the Championships shall be funded when they are hosting them. It is their decision how any sponsorship money, entry fees, charges for entertainment or other donations are used.
For example whether funds are used for:
reducing the entry fees for amateurs;
providing trophies or permanent mementoes that may be kept by winners and/or runners up;
providing subsidised entertainment for all competitors;
paying prize money or appearance money to professionals;
providing tournament clothing/equipment/presents to competitors;
providing prize vouchers for amateurs
or any other use the host country deems suitable.
It must be ensured that any gifts or vouchers for amateurs do not break Amateur Status rules which vary between the different countries and that the host country’s rules should apply in this regard.
If prize money or appearance money is to be offered, the professionals who are eligible to receive it should be given the rules for its allocation at the time the entry forms are sent out. Again, it is up to the organising country’s Tournament Committee to specify what such rules should be.
12. The country holding the World Championships is responsible for:
- supplying the Chairman of the Ladies Real Tennis Association, within four weeks following the conclusion of the World Championships, with the full results, a tournament report and memorabilia, e.g. poster, programme, photos, dinner menus etc. for inclusion in the World Championships Book
- the cost of engraving the silver trophies and ensuring the engraving is completed promptly.
13. The new host country is responsible for chasing the current holders of trophies to ensure that the trophies are passed to the new hosts in a timely fashion ready to be presented following the next World Championships finals.
Revised June 2018