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MTA Tournament Regulations for Tournament Officials

PLEASE NOTE: Failure to comply with any of these regulations could lead to loss of the tournament's sanction.

  1. All individual and organizational members of the USTA, STA and MTA are subject, during the sanctioned event, to the Constitution, By-Laws and Rules of USTA Tournament Regulations.
  2. In the event that any MTA tournament regulations conflict with the USTA regulations, then the MTA regulations will supersede and be applicable to all MTA sanctioned tournaments.
  3. Each sanctioned tournament must commit as to the surface on which each event will be played.
  4. Inclement weather gives the tournament referee or committee the prerogative to change surfaces to stay on schedule.
  5. All junior state championships must use a Feed-in Consolation through Quarter Finals in singles and First Match Loser Consolation in doubles unless using an 8 game pro-set format. Feed-in consolations require (a) play off for third and fourth positions and (b) trophies for the top five finishers in each category.
  6. In all circumstances where a first loss match consolation (FMLC) is used, a second round loss preceded by a first round bye or default will move the player into the consolations. However, it is not mandatory that a player move to the consolations where a third round loss is preceded by a first and second round bye or default. In this situation the player may request that the referee include him in the consolation. The referee shall base his decision on available openings and the strength of the player.
  7. See Table 1 for Junior scheduling guidelines and Table 2 for Adult, Senior and Wheelchair scheduling guidelines. Both can be found in Section 3 of this document.
  8. If a player enters more than one division, the above-mentioned guidelines apply separately to each division. Juniors may not play in more than one (1) division in singles or one (1) division in doubles in the same tournament.
  9. Adult players participating in multiple singles or doubles events should be allowed to play his/her age division first, i.e., play the older division for seniors first.
  10. The Tournament Committee may not let ANYONE enter more events than what the sanction form states as the maximum number one may enter.
  11. Players must be given a minimum rest period of 30 minutes between matches. In matches which are the best of three sets Juniors are entitled to 60 minutes between singles and 30 minutes between doubles. Adult age divisions 35, 40, and 45 entitled to 60 minutes, and adults 50 and over 90 minutes between matches. NTRP entitled to 60 minutes between singles and 30 minutes between doubles. In other formats, such as match tiebreak for third set, the minimum rest period for all divisions is 30 minutes. The referee may authorize additional rest when he concludes that the length of the match, heat, humidity, or other conditions justify an extension.
  12. Juniors playing in the 10’s, 12’s and 14’s divisions must be allowed a minimum of twelve hours from the end of their last match on a given day until the beginning of their first match on the following day. This is recommended for all ages and divisions.
  13. Players should never be required to begin matches before 7 A.M. or later then 10 P.M. In the 10’s, 12’s and 14’s divisions no match should start nor should a suspended match be resumed after 8 p.m.
  14. Inclement weather may force the to Referee take steps to keep the tournament on schedule including: If there is no practical way to finish an event, the Committee shall declare the tournament concluded. Matches not played should be entered into TDM as “unplayed."
    • Switch to No-Ad scoring.
    • Switch to Match Tiebreak.
    • Switch to 8 game pro-sets as a last resort in Adult and NTRP tournaments. Pro-sets are not allowed in Junior singles matches where any format change in Southern level 1, 2 and 3 tournaments require approval by Southern and level 3’s and 4’s must be approved by the MTA.
    • Strictly enforce pre-match warm-up time and breaks between sets.
    • Tighten court usage. Use “to be followed by” scheduling and have players waiting at courtside as soon as matches finish.
    • Cancel matches. If some matches must be canceled, start with consolation rounds. Cancel main draw singles last. However, Southern Tennis Association requirements for Southern Designated and Southern Level 3 tournaments are that you do not cancel consolations unless you also cancel the main draw.
  15. It is required that each sanctioned tournament have a certified roving umpire, dressed in official apparel, at each site of the tournament. It is recommended there be one roving umpire per 8 courts for all tournaments. In addition, for the purpose of keeping score and mediating line calls at Junior Tournaments, monitors should be provided at the ratio of 1 for every 4 courts.
  16. Point penalties, as authorized by the USTA, will be in effect in all
  17. Players must not be forced to play on courts that do not meet USTA Specifications.
  18. If a tournament is not held, all money must be refunded to players. No money may be kept regardless of expenses incurred by tournament.
  19. If at all possible, do not put on Senior singles matches, i.e., Women 40 and Men 45 and older, between the hours of 11:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. during the months of June, July and August.
  20. If two or more people enter a tournament, the division must be held. The tournament director must call the entrants, explaining that the division will be held for ranking purposes. If the tournament has consolation, players will play two out of three matches to determine the winner. If the tournament is single elimination, and only two enter a division, the two entrants will play only 1 match for the title. If one chooses not to play and the other agrees to play, the latter can be listed on the form: ENTRIES IN EVENTS WHICH DID NOT MAKE. Each entrant should be allowed to make an independent choice without prior knowledge of what the other has opted to do. Entrant must pay entry fee to be considered as counting toward the requirement for ranking.
  21. In cases where there are four or less entries in a division, a round robin must be played. A round robin may be played when there are eight or fewer entries. The player who wins the most matches is the winner of the round robin. In the event two players are tied, then the winner of their head-to- head match is the winner. If three or more players are tied, the Referee shall use the following steps in the order listed to break all ties. The Referee shall break as many ties as possible using a given step before using the next step. These steps in order are: If the Referee has applied all the steps and a tie still cannot be broken, the Referee shall use a random drawing among the remaining tied players to determine their order of finish. NOTE:  A tiebreak played in lieu of the third set counts as one set when counting sets and one game when counting games.
    • the head-to-head win-loss record in matches involving just the tied players;
    • the player with the highest percentage of sets won of all sets completed;
    • the head-to-head win-loss record in matches involving the players who remain tied;
    • the player with the highest percentage of games won of all games completed;
    • the head-to-head win-loss record in matches involving the players who remain tied;
    • the player with the highest percentage of sets won of sets completed among players in the group under consideration;
    • the head-to-head win-loss record in matches involving the players who remain tied;
    • the player with the highest percentage of games won of games completed among the players under consideration;
    • the head-to-head win-loss record in matches involving the players who remain tied.
  22. No individual or organizational member can cancel a scheduled sanctioned tournament except for insufficient entries or catastrophic events that render the playing site(s) unplayable. During such time, the tournament committee, with approval of the Sanction/Schedule Committee, shall reschedule the tournament at a suitable time within the remaining tournament calendar year. If necessary, the venue may be changed; however, the sanction fee is non-refundable. The MTA reserves the right to levy appropriate penalties including, but not limited to, the cost of notification of said cancellation, and the right to deny future sanction to any individual or organizational member violating this rule.
  23. A draw sheet fee shall be collected together with the tournament sanction fee when application for a sanctioned tournament is made.  The draw sheet fee shall be refunded to individuals or organizations that ran scheduled tournaments if results are properly reported online at http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments immediately following the completion of the tournament and head tax is received by the MTA within 5 days.
  24. All Tournament Directors, Umpires, and Referees must be certified at the MTA sponsored workshops in order to hold their tournament.  An Officials’ Association is available to host organizations that need officials as roving umpires or referees.  This is at the expense of the tournament

Adult Programs

The 2024 Mississippi Rock & Roll Wheelchair Tournament, a Level 3 USTA Sanctioned Tournament, is set to take place April 26-28!