National Federation of State
High School Associations
Take Part. Get Set For Life.™
UHSAA Tennis Rules Clinic Required
Welcome to the 2011-12 UHSAA Tennis Rules Clinic for high school
coaches. Tennis coaches are now required to meet the same
requirement that coaches in other sports have of completing an
annual rules clinic. It should take approximately 30 minutes to
review the 33 slides. Schools will be fined $50 if the coach has not
completed the clinic by September 6.
Coaches are responsible for the information presented on each
and every slide. Make sure to view all slides contained in the
presentation.
USTA 2011 Rules of Tennis
The UHSAA has mailed out copies
of the USTA Rules of Tennis 2011
Edition to the member schools that
participate in tennis. Each head
coach should receive a copy.
Coaches must be familiar with
and adhere to the rules. Carefully
review the new rule changes.
Make sure your players follow
“The Code” when playing.
National Federation of State
High School Associations
The UHSAA Calendar is posted on the homepage
on the UHSAA website at uhsaa.org
Girls
First Practice
First Contest
Eligibility Lists Due
Academic All-State Due
2A State Tournament
3A State Tournament
4A State Tournament
5A State Tournament
8/1
8/9
8/19
9/6
10/1
10/7-8
10/7-8
10/6&8
Boys
2/27
3/5
3/9
4/10
5/12
5/18-19
5/18-19
5/11-12
Consult with your athletic director regarding tryout checklist forms,
physicals, eligibility requirements, coaching certification, dead times, etc.
Take Part. Get Set For Life.™
National Federation of State
High School Associations
Becky Anderson, UHSAA Assistant Director ([email protected])
Rob Sperry, Tennis Coaches Association ([email protected])
Gerard Baisch, USTA Chief Umpire ([email protected])
USTA Rules Book / Friend At Court
NFHS Websites (nfhs.org & nfhslearn.com)
UHSAA Handbook (rules & regulations)
UHSAA Website
Tennis Page (uhsaa.org>“Sports & Activities” Tab
uhsaa.org
Take Part. Get Set For Life.™
The UHSAA website offers valuable resources, updates,
tournament information, pairings & brackets & the UHSAA
Handbook which contains the rules & regulations.
Resources at uhsaa.org







Directory of Schools
Excel Eligibility List Templates 
Forms (Tryout Checklist Form) 
List of Sanctioned Events
Academic All-State
CALENDAR of Events
Deadlines, Dead Time
UHSAA Handbook (Rules)
Girls & Boys Tennis Page
Updates / Tennis Rules
Tournament Info
National Federation of State
High School Associations
Coaches should be familiar with the rules and
regulations contained in the Handbook posted
under the Publications tab at uhsaa.org. The
following topics are included in the Handbook:
 Dead Time Period Restrictions
 Three Weeks Prior Restrictions
 Limited Team Membership
 Contest Limitations
 Eligibility Requirements
 Transfer Rules
 Sanctioning Requirements Take Part. Get Set For Life.™
Coaches should be familiar with the five periods of
participation. Information can be found in Article 2,
UHSAA Handbook (online at uhsaa.org). Consult
with your principal and athletic director if needed.
PARTICIPATION THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
1. Three Weeks Prior to the Start Date
2. In-Season (ends with state tournament)
3. Dead Time Period (12 weeks: Nov. 1 – Jan. 24)
4. Holiday Moratorium (See UHSAA Calendar)
5. Out-of-Season, Open Time
National Federation of State
High School Associations
Coaches must meet the following five requirements
for certification:
 Background Check
 First Aid Training
 CPR Training
 Concussion Training
 Fundamentals of Coaching Course
Unless a major and/or minor or endorsement
in PE and/or a minor in coaching
Take Part. Get Set For Life.™
National Federation of State
High School Associations
nfhslearn.com
Coaches can complete the “Fundamentals of Coaching” and
a 20 minute Concussion training course at nfhslearn.com.
Take Part. Get Set For Life.™
Free 20 minute course
“Concussion in Sports”
www.nfhslearn.com
Adhere to UHSAA & USTA Rules & Regulations
New this year, the UHSAA Tennis Policies & State Pairings will be
found in the UHSAA Handbook (Section 4). A link will be provided
from the Tennis page at uhsaa.org. Coaches must be familiar with
and adhere to all rules and regulations outlined in the UHSAA
Handbook (i.e. eligibility requirements, contest limitations, dead
time period) and the USTA Rules Book. The 2011-12 UHSAA
Handbook is available online at www.uhsaa.org under the
Publications tab. UHSAA State Tennis Tournaments are not USTA
sanctioned and the UHSAA has some policies that are unique to
their tournaments. Those policies unique to the UHSAA will be
posted on the Tennis page at uhsaa.org. The USTA Rules shall govern
unless modified by the UHSAA.
COACHING
The coach shall be aware that he or she
has a tremendous influence, for either
good or ill. On the education of the
student and, thus, shall never place the
value of winning above the value of
instilling the highest ideals of character.
It is the responsibility of
every coach to learn the
rules of his/her sport,
teach the sport to the
athletes and then execute
the rules in the manner in
which they were intended
to be enforced.
UHSAA Coaching Guidelines
Coaching is considered to be communication, advice or
instruction of any kind, audible or visible, to a player.
Coaching is allowed during rest periods, between sets and during
changeovers (except first game). At State, only two coaches are
allowed to coach at any given time and only one coach is allowed
on any given court. Compliance with USTA time limitations
regarding rest periods and changeovers are still in effect and
USTA penalties for time violations on rest periods and
changeovers will be enforced. Coaching is not permitted during
the warm-up period, during a tiebreaker or following the first
game of a set.
Time Limitions Should Be Enforced
Players & coaches must adhere to USTA time limitations
as outlined in the Friend of Court.
 Maximum of 90 seconds during changeovers
 Two (2) minute rest period following first set
 Ten (10) minute rest period following second set
USTA penalties for time violations shall be enforced.
Five Positions in UHSAA Tennis
Participating schools compete in five positions:
1st singles, 2nd singles, 3rd singles, 1st doubles
and 2nd doubles.
The intent is for participating schools to fill all
five positions. In rare circumstances if a school
does not have enough eligible or available
players to fill all five spots, then the spots have
to be filled in order of difficulty beginning with
the 1st singles and/or the 1st doubles.
Individual and Team Scoring
UHSAA State Tennis Tournaments will be two-out-of-three sets
with regular scoring. The Seven-Point Tiebreaker (first player to
score seven points with a two point margin wins the set) will be
used for all sets tied at 6-6. State tournaments are single
elimination. Team scoring for the 3A, 4A and 5A State Tennis
Tournaments will be 1-1-2-2 (One (1) point for a win in the first
round and quarter-finals; two (2) points for a win in the semifinals and finals). Scoring for the 2A/1A State Tennis
Tournament will be 1-2-2.
UHSAA Contest Limitations for Tennis
Contest limits are a total of 14 meets per individual for 3A, 4A &
5A schools; 12 meets per individual for 1A & 2A schools. The
number of meets counted for a tennis tournament shall be equal
to the number of days scheduled for the tournament; e.g., a oneday tournament shall count as one meet, a two-day tournament
shall count as two meets, etc. State qualifying tournaments do
NOT count in the contest limitation totals for tennis.
UHSAA Minimum Match Requirement
High school tennis players must compete in a minimum of five
(5) matches during the high school season in
order to compete at the state qualifying meet. This includes
matches at the varsity or junior varsity level and in
the singles or doubles category. Injury or special situations will
be considered but must be approved by the
UHSAA prior to the student athlete participating in the region
meet.
State Qualifying Tournament
Players/teams from 3A, 4A and 5A schools qualify for the state
tournament through their region championship meet.
Players from participating 2A/1A schools qualify for the state
tournament through their divisional tournament.
Regions should not dictate that a certain percentage of matches
be played at a certain position (i.e. 1st singles) because of the
stacking guidelines.
State Tournament Entries
5A, 4A and 3A schools qualify for the state tennis tournament
through their region tournaments. 2A & 1A schools qualify
through their divisional tournament. Contact your region tennis
chair for more information regarding your state qualifying
tournament. Results from the state qualifying tournaments must
be submitted electronically by the Region Tennis Chair or the
Tournament Director on the “Region/Division Results Entry Form”
located on the Tennis page at www.uhsaa.org by no later than
MIDNIGHT the Saturday before the State Tournament.
Each Meet a Legitimate Lineup Is Required:
In an effort to promote fair play and wholesome team competition,
coaches shall submit legitimate lineups based on the skill ability of
their participating players. Skill level determines the position a
player should be legitimately placed. Follow these guidelines:
A legitimate lineup places a better skilled singles player above a
lesser skilled singles player or a better skilled doubles team above a
lesser skilled doubles team. A lineup that places a singles player of
lesser skill ahead of a player with greater skill is NOT LEGAL.
Similarly, any lineup which places a doubles team of lower skill
ahead of a team with greater skill is illegal. Coaches shall meet
these guidelines as they submit a lineup at any given meet.
Legitimate lineups according to skill ability
Skill ability shall be defined as the number one singles player
shall be better than the number two singles player who shall be
better than the number three singles player. The number one
doubles team shall be better than the number two doubles team.
Skill levels will change, circumstances will happen (i.e. injury), but
coaches must adhere to these guidelines for each meet.
Stacking is NOT permissible & could result in UHSAA sanctions
Stacking is defined as juggling the line-up to gain an advantage.
Juggling, shuffling or forfeiting positions to gain an advantage is
unsportsmanlike and creates an unhealthy educational
environment. In the event of injury, sickness, ineligibility, during
the course of the season the next best player would move up.
Lineups Change As Circumstances Change
As the season progresses, lineups change for a number of
reasons including absences, sickness, ineligibility, injuries,
and the skill level or playing ability of participants.
A #2 singles player the first week of the season could be
the #1 singles player by the middle of the season.
For this reason, regions cannot require a percentage of
matches to be played at a certain position in order to be
eligible to play that position at the region tennis
tournament. Players must meet the minimum match
requirement, then seeded accordingly for region tourney.
Challenge Matches
A high school tennis team can include players with a
wide range of ability and playing experience. Some
may be picking up the racket for the first time; others
may have played competitively for years. Since the
high school lineup should be based on the ever
changing ability level of the players, coaches should
continue to schedule challenge matches through the
season between players of comparable ability.
Unsporting Conduct Report
In case your lineup is challenged, coaches should keep
record of the challenge matches or head-to-head
competitions between players. If an alleged stacking
situation occurs, a head coach has 48 hours to file an
“Unsporting Conduct Report,” available on the Tennis
page at uhsaa.org.
PROPER TENNIS ATTIRE REQUIRED
.
Proper and
full team uniform is mandatory for all
state tournament participants. Teammates should
wear the similar style and color of shorts and
shirts although team logo designation is not
required. Dress should be modest and follow
proper tennis etiquette. Players not in legal
uniform will be required to change or be
disqualified from the tournament.
Substituting Players
Only the next available qualifier (or qualifiers if doubles)
from region play may serve as a substitute. All
substitutions must be approved in writing by the region
chairperson. In the case of extreme illness, academic
ineligibility, disqualification, injury or emergency, a
doubles player may be substituted for by that same
school but said substitute must be of lesser ability and/or
record. Coaches may not substitute for players who
choose not to participate for personal reasons.
Substitutions are not allowed after the tournament
begins.
is the Official Ball
 Wilson is the official ball
for the state tournaments.
 Info is available on
UHSAA Tennis page.
Pre-Match Instructions
 Tournament Director, Host Coach or Administrator
shall review the following:
• Format
• Point Penalty System
• Responsibilities of players
• Responsibilities of coaches
• Expectation for Exemplary Behavior
• Proper Tennis Etiquette
Spectator Etiquette cards posted on Tennis page
Guidelines on Handling Contests During
Lightning Disturbances
 Lightning kills or seriously injures hundreds of individuals
each year.
 Need to remind coaches, players, spectators,
administrators and officials of the potential seriousness
of lightning during the season.
 If ANY thunder is heard OR a
cloud-to-ground lightning bolt is
seen, play should be suspended.
The contest should not resume
until after 30 minutes of the last
lightning or claps of thunder.
National Federation of State
High School Associations
COACHES…remember the TRUE MISSION
and purpose of education-based athletics and the
influential role you play in the positive development of our youth.
Teach, Enforce, Award, Model Good Sportsmanship.
Teach your players-Do Rowdy Right –
Cheer FOR your team; not AGAINST your opponent.
Take Part. Get Set For Life.™
THANK YOU
for viewing the UHSAA Tennis Rules Clinic
In order to earn credit for viewing the clinic
click on the link below and answer the questions:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RM7JVGT
National Federation of State
High School Associations
Take Part. Get Set For Life.™