Women’s Softcourt Guidelines
The Greystone Soft Court Teams shall be governed by the Professional Staff. The Tennis
Professional Staff shall be made up of the Tennis Director and the full time Assistant
Professionals. The professional staff must make decisions in accordance to the Greystone Soft
Court Guidelines.
Guidelines for Softcourt Participation
Any player who wants to be a member of a Soft Court team must:
1. Be available to play at least 4 matches (or she can be a substitute playing 3 times or less).
2. New members must have an evaluation by the Director of Tennis. The Director of Tennis
will determine what level the new player is and place her on the appropriate team.
(Evaluations will be offered free of charge).
3. Teams are encouraged to schedule a team clinic. This is a great opportunity to not only
work on skills, but build team camaraderie.
4. Support the team as a whole and respect the captain’s decisions. Place team needs before
individual desires and be flexible. Teams are responsible for electing their own captains
and determining their own partners, with assistance from the Pro Staff if desired.
5. Play at the appropriate skill level.
Move Up Requirements
Greystone Stats are slightly different from the official Soft Court league stats and easier to
obtain. A player who has satisfied the following requirements may move up to the next level if
she chooses to do so:

1st Court Singles/Doubles must win 11/14 or 12/16 sets to be eligible to move up.

2nd Court Singles/Doubles must win 13/14 or 14/16 sets to be eligible to move up.
Any missed match (no excuses) counts as a loss of two sets. You are encouraged to
participate in all matches.
Players who have achieved their stats (either league stats or club stats) to move up will be
offered a place on a team at the next highest level. In the event there are two or more teams on
that level, the player or players will be placed taking into consideration team size, strength, and
position needs. The Professional Staff will determine these factors by looking at the current
rosters, past records, and established singles players and doubles teams on the current rosters.
Forced Move-Ups
Forced move ups occur when, at the time that rosters are to be prepared for the upcoming season,
a team has less than the minimum number of 8 players on its roster. When this happens, a player
or players will need to be “forced” up from a team at the level just below the level of this team in
order to fill this vacancy. Forced move ups will only take place when a team’s roster number
falls below the minimum of 8 players. Here is the forced move up process:
If one player is needed:
1. The first singles player at the next level below will be taken.
2. If there is more than one team at the next level below, the first singles player with the
best stats will be chosen.
3. If both decline to move up, the process will be repeated with the second court singles
players.
If two or more players are needed and there is only 1 team below:
1. The first singles player will be chosen using the above “one player needed” process.
2. The second player will be chosen from the first court doubles team player with the best
stats.
3. If both players have identical doubles stats, then it will be necessary to look to see if
either player can be placed above the other based on her singles record for that season.
4. If this process does not provide the players needed, then the second court singles player
will be taken.
5. This process will continue down the line until the players needed have been obtained,
using the singles players at a position first, then the doubles players at that corresponding
position next, on down the line until the vacancies have been filled.
If two or more players are needed and there are two or more teams below:
1. All players will be ranked based on their stats at their court positions.
2. First singles players with best records will be used to fill necessary spots.
3. If this does not provide necessary players, first doubles players with best records will be
used to fill remaining spots. If doubles records are identical, singles records will be used
to break tie.
4. If this process does not provide necessary players, second courts singles players will be
used based on records.
5. This process will continue down the line until the players needed have been obtained,
using the singles players with best records at a position first, then the doubles players
with best records at that corresponding position next, on down the line until the vacancies
have been filled.
Note: Any player who is asked to move up may elect to pass and stay where she is. This may be
necessary for a player to do when she is not willing to change her doubles partner. Also, the
players must have already played a season at their current level in order to be considered for a
move up to the next level.
Challenge Matches
In order to establish a strength roster for the upcoming season, teams must either play a round
robin or challenge matches before the season starts. Every player on a team has the right to
challenge for first and second courts. If a singles player or doubles team chooses to pass on
challenge matches, they will be placed in the 3rd and 4th court rotation. The matches must be
played before the deadline to enter strength rosters. If doubles teams are not established and a
player/players wish to be paired with a partner, a Pro will be available to help teams with this
process. Once the captain knows who wants to challenge for singles and doubles, then she places
the players/teams into a round robin or challenge matches are scheduled. The professional staff
is always willing to work with the team captains to determine the best match format and
challenge schedule for the team.
All match results should be reported to the team captain. After completing all matches in the
round robin or all challenge matches are played, a strength roster can be set and entered into the
Softcourt system by the captain of each team.
Stats Used to Determine Court Positions
1. Sets Won
2. Least Games Lost
3. Head to head sets won
4. Head to head least games lost
Strength Rosters
Strength Rosters are required by the Softcourt League and are based off of challenge match
results. Strength Rosters are used when determining who will be chosen for a “forced move up.”
Also, if a team has more than 8 participants, those who earn 1st or 2nd court through challenge
matches, are guaranteed to play each week. Those who do not play 3rd or 4th courts, rotate
weekly for even playing time.
Team Splits
The Birmingham Soft Court League has set a maximum number of players on a team to be 16. In
the event we have 12 or more players that want to be on a team roster, the team would have to be
split into two teams in order for players to play more matches. The decision is based off of sign
up numbers at the sign up deadline. Once it has been determined that a team must be divided,
the separation will be made by the Professional Staff.
Helpful Hints
1. Please let your captain know before the start of the season your travel schedule and
missed matches for the upcoming season.
2. Captains should go ahead and draft a tentative line up for each match. This should be put
together taking into consideration players’ travel schedules and other known
appointments and conflicts within the season. This will also let team members know of
your rotation expectations. Of course, there will be unforeseen conflicts with player’s
schedules. However this will give captains a chance to play all alternate players/teams,
and also allow captains to recruit substitutes when needed.
3. If you would like to sub at the next highest level, please contact that captain before the
season begins and let them know you would like to sub. Subs may play 3 times for any
one team at the next level.
4. Sportsmanship and sociability should be a common goal shared by all Greystone players.