How to Prepare and Run a USTA Tennis Team Match

For players who want to compete in team tennis, there are leagues all across the country, usually sponsored by the United States Tennis Association (USTA). Each team usually represents a local tennis club or athletic facility and is managed and run by a team captain. It’s the captain’s job to recruit the players for his team, get them signed-up with the USTA, organize practices, choose line-ups and run individual home matches.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. After a team is organized and ready for the season, prepare your team for its matches. USTA events usually take place on Sundays. Preparation for each Sunday match should start on the prior Monday.
2. By Monday, you will have the results of the prior weekend’s match available to help pick a strong line-up for the following Sunday. When that decision has been made, send an email to all the players telling them who will play at what positions in the match. Request an answer confirming participating ASAP.
3. By Wednesday, any players that have not yet responded should be sent an email reminder, while additional players should be contacted to replace anyone that can't play. The line-up should be finalized by Friday.
4. On the day of the match, call the opposing captain a few hours before start time to find out whether she plans to field a full roster. If the opposing team is not going to bring the full complement of eight players (two singles players and three doubles teams), they will receive a forfeit for each court not filled, and you will have to let your players know who must show up the match.
5. Arrive at the tennis facility at least 20 minutes prior to match time. Check with the front desk to make sure what courts your team will be on. Collect the balls for each match and turn in the team’s line-up.
6. Gather all of the players to give them their court assignments and balls. This is also a good time to talk over any pre-match strategy and tactics.
7. If you're playing, remember that as captain your are also in charge of clearing up any on-court disputes or rules questions. Therefore, you should play your match on a court close to most of the action.
8. When the matches have been completed, it is your responsibility to record all of the scores on the official match score sheet and to sign the final product. When the match ends and the score sheets have been signed, the home team captain has 48-hours to post all match scores on the USTA’s website (see Resources below). Then the whole process starts again.