CODE OF CONDUCT
(Players Code of Behaviour)
FOR NON UMPIRED MATCHES
As supplied by Tennis Australia for your information

1. Rules for Non-Umpired matches

(a) Each player is responsible for all decisions in his/her half of the court. He/she should be completely honest on all "calls" but, if in doubt, he/she should give his/her opponent the benefit of the doubt and play the ball as good. You should not play a let.

(b) It is your obligation to call all balls on your side, to help your opponent make calls when the opponents requests it, and to call against yourself (with the exception of a first service) and ball that you clearly see out on your opponent's side of the net.

(c) Any "out", "let" or "fault" call must be made immediately (i.e. made before either an opponent has hit the return or the return has gone out of play); otherwise the ball continues in play. "lets" may be called by any of the participating players.

(d) If a player incorrectly call a ball "out" and then realises that the ball was good, the point should be replayed (except on clay), unless it was a point winning shot.

(e) In doubles, when returning service, the partner of the receiver should generally call the service line for him/her. The receivers' should generally call the centre and side service lines.

(f) If players cannot agree on the score, they should calmly discuss the points/games that are the areas of disagreement. If they cannot reach agreement they should replay only the points or games in question. All points or games which the players agree on stand eg. 2 players cannot agree on whether the score is 40-15 or 30-30, but agree on the winner of the 1st, 2nd and 4th points. Therefore only the 3rd point needs to be replayed.

(g) Players are prohibited from checking the mark of the ball on their opponent's side of the court, unless invited by their opponent to do so. Ball mark inspections are only permitted on clay courts. On clay courts if a player incorrectly calls a ball "out" and then realises that the ball was good, the player who called "out" loses the point.

(h) Where a ball interrupts play, either by rolling/bouncing onto the court, and/or creating a visible interruption behind the court a let should be played.

(i) If a player hinders his/her opponent it can be ruled involuntary or deliberate:

      · When a player has created an involuntary hindrance (ball falling out of pocket, hat falling off etc), the first time a "let" should be called and the player should be told that any such hindrance thereafter will be ruled deliberate.

      · Any hindrance caused by a player that is ruled deliberate will result in the loss of a point.

 

2. Etiquette

(a) When ball persons are not available, all balls on your side of the net are your responsibility, to pick up and, where appropriate return directly to the server.

(b) The receiver should not return the first service if it is an obvious fault – let it go by or ground it.

(c) Do not enlist the aid of spectators, including parents, coaches etc, in making line calls, or attempting to determine other on-court matters.

(d) To avoid controversy over the score, the server should announce the game score before starting a game and the point score prior to serving for each point.

(e) Wait until a point is over before walking behind a court where a match is in progress.

(f) To retrieve a ball from another court or to return a ball to another court, wait until players have completed a point.

(g) Do not stall, sulk, complain nor practise gamesmanship. "Calls" should be verbal and clearly audible to the opponent, followed by a signal if necessary.

 

3. Foot Faults

Note: Foot faults cannot be claimed without umpires or linesman.

The following paragraphs have been taken from the V.T.A. umpires rules book and are provided for your information only.

These are foot faults:

1. Stand with a foot on the base line (or move it onto the base line) before hitting the ball, while serving.

2. Move either foot into the court (to touch the ground inside the court area) before hitting the ball when serving.

3. Stand with the foot across or beyond the imaginary extension of the centre mark or sideline.

4. If, after taking up this stance, the server moves his front foot forward more than the length of his foot, then places any part of his other foot on the ground alongside or past any part of the front foot before the impact of the racket to the ball, that is materially altering his position to the extent of a step.

It is not a foot fault if you:

1. Jump into the air with both feet off the ground either before or when hitting the ball in service.

2. Swing your foot over the base line (but not touching the ground inside the court area), the centre mark or the sideline, before or when hitting the ball in service.

3. Jump over the base line towards the net with both feet off the ground (provided that you do not touch the ground inside the court area before hitting the ball) When delivering the service.

 

4. The Server

The server shall not serve until the receiver is ready. If the latter attempts to return the service he shall be deemed ready. If however, the receiver signifies that he is not ready, he may claim a fault because the ball does not hit the ground within the limits fixed for the service. It is a fault if the server allows the ball to strike the court in the process of serving.

 

5. Fault

1. It is a fault if a player standing outside the court volleys the ball and makes a bad return or catches it in his hand and claims the point because the ball was going out of court. 

2. If a player volleys the ball before it has passed over the net.