The Singles Box League provides more opportunities for singles play against fellow members of a similar standard. It's a great, fun way to improve your game and meet more members of the club.

The current round started on April 4th 2021 and will last 10 weeks. Click here to see the current standings.

The Singles Box League is organised by committee member Rob Powell.  Send any match results, feedback or questions to graveshamsinglesboxleague@gmail.com.

Rules

General Rules - Revised May 2021

Each round has an approximately 10 day sign-up period and will typically run for the following 10 weeks with up to 5 matches to play in that time but the end-date may be extended if there is significant bad weather.   

A box / division will have up to 6 members.

Please only join the league if you have the time to play those matches and will make an effort to do so.

By participating, all players agree that their name and contact details will be shared with other members of the box/division to arrange matches. The organiser may use third party software to manage to the league but will not enter your personal contact details.

Initial Box Placement

Players joining the league will be placed in an appropriate starting box based on factors such as existing position with club teams and feedback will be invited from the Gravesham Tennis Club’s coaching team. Players will be grouped by playing level not gender - the box league is a mixed event.

Match format and Recording of Results

The default format for the box league matches is two tie break sets followed by a deciding 10 point “Championship tie‐break” should the match be tied at one set all. The result of the Championship tie-break set should be recorded as 1-0 or 0-1.

However, if both players agree prior to commencement of play, they may play the best of three full “tie break sets” although in that instance the final set should still be recorded as either 1-0 or 0-1 to keep the results consistent with the default format.

If a match has to be abandoned due to bad weather or another external factor, it should resume at the same score at a mutually agreed later date.

Players will need to arrange/provide their own balls and book courts in the usual way through ClubSpark.

Players can record results by emailing them to the league organiser (graveshamsinglesboxleague@gmail.com) or reporting them on Whatsapp. The winner of the match should take responsibility for notifying the organiser.

Scoring System

Points for Playing: 1 point
Points for Sets Won: 2 point

The scoring system is designed to encourage players to play their matches. Points will not be given or deducted for for failing to play all matches if reasonable efforts have been made to schedule a match but players might not be eligible for subsequent rounds if they are repeatedly unavailable for matches.

If a player fails to arrive within 30 minutes of an agreed match start time, the other player may claim 5 points and it will be recorded as a walkover.  

If a court booking ends before the end of the match and it's not possible to carry on, the players can either submit an unfinished score or arrange to complete the match another time by mutual agreement.

The Box Winner is the player with the highest score in each box at the end of the Round. Tied positions within a box are determined by the sets won and then games won. The top two placed players earn promotion to the box above for the following round. The two bottom placed players move to the division below.

The Overall Player of the Round will be determined as the players from any box with the best performance based on:  best match win performance as a percentage; if tied, followed by best set win performance as a percentage; if tied, followed by best game win performance as a percentage.

If more than one round is successfully completed within 12 months of the commencement of Round 1, Player(s) of the Year (Male & Female) may be determined as the two male and female players who performed best across the rounds using the same criteria as above.

Withdrawing

If a player withdraws from the league having not played at least half of their matches, any results they did complete will be voided with no points recorded. Players that withdraw league may not be eligible to play in subsequent rounds.

Interruption to Box League

In the event of a temporary closure of the club or a return to lockdown, the league will be paused until the club reopens and the end date will be adjusted accordingly. If the closure extends beyond the end of a given membership year, the organiser may terminate the league and start a new one in the following membership year.

Feedback

As a recent initiative at Gravesham Tennis Club, feedback is welcomed at any point about how it may be improved.