From Autumn & Winter 2023/24 we revived the club's Singles Ladder.

On April 7th. 2024, the top 4 players were decided.  Number 1 (David)  played Number 4 (Rob), and Number 2 (Chris) played Number 3 (Adrian) in the two-semi-finals in early April.  The two semi-final winners (Rob & Chris) met in a grand final on 26th April.  Rob was the ladder champion for 2024..

The ladder now continues in the usual way through 2024-25 - see special rules below for the conclusion of the 24/25 event.

The initial group of members were placed on the "Ladder", in a random order drawn by Fatima and David on Sunday 17th. September. 

All members must be prepared to play regularly and ideally at least once every 2 weeks, or lose their position.

General rules for challenges & playing matches

Any current ladder player may challenge any other player up to 4 places above. 

The challenge must be accepted and the match played within 2 weeks, or the challenger will be deemed the winner and the challenge expunged.

The winner of each match will swop places with the loser, if the loser was higher on the ladder. If not, the players remain in their same positions. 

At any time, players can have only one live challenge match in progress.

No-one can challenge the same player more than twice within any 4 week period. 

Matches will be one long set only, first to 8 games by 2 clear games, with a tie-break at 8-8 if required.  (So someone could win 9-7 without going to a tie-break).

New entrants that want to join after the initial launch can “challenge in” at up to 4 places from the bottom of the ladder but need to notify David in advance. 

Special rules come into force for the conclusion of the 24/25 competition.

From close of play on 16th March 2025, the four players on the top 4 places of the ladder will not be able to challenge each other, but will be obliged to accept one last challenge from eligible players (those within 4 places) who are outside of the top four. The challenging "up to four places above" rule still applies.  If the challenger wins, they take the place in the top 4 - however in this situation the loser may then challenge them back within 7 days to try and regain their place. 

No later than close of play Sunday April 6th, the top 4 players will be decided.  Number 1 will play Number 4, and Number 2 play Number 3 in two-semi-finals in early April.  The two semi-final winners will then play in a grand final by the end of April.  Same match format as usual, and results will be reflected via the ladder positions in the usual way.  The winner of the final will be the ladder champion for 2024/25.  

As before, the ladder competition will continue to roll on throughout the year in parallel with the club's summer tournaments, with the aim being for a champion to be crowned on the 1st May every subsequent year.  Should there be deemed to be any conflicts with the summer tournament games then ladder matches should be deferred as necessary. 

Good luck.!

The ladder board is displayed in the hut and it is the responsibility of the challenge winner to update any positional changes as soon as the match is completed. It would help if the winner could also take a photo of the board after the update and share via the WhatsApp group (or email). In that way we should have good "point in time backups" should we need them. 

At this point in time there is no requirement to record the match scores, although it would be good to share details of proposed challenges and results with other members (via email or ladder WhatsApp groups). 

Except where stated above, usual rules of tennis apply.

Any queries or disputes over the rules should be directed to the ladder organiser (David B) and his glamorous assistant (John Bright via email) , whose decisions will be final.

Matches played

in matches underlined, the winner moved up the ladder.