04 / Rules

Swiss League — rules

TENNIS TOURNAMENT RULES

1. Tournament Format

  1. The tournament is held using the Swiss system in a mini-league format.
  2. Each participant plays one match per week.
  3. Match format — best of two sets (first to win two sets).
  4. If the set score is 1:1, a super tie-break is played to 11 points with a 2-point advantage.
  5. Full sets:
    • Play is conducted with deuces (advantage scoring).
    • At 6:6 — a tie-break to 7 points, also with a 2-point advantage.
  6. Initial seeding of participants:
    • First-round pairings are based on the “Raketa” platform rating as of the tournament start date.
    • IMPORTANT: The “Raketa” rating is used ONLY for initial seeding in Round 1.
    • The “Raketa” rating is NOT the goal of the tournament — the standings and playoff are determined exclusively by points earned in the tournament.
    • Participants without a “Raketa” rating are assessed by the organiser through a questionnaire and placed in the lower half of the seeding.
    • From Round 2 onwards, pairings are formed strictly by tournament points in accordance with the Swiss system.

2. Schedule and Deadlines

  1. Each round ends on Sunday at 21:30.
  2. Pairings for the next round are announced on Sunday after 22:00.
  3. New rounds begin on Monday morning.
  4. If a participant has not played their match within the week, they are awarded a technical defeat with a score of 0:2.
  5. Match scheduling protocol:
    • Monday–Wednesday: Participants contact each other and propose available time slots.
    • By Thursday 21:00: The match time must be agreed upon. If no agreement is reached — participants contact the organiser.
    • Thursday–Sunday: Period for playing the match.
    • Responsibility: Both players bear equal responsibility for scheduling the match.
    • Documentation: Participants must confirm the agreed time in the tournament group chat or via direct correspondence.
    • Conflict resolution:
      • If no agreement is reached by Thursday 21:00 — the organiser assigns a mandatory time slot.
      • If neither player can play at the assigned time — both are awarded 0:0 (1.5 points each, with a penalty for failure to coordinate).
      • If one player refuses the assigned time — that player is awarded 0:2, and the opponent 2:0.
      • If both agreed but one player did not show up — the player who appeared is awarded a technical win of 2:0.

3. Playoff System

  1. The tournament has 16 players.
  2. The group stage consists of 5 rounds.
  3. The top 8 participants after the group stage advance to the playoff.
  4. Playoff qualification is determined by the following criteria (in order of priority):
    • Criterion 1: Number of points earned
    • Criterion 2: Head-to-head (if exactly 2 participants are tied on points)
      • The result of the match between them
      • If the match ended 0:0 (administrative draw), proceed to Criterion 3
    • Criterion 3: Mini-table of head-to-head results (if 3 or more participants are tied on points)
      • A sub-table is created using only matches among the tied participants
      • Ranked by points in those matches
      • If the participants did not play each other, proceed to Criterion 4
      • If a tie remains in the mini-table, Criteria 4–9 are applied only to matches among those participants
    • Criterion 4: Set difference (sets won minus sets lost) across all matches
    • Criterion 5: Game difference (games won minus games lost) across all matches
    • Criterion 6: Total sets won (absolute value)
    • Criterion 7: Total games won (absolute value)
    • Criterion 8: Result in the last round (most recent form)
    • Criterion 9: Draw (conducted publicly by the organiser in the presence of the participants, or online)
  5. The playoff is conducted as a single-elimination bracket.
  6. Semifinal losers play a third-place match.
  7. Playoff bracket and participant seeding:
    • Quarterfinals:
      • Match QF1: 1st place vs 5th place
      • Match QF2: 2nd place vs 6th place
      • Match QF3: 3rd place vs 7th place
      • Match QF4: 4th place vs 8th place
    • Semifinals:
      • Match SF1: Winner of QF1 vs Winner of QF4
      • Match SF2: Winner of QF2 vs Winner of QF3
    • Final:
      • Winner of SF1 vs Winner of SF2
    • Third-place match:
      • Loser of SF1 vs Loser of SF2
    • Playoff match format: All matches follow the same system — best of two sets with a super tie-break at 1:1.
  8. Player withdrawal and the bye system:
    • Withdrawal before the tournament starts: The organiser seeks a replacement, or the tournament proceeds with an odd number of participants.
    • Withdrawal during the tournament:
      • The withdrawn participant receives 0 points for all future matches
      • Past results remain in effect
      • Opponents who were scheduled to play the withdrawn participant receive a bye (automatic win 2:0, 3 points)
    • Bye system with an odd number of participants:
      • In each round, one player receives a bye (exemption from a match with an automatic win)
      • The bye goes to the participant with the lowest ranking among those who have not yet received a bye in this tournament
      • A bye counts as a 2:0 win (3 points) for standings purposes
      • Each participant may receive a maximum of 1 bye during the group stage

4. Venue

  1. Matches are played at any tennis club and on any surface, by mutual agreement between the participants.

5. Registration and Results

  1. Participants register matches and enter results on the “Raketo” platform themselves.
  2. Results must be entered no later than Sunday at 21:30.

6. Serving and Rotation Rules

  1. A tie-break begins with a serve into the first (deuce) court.
  2. The serve alternates every game, in accordance with standard rules.
  3. At the start of a new set, the player next in the serving rotation serves first.
  4. The “let” rule on serve (net cord) — the serve is replayed.
  5. Foot fault — counted as a fault on the serve.

7. Rules of Play

  1. Play is conducted in a gentlemanly style:
    • Outs, faults, and disputed points are resolved by mutual agreement.
    • A replay of the point is permitted by agreement.
  2. If participants could not agree on a meeting time — the match is recorded as a draw 0:0.
  3. If an agreement was made but only one player arrived at the court, the match is recorded as a technical win 2:0 in favour of the player who appeared.

8. Breaks and Rest

  1. A break is permitted after every 3 games, and also at the end of each set.
  2. The rest duration is by agreement, but no more than 5 minutes.
  3. Toilet breaks and other personal needs are permitted within the bounds of gentlemanly rules and common sense.

9. Weather Conditions

  1. In the event of bad weather, the match is postponed by mutual agreement.
  2. The postponed match must be played before the end of the current round (Sunday).
  3. If the match was not played due to weather and there is no opportunity to reschedule — a draw is awarded.

10. Scoring

IMPORTANT: All played matches have a winner thanks to the super tie-break at 1:1. A drawn score is not possible.

  1. Win 2:0 — 3 points
  2. Win 2:1 — 2 points
  3. Loss 1:2 — 1 point
  4. Loss 0:2 — 0 points
  5. Administrative draw 0:0 — 1.5 points each
    • Arises only when the match was not played for objective reasons (weather, inability to agree on a time with equal responsibility on both players)
    • Counted as 0:0 in set and game difference calculations
  6. Technical defeat — 0 points (no-show); winner receives 3 points

11. Tournament Format for 20 or More Participants

If 20 or more participants register for the tournament, a format with two groups split by playing level is applied.

11.1 Group Split

  1. Group A (advanced level): The top 50% of participants by “Raketa” rating
  2. Group B (intermediate level): The bottom 50% of participants by “Raketa” rating
  3. The split is made automatically based on the “Raketa” rating as of the tournament start date

11.2 Group Stage

  1. Each group plays separately using the Swiss system
  2. The number of rounds depends on the number of participants in the group:
    • 10–12 players: 5 rounds
    • 13–16 players: 6 rounds
    • 17–20 players: 7 rounds
  3. The same pairing rules apply within each group:
    • Round 1: by rating within the group
    • Round 2 and onwards: by points earned
  4. Participants from different groups do not play each other during the group stage

11.3 Playoff Qualification (weighted system)

Playoff qualification:

Rationale: Group A plays at a higher level and therefore receives more playoff spots. This creates additional motivation to improve one’s level of play.

11.4 Playoff Seeding

Playoff participants are seeded as follows:

11.5 Playoff Bracket

The playoff is conducted using the standard tournament bracket (see section 3.7):

Quarterfinals:

Then: Semifinals, final, and third-place match following the standard bracket.

11.6 Playoff Qualification within Each Group

To determine standings within Group A and Group B, the qualification criteria from section 3.4 (tiebreaks) are applied, but only in respect of matches played within the respective group.

NOTE: About the Swiss System

The Swiss system is a tournament format in which participants are not eliminated after a loss but continue to play a fixed number of rounds (in our case — 5 rounds).

Pairing principle for each round:

Advantages of the system:

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