Ladies,
The official outdoor season is now here for 2024. A special thank you to our Membership Chair, Lisa Fitzgibbon, our treasurer, Sherri Wolf, and our web guru, Ann Iremedio who have been especially busy getting us ready for the season. Lastly, thanks to our Vice President, Ellyn Ryan, who has been busy coordinating the chairs for our upcoming events. Thank you also to the ladies who stepped up to be Chairpersons.
Remember to sign up for the June events as soon as possible. Do not worry if you are on the waiting list as people’s plans do change. The June Doubles tournament is on Tuesday, June 11 from 8am to 12pm and the June Singles tournament is on Wednesday, June 12 from 8am to 12pm. Both tournaments are single elimination. You need to sign up with a partner for doubles. If you do not have one, then we can help you find someone who also needs a partner. Signup for events begins the 1st of the month prior to the event.
Open Play starts on May 1. We have courts 1-5 reserved at Hinkley Park on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings from 8am to 11am. We also have evening times on Monday and Thursday nights from 5pm to 9pm. South Park will be under construction until July, so we will only have courts 1-4 in the evenings as the Park District will be doing lessons on Courts 5 & 6. As a result, the Park District has given us Friday nights from 5pm to 7pm for Open Play.
The May Open Challenge starts May 1. This month is to determine which division you belong to during the season. Players may challenge anyone on the ladder during this month. Starting June 1, you can only go 1-5 above. Look at the ladder to see where you are and then you can challenge those above you. Report your match results within 24 hours to keep the ladders current. There needs to be a full seven days for the challenge match to take place, so you do not need to accept a challenge after May 24.
Challenge Rules Simplified
1) Challenge 1-5 above on the singles and doubles ladder
2) Make challenges via text, phone, email, or in-person for singles and to both partners and your partner for doubles (refer to the PRWTA Directory for contact info)
Simply say: “My doubles partner and I are challenging you and your doubles partner to a challenge match. Please provide three different dates and times. Thank you.”
3) Challenged team replies within 24 hours with three dates & times within 7 days including one evening or weekend
4) Challenger brings a new can of tennis balls.
5) Reschedule rain delays within 7 days.
For the complete rules, click Challenge Ladder Rules located on the right side of this page.
If the challenged player or team is unable to provide three different dates and times, then they must give a forfeit. The whole point of the forfeit is to encourage people to make challenges and move on the ladder. You can only turn down a challenge if you have already accepted a challenge from behind. If you have a challenge from behind in singles, you still must accept a doubles challenge and vice versa. Please give forfeits freely as you only go down one spot. We are a SOCIAL league.
All singles ladder matches will consist of a 10-game pro-set with a tiebreaker at 10-all. If both single players agree ahead of the match, they can plan an 8-game pro-set instead.
Doubles matches will consist of 2-out-of-3 sets. If both teams agree in advance of the match, then in lieu of a third set, you can play a 10-point tiebreaker. The first team to win 10-points by a 2-point margin shall win the tiebreaker.
You will be receiving a separate email with the password to open the PRWTA Directory. Use this directory to contact members for challenges.
Another suggestion is to Bookmark or select Add to Home Screen on your cellphone for quick access to the PRWTA website.
Lastly, as a reminder to “old” members and help for our new members, here is our quick guide to Tennis Etiquette.
PRWTA Tennis Etiquette 101
Let us be known as the most fun and friendliest league.
- Do not protest or question an opponent’s calls either by speech or gesture. Remember we are out here for FUN. Give your opponent the benefit of any calls. If you are not sure if IN or OUT, give a point to your opponent.
- Between points, notify the server that you are sending the ball to her. Do not make her chase after it. Or if her partner has given her a ball already, then send the ball over to the net player.
- When a ball lands on your court from an adjacent court, stop playing immediately and call a “let” then replay the point.
- Make calls of “out” or “let” immediately. The team on the side where the ball lands determines if the ball is IN or OUT.
- Never enter anyone else’s court while play is in progress.
- Be certain the receiver is ready before serving.
- Avoid arguments of any kind. Even if you disagree, just let it go.
- Treat your opponents with courtesy. Be gracious in defeat.
- Avoid getting angry with yourself, your partner, or your opponent.
- The server should announce the score loudly before serving. In case of any errors, it is better to correct them immediately.
Remember to sign up for our Facebook page. Once you are a member, you can post questions on the site. It is a private page only for our members.
Weather: All events are ON unless you hear from the Event Chairs. If you are unsure, send a text to the Chairperson(s). It may be raining where you are but not at Hinkley, so plan to attend unless you receive an email or text.
I know this is a great deal of information to digest.
Please remember that we have new members. Be welcoming and understanding to them if they do not know all the rules. If any players have questions during the season, please feel free to contact one of the officers below:
President: Tori Jepsen
Vice President: Ellyn Ryan
Secretary: Wendy Varygiannes
Treasurer: Sherri Wolff
Park Ridge Liaison: Kathy Streit
Membership: Lisa Fitzgibbon
Website Coordinator: Ann Iremedio
Tori Jepsen
PRWTA President
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