2025 Cincinnati Pro League Rules

 

 

I. League Teams

1. The league will consist of three teams of six men and three women per team.
2. Each team will be managed by a team captain.
3. Captains’ Responsibilities
   1. The captain will be responsible for being present at the league draft and drafting of his team.
   2. The captain shall be responsible for scheduling his team and ensuring a full lineup for each week of play.
   3. The team captain shall be responsible for setting his team’s lineup in accordance with the league rules.
   4. The team captains shall comprise the ‘board’ of the league. Each captain shall have one vote that is equal to the vote of the other captains. The board shall vote on all matters pertaining to the league. Matters which may be voted upon include, but are not limited to, rule changes; lineup or match disputes; addition or deletion of players from a team.
4. In the event of a dispute or issue requiring a vote of the team captains, the team captains shall make every attempt to meet in person and discuss the issue before voting. If a meeting is not possible, then a discussion and vote through email or phone contact is acceptable. In the event the captains cannot reach a consensus, a vote shall be taken to resolve the dispute.

 

 II. Format

1. Matches will consist of two courts of mens doubles and one court of womens doubles.
   1. Matches will consist of two tie-break sets using ad scoring and a 12 point tie-break played at 6 games all. If a court splits sets, the third set will consist of a ‘super tie-break’ (first team to ten points, win by two).
   2. A super tie-break will count for one set in the standings.
2. Penalties for Tardiness
   1. 0-9 minutes = loss of toss
   2. 10-19 minutes = loss of toss + one game
   3. 20 minutes + = DEFAULT and will be recorded as 6-0,6-0
3. Defaults
   1. The captains will use every effort to ensure that three courts are played for each match. If a team captain has fewer than 4 men or fewer than 2 woman available to play in the next match, that team captain must inform the opposing team captain by noon on Thursday (the day before the match).
   2. The captains will work together in good faith to attempt to play a full match. If one team has only four men available, the captains will attempt to arrange a court of womens doubles as the third match. If a team does not have a woman available, the captains will attempt to arrange three courts of mens doubles.  If the teams are unable to field three courts of doubles, the captains will discuss playing a singles match (mens or womens) as the third match.
   3. No captain shall accept a default if his team is also short a player for the match in question.  Defaulted courts will be recorded as 6-0, 6-0.
4. Team lineups must be prepared in writing and presented to the opposing team captain (or designated captain) five minutes before the scheduled match time
5. Match scores should be recorded and given to the ‘Official Scorekeeper’ on the night of the match or emailed/texted to the scorekeeper as soon as possible after the match. Team captains will be responsible for ensuring scores are accurately recorded.

 

III. Draft

1. The draft shall be held at a place and time that is convenient to all team captains.
2. Only the team captains are to be present at the draft.
3. Any discussions about players in the ‘draft pool’ during the draft shall not be repeated outside of the draft. In essence, “what happens at the draft, stays at the draft.”
4. Draft order will be determined by random draw of the captains.
5. The draft will be a ‘snake’ format. Whoever drafts first in the first round will then draft last in the second round, first again in the third round and so on.

 

IV. Team Lineups

1. Each team’s roster will consist of the players chosen in the draft.
2. The draft will determine the players on a team, but not their rankings on the team.
3. At the end of the draft, each captain will provide a preliminary ranking for the players on his team by giving a numeric rating (1-7, with 1 being the strongest). The final rankings for each team shall be set by vote of the other three captains. Womens players shall not be ranked.
4. The lineup each week will be set as follows:
5. Mens Doubles: In setting the doubles lineup, the sum of the doubles rankings of each team’s players playing on value of court 1 must be equal to or lower than the sum of the doubles rankings of that team’s court 2 players.
6. Mixed Doubles: Any male player may play mixed doubles with any female player.
7. If the sum of the rankings of the first doubles team is higher than the sum of the rankings of the second doubles team, and this mistake is corrected before the match starts, then there will be no penalty. Captains are urged to check rankings of their own team and opposing team to avoid defaults.
8. If a team plays a lineup in which the sum of its second mens doubles court is lower than the sum of its first court, then the second court shall be recorded as a default (a 6-0,6-0 loss).

 

V. Playoffs

1. The playoffs will consist of the top two teams.
2. In the case of a tie in overall record for any seeding position then the tie will be broken as follows:
   1. Number of total matches won
   2. Number of total sets won
   3. Percentage of total games won
   4. Head to head record
3. If two or more teams are tied in overall record for any one seeding position then the tie will be broken as listed above until one team receives the seeding position. Once the tie is broken, if there are still remaining ties for another seeding position, then the tie-breaker system will start over with head to head record between the remaining teams tied and so on.
4. The prize money pool shall consistent of the entry fees minus court and ball fees. The winning team shall receive 60% of the prize money pool apportioned in proportion to entry fees. The 2^nd place team shall receive 40% of the prize money pool apportioned in proportion to entry fees.

 

VI. Disputes and/or Objections

1. Any disputes or objections shall be raised by a team captain to the other captains, and a meeting shall take place to discuss the issue. The captains shall discuss the issue and vote on a resolution to the problem.
2. The three team captains may resolve the problem in any way they deem appropriate. In the event of a dispute, the captains will vote on an outcome.

 

VII. Working Rules

1. The rules set forth above are a ‘working’ set of rules. They are subject to change, additions, or deletions by the team captains.

 

Team Captains:

- Noah Connaughton

- Brad Tash

- Pat Hagan

 

Official Scorekeeper: Beth Peyton

 

Approved by a vote of the Team Captains on 1/16/23.