IM Tennis

General Rules

Participant Insurance: Florida State University does not provide accident insurance coverage for injuries received by Intramural Sports participants. Each participant should make sure that they have coverage either through family policies or the student insurance plan.

Alcohol & Tobacco Products Prohibited: Possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages, smoking, and the use of smokeless tobacco and similar products are prohibited at FSU Campus Recreation facilities and any Intramural Sports contest. Violators will be asked to leave the area. Failure to do so can result in forfeiture of the contest, suspension of individuals and/or teams, and appropriate action by the Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards and/or the FSU Police.

General Eligibility: Participation is limited to currently-enrolled, fee-paying FSU students, faculty members, and full-time staff. FAMU & TSC students and members of the community are not eligible. In order to participate in an intramural contest, each player must present their current, valid FSUCard. Check-in takes place at designated sign-in locations at the facility, not at the fields or courtside.

Seven Priniciples of Intramural Sports: Additional information regarding player eligibility, team rosters, participant check-in, and other IM guidelines is available in the Seven Principles of Intramural Sports online and in print in the Intramural Sports Office at the Main Campus Fields (1001 W. St. Augustine Street). Requests for exceptions to any policy must be directed to the IM administrative staff during regular weekday business hours in the Intramural Sports Office. No exceptions are granted at the fields or courts.

Sport Rules

Current United States Tennis Association (USTA) rules will govern play with the following modifications:

I. TEAM COMPOSITION

III. INDIVIDUAL MATCH SCORING

1. A match is won when a player or team wins an 8-game Pro Set.
A. During the finals of tournament play, the players have the option to play an 8-game Pro Set or a best two-out-of-three sets regular match. If there is a disagreement on the type of final to be played, the 8-game Pro Set will be used.

2. During all rounds, the “No-Ad” method of scoring will be used. However, if both teams decide to play Ad scoring, they can. If no agreement can be made between teams, scoring defaults to “No-Ad.” In No-Ad scoring, a player only needs to win four points to win a game. That is, the score goes 3-points-all (or 40-all / deuce) the next point is considered the “deciding point” and is game point for both players. The Receiver has the right to choose to which court the service is to be delivered on the deciding point. If a “No-Ad” set reaches 6 games all, a standard 7-point tie-breaker shall be used to decide the set.

3. Singles tie-breakers will follow the following format:
‘A’ serves first point (from deuce court); ‘B’ serves points 2 and 3 (ad court then deuce court); ‘A’ serves points 4 and 5 (ad court then deuce court); ‘B’ serves point 6 (ad court) and after they change ends, point 7 (deuce court); ‘A’ serves point 8 and 9 (ad court then deuce court); ‘B’ serves points 10 and 11 (ad court then deuce court); and ‘A’ serves 12 (ad court). If point reach 6-all, players change ends and continue as before. A tie breaker is won when a player or team reaches seven points (with at least a 2-point margin established), or after a 6-all, a player or team establishes a 2-point margin.

4. Doubles tie-breakers will follow the singles format with the following revisions.
Doubles partners will preserve the sequence of their serving turns. (Assuming A & B vs. C & D): Player ‘A’ serves first point (deuce court); ‘C’ serves 2 and 3 (ad court then deuce court); ‘B’ serves 4 and 5 (ad court then deuce court); ‘D’ serves point 6 (ad court) and after team change ends, point 7 (deuce court). “A” serves point 8 (ad court) and the order repeats until a team wins by reaching 7 total points with a minimum of a 2-point margin of victory.

Sporting Behavior

1. The mission of Intramural Sports is to provide a recreational environment for the University community which is safe and enjoyable. While the game atmosphere is often competitive, ensuring participant safety, providing a fun, social atmosphere, and promoting sporting behavior among participants, spectators, and team followers are our primary concerns. The game atmosphere should remain good-natured at all times. Participants shall maintain good sporting behavior throughout their participation in all facets of the intramural program.

2. The Sporting Behavior Rating System is intended to be an objective scale by which teams’ attitude and behavior can be assessed throughout the intramural sports league and playoff seasons. Behavior before, during, and after an intramural sports contest is included in the rating. The team captain is responsible for educating and informing all players and spectators affiliated with their team about the system.

3. A team is responsible for the actions of the individual team members and spectators related to it. Additionally, FSU Intramural Sports does not recognize the use of coaches. Only the team captain shall speak to the officials regarding administrative matters (protests, ejections, disqualifications, etc). Furthermore, the team captain’s efforts in assisting officials/staff to calm difficult situations and to restrain troubled teammates are key to controlling team conduct.

4. Sporting behavior is vital to the conduct of every Intramural contest. In order to encourage proper conduct during games, officials, administrative personnel, and supervisors shall make decisions on whether to warn, penalize or eject players or teams for poor behavior. These decisions are final. The Intramural Sports administrative staff will rule on further penalties as a result of unsporting conduct.

5. Each participant should choose their team members carefully, as all team members will suffer the consequences of any disciplinary action taken by the Intramural Sports staff against that team for violation of the intramural rules and sporting behavior guidelines. Protests or appeals of sporting behavior ratings will not be recognized. The Intramural Sports administrative staff reserves the right to review any rating given to a team.

6. Additional information regarding team and participant sporting behavior including the rating method, factors, and scale is available in the Sporting Behavior Principle of the Seven Principles of Intramural Sports, available online at the FSU Campus Recreation web site.