Summer, 2025

Rules and Guidelines

RULES

Identification Stickers

All members must have a current ATC identification sticker, preferably affixed to his or her tennis racquet. The sticker identifies you as an ATC member to other ATC members and to Phillips Academy security personnel. Members playing without sticker identification risk ejection from the courts as trespassers.

Use of Courts

ATC members are permitted to use the seven courts closest to the Snyder Field House during the times listed in our Schedule page. Please do NOT use any other courts, or play at any other times, except as explicitly permitted. Unauthorized use of the courts MAY RESULT IN THE LOSS OF ATC PLAYING PRIVILEGES.

Phillips Academy events always take precedence over ATC play. We will try to include these events in our Calendar web page and to remind members via email. However, whenever a Phillips Academy representative informs you that the courts are not available for ATC use at a particular time, please follow their guidance.

ATC play has priority over play by non-members only on ATC-designated courts during ATC-designated times. When ATC has priority, you can respectfully inform non-members that the courts are reserved for ATC use at that time and ask them to move. ATC play does not have any priority on other courts or at other times.

Scheduled ATC events (competitive doubles, tournaments, clinics) have precedence over ATC open play. When ATC events do not require use of all the ATC-designated courts, the remaining ATC-designated courts remain available for open play.

Members are not allowed to bring tennis professionals or tennis instructors on to the Phillips Academy tennis courts.

Attire

Players must wear tennis attire: shorts and shirt, or tennis dress. Shoes must be non-marking.

GUIDELINES

Please bring a new can of balls with you when you play. Providing balls is a shared responsibility of all members. Please do not take advantage of those members who are always 'glad' to open a new can.

Please make room for members waiting to play after completing two consecutive sets.

Please wait until play stops when you wish to cross a court, including walking along the fence. Walk briskly to minimize the delay caused by your crossing.

Members may extend ATC guest privileges to occasional out-of-town visitors. Guest privileges cannot be extended to residents of Andover or continuous communities. For example: A non-member friend who lives in another town is not entitled to guest privileges for a weekly match.

Please be cautious with the placement of overhead shots when you are near an opponent at the net; please use caution, discretion and good sportsmanship.

Play should follow the USTA Code (see below) in spirit, with mutually agreed upon variances for recreational play. Typical variances include:

  • Instead of taking warm-up serves, use "FBI" (first ball in, both sides) on the initial two points of players' first service game of the day.

  • Instead of multiple deuces, play one deuce and then a game point. Receiving side determines which partner receives the serve.

USTA Code

The USTA provides a guide to fair play and the unwritten rules of tennis. We encourage members to read the PDF. For convenience, some of its points are summarized below. Link to the PDF: https://www.usta.com/content/dam/usta/pdfs/2015_Code.pdf.

Principles

  • Courtesy is expected.

  • Points played in good faith are counted.

Making Calls

  • Balls touching any part of a line are good.

  • Players make calls on their own side of net. However, if a player sees their own shot as out, they should call it out.

  • Players should always give the opponent the benefit of any doubt when making calls.

  • Players should never call a ball out except when they clearly see space between where the ball hits and a line.

  • Players should always give audible and/or visible out calls.

  • In doubles, both partners may make calls. If one partner calls a ball out but the other partner affirmatively sees it as good, the ball is good.

  • In doubles, the player receiving serve primarily calls the sideline and center service line, and their partner calls the service line. Nonetheless, either partner may call a ball that they clearly see.

  • Spectators never make calls.

Conceding Points

Players should concede the point whenever:

  • A ball in play touches them;

  • A ball bounces more than once in their court;

  • They touch the net or opponent’s court while a ball is in play;

  • They hit a ball before it crosses the net; or

  • They deliberately carry or double hit a ball.

  • They catch a ball in play before it bounces, regardless of where they are standing.

Errant Balls

  • When a ball from another court enters the playing area, any player on the affected court may call a let. Players lose the right to call a let if they unreasonably delay making the call after becoming aware of the ball.

  • When returning errant balls, wait until the other court's point is completed and then return it directly to one of the players.

  • When one of your balls enters another court, do not retrieve it yourself. Wait for the other court's point to be completed and then ask for help retrieving your ball.