Mixed Singles Tennis BoxLeague & Doubles Tennis BoxLeague

Aim: The aim of the Mixed Singles Tennis BoxLeague(MSTBL) & Doubles Tennis BoxLeague (DTBL) is to provide tennis members with the opportunity of meeting & playing singles or doubles tennis with different players of a similar standard.

Use of the terms league and player: In the following text “league” may refer to either the MSTBL or the DTBL. The term “player” refers to an individual player in the case of the MSTBL and a doubles partnership in the case of the DTBL.

Commitment: Depending upon numbers, the division/box size target is 6 for the MSTBL & 4 for the DTBL league. So, players will have  5 (MSTBL) or 3 (DTBL) matches to play (approximately) every 6 weeks (up to 10 weeks over the Winter months. To try and encourage players to participate in both the MSTBL & DTBL the administrator will run the two leagues approximately 3 weeks apart.

Match Scoring: Play one long set to 9 games. If you reach 8-8, play a tie-break to 7 in the last game, ensuring you are 2 points clear (new rule introduced July 2023).

Login to BoxLeague.net and click on the ‘Standings’ tab, then the ’Match Results’  text then ‘League Matches’ to enter the scores. Use the drop down arrows to select your match opponent. For example if player 1 beat player 2 by 9 games to 8 then select score 9-8 and press ‘Record Result’. Record match scores by 9 pm on the last day of the round. 

Tie-Breaks: For a reminder of how to play a tie-break see one of the following external URLs:

https://serveandvolleytennis.com/how-does-a-tennis-tie-break-work/ or

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_scoring_system

Points: To encourage people to play, points are awarded as follows: 2 points for playing a match 1 point for each game won and 3 points for winning the match. If you play all of your matches you will be awarded an additional 2 bonus points.

Promotion/Demotion: In general (assuming a box of 6), when an update to the league is made the 2 players with the most points will automatically be promoted, the 2 with the fewest will be demoted and  2 will stay. Some adjustment to these guidelines are almost always necessary as people join, re-join or withdraw. The consequence of adding more players to the higher divisions (than withdraw) means that the majority of players below them will be pushed down the league. This is a particular problem in the Spring when many players rejoin. However, a player’s position relative to their opponents should be maintained.

Players who find themselves too high or too low on entering the league may be moved by more than one division, at the discretion of the administrator. Fortunately, this is not often necessary and although it can take a while to work your way up the league you hopefully have the pleasure of meeting many new friendly & interesting players on the way.

Cancellations/Injuries/Walkovers: If a match can’t be arranged or is cancelled for any reason you may feel justifiably frustrated. However, the administrator would like to remind players that the BoxLeague is intended as a medium for friendly competition. Claiming a walkover, for any reason is potentially controversial, so has not been facilitated. Those players who are lucky enough to remain injury free and who play most of their matches early in the round are more likely to move up the league. If you have to  cancel a match, at short notice (2 hours or less) then please don’t just rely on email to inform them (assuming that your opponent has disclosed their contact numbers). In addition, the onus is then on you to re-arrange the game!

Arranging Matches: The BoxLeague.net system doesn’t automatically schedule matches. Players should pro-actively arrange matches as soon as the new league starts. Too often players wait until the last couple of weeks of the league to arrange games then struggle to book a court. Players often find that booking a court (using the sportyhq https://www.sportyhq.com/login) then sending an email to all of the players in their division, using the BoxLeague.net facility (https://boxleague.net/Email.aspx), is one way to arrange a match. If there are no takers after a day or so then the booking can be changed and another email sent. Repeat until successful!

An alternative to email is the ‘WhatsApp’ app.  WhatsApp has the advantage over email in that you can speak to all players simultaneously in a group call.  The use of WhatsApp will require players to disclose their mobile numbers in the BoxLeague.net Profile and have WhatsApp on their smart phones. This facility could be particularly useful in arranging a doubles match. For more details see the link below:

WhatsApp. How to make a group voice call

Joining the MSTBL and/or DTBL: The BoxLeague.net database runs on an external website. To join, contact the administrator (via the contacts page) who will enter your email details into the BoxLeague.net system and allocate you a login name. Once you receive an email from BoxLeague.net  (check your spam and junk folders) follow the instructions on how to create a new password as you login to the boxleague.net system.

Once logged in click on the ‘My Profile’ tab to add phone details to make it easy for people to contact you. NB. this is especially important for one of our members (BS) who only uses his home phone to make contact. However, it is important to understand that if you provide contact details and make them visible they will be visible to all Dean boxleague.net account holders past and present. If you leave the club it is recommended that you hide your contact details.

NB: If you are under the age of 18 it is recommended that you use an adult’s contact details to arrange games.

Rather than expect everyone, including team-standard players, to start in the bottom division and work their way up, players wishing to join/rejoin should contact the administrator & indicate which division they hope to join/re-join. Assume 10 divisions with division ‘A’ being the strongest. There is scope by the administrator to promote/demote players who find themselves too low/high in the league e.g. if a player is winning most of their games 9-0. Players can be added into the league after the start date provided there are at least 4 weeks of the round left to run. Please only sign up to the league if you’re going to be both available & flexible in arranging matches.

Opting out of “BoxLeague Match Result” emails: You can opt out of receiving match result emails by logging into the BoxLeague.net/Profile and un-ticking the “Receive match result emails“. However, it is recommended that you tick the “Receive league level emails” so that you can be contacted by your opponents & the administrator.

Dropping out of the league:  Provided you’ve played at least one game you will automatically be included in the next round. However, if you play no matches, you’ve not logged into the BoxLeague.net A/C for 6 weeks (so listed as inactive) or you’ve indicated in the Profile section of BoxLeague.net that you’re injured you will normally be dropped from the league.

If you no longer wish to continue in one of the leagues contact the administrator before the next league update date. However, before deciding to drop out even temporarily (e.g. over the Winter) please remember that it may not always be possible to put you back in at the same level when you return. It may be better to stay in the league and play even one game so that you don’t drop down too far…

Changing Partners in the Doubles Tennis BoxLeague: The DTBL is not restricted to male/female partnerships. If you have no partner the administrator will try and pair you up with a player of a similar standard. If you would like to change partners this should be done at the end of the league period.

Logging in & automatic emails from BoxLeague.net: At the start (and end) of a league you will receive an email from BoxLeague.net.  Login using your username & password and click on ‘Standings’ to see the details of your opponents. Player order is initially by surname, until you have a results history.

League duration & next updates: The league runs throughout the year. The duration of each round is approximately 6 weeks but will be extended to accommodate the annual tournament in September & the inclement weather in Winter. The administrator tries to arrange as many rounds during the Summer months as possible so if you’ve struggled to get games played please don’t ask for an extension to the league. Hopefully you’ll have more opportunity to play in the next round. For projected BoxLeague round update dates see the Events Calendar page.

For further information please contact the MSTBL & DTBL administrator via the contacts page.