5-Player Teams

A MEMRLTA team has the option of using a 5-player team on match day. When using a 5-player team, the #1 and #2 players will still play three sets each, but the #3, 4 & 5 players will play only two sets each in a DEFINED ORDER:

Allowing a 5-player team is helpful for players who:

• are coming back from injury—allowing them to ease back into comp and hopefully reduce the chance of a re-injury,
• find playing three sets physically challenging,
• don’t want to play three sets on a hot day, or
• might need to leave early (in which case she plays in the #3 position).

Note: The MEMRLTA Scoresheet has been revised for 5-player teams and it shows the order of play.

How a 5-Player Team Works

• Using a 5-player team is totally optional. You never have to use it if you don’t want to.
• Before filling in the scoresheet and the start of play, a team using a 5-player team must declare it to the opposing team, and then fill-in the scoresheet accordingly.
• As per by-law 9, a team must be represented by a minimum of two players and ready to play by the agreed starting time. A complete team, including the #5 player, will still be required to be at the match venue within 45 minutes of the agreed starting time.
• The #5 is allowed a three-minute hit-up just prior to her commencing her first set. If one of the first two sets finishes but the other one is still going, we recommend that the #5 player has a hit-up with one of her teammates (or the opposing player #5 if they’re also using 5 players).
• When entering results online, you MUST note in the Comments field that a 5-player team was used, and players’ names must be entered correctly for each set. This is so that the Record Secretary & everyone else can tell the exact circumstance of a match, otherwise it could be difficult to distinguish a 5-player team from a match where someone retired injured, or where the match results were incorrectly entered.
• Emergencies, including Pool Emergencies, are allowed to be used in a 5-player team.
• If you are using an emergency in a 5-player team, please, as a courtesy, let them know that they will be playing only 2 sets, not 3.
• A 5-player team may be used in finals. This means that more of your players who helped to get your team to the finals can also play in the finals.
• In a 5-player team, if someone retires injured, that team does NOT revert to a 4-player team. Either a substitute player is called upon, or the remaining games and sets of the retired player are forfeited.

Example of a 4-Player Team Playing Against a 5-Player Team

If home team Green Valley Tennis Club is using a 4-player team and away team Golden Heights Tennis Club is using a 5-player team, player names would be written onto the scoresheet before the start of play as such:

And these are the sets which would be played: