The playoffs begin after the final week of the Summer Singles #2 season.
Rounds of 64, 32, 16, Quarterfinals & Semifinals:
Finals:
In Chicago: Played at a site to be determined on either October 13th (Doubles & Mixed) and October 20th (Singles).
In St Louis: Arranged between players.
Do not play early rounds if you will be unavailable for later rounds. Defaults ruin the tournament!!
Stay at the same level: Playoff qualifiers will play at the same skill level for the playoffs as their last season if:
Move up 1 skill level: Playoff Qualifiers will move up 1 skill level for the Playoffs if they finished their last season with a Player Rating of +6.10 to +9.99.
Move up 2 skill levels: Playoff qualifiers will move up 2 levels for the playoffs if the finished their last season with a Player Rating of over +10.00 AND they are first season players. If they are not first season players, they will only move up 1 level, regardless of how high their Player Rating is.
Exception to moving up: If a player has played the last two consecutive seasons at the same skill level, he/she stays at the same level for the playoffs, regardless of the Player Rating from the last season of play.
Move down a skill level: If a player moves up a skill level for the Summer #2 season, he/she cannot move back down to the lower skill level for the playoffs UNLESS
Longer Travel Times
Travel times for playoff matches will be longer than 20 minutes because players will be competing against others from different divisions around the Chicagoland area. If you cannot foresee making the extra time to travel to your matches, then withdraw your name from playoff competition.
Since our new players rate themselves when signing up, there's a chance that they may unintentionally underrate themselves and start at a skill level that is below their capabilities. This would be a "fast track" to a division win and playoff berth that is outside of the spirit of how the league is structured.
Therefore: If a 1st season player finishes the season with a player rating above +3.00, he will automatically move up a level for the playoffs. If he finishes the season with a player rating above +10.00, the League Coordinator will use discretion on how many levels he should move up for the next season, or for the playoffs if that is what is next.
Division Winners: A Division Winner is the player who finishes a season with the most points in his/her division. If the League Coordinator chooses to allow players to enter late scores after the season has concluded, those scores will not factor into who wins the division. Division winners automatically qualify for one of the playoff spots in the tournament.
Wildcard entries: The remaining spots are filled by the leaders of the Playoff Points Race - those players who have the highest cumulative weighted points for the year.
How many players qualify? The number of spots available for the playoffs at each skill level depends on the number of players who competed at that skill level during the course of the year. You can see how many players competed at your skill leve by clicking the "Playoffs" link, then selecting your skill level from the dropdown menu.
Skill levels with 100+ players = Top 40 of the Playoff Points Race + Division Winners will qualify
Skill levels with 50 - 100 players = top 25 of the Playoff Points Race + Division Winners will qualify
Skill Levels under 50 players = Top 50% of the Playoff Points Race + Division Winners will qualify
All singles players must complete a minimum of 4 matches in one season to be eligible for the playoffs.
Playoff qualifiers are seeded in the playoffs according to the number of Playoff Points accumulated.
Higher seeded player gets home court during playoffs.
FAQ: Where do I find the Playoff Points Race on the website? Just login, then click the "Playoffs" link near the top of your page, and you will see a dropdown menu of Playoff Points Races for each skill level, Men and Women.
Playoff Points are weighted for two reasons:
1. While the league is growing, it might be necessary to combine some of the skill levels into the same tournament. Players that earn points at a higher skill level should be favored to make the tournament over players who earn the same number of points at lower skill levels.
2. A player may dominate in a lower skill level, earn a high number of points, and then move up to a higher skill level during the year. Points earned while in a higher skill level should be worth more than the points earned at a lower skill level. This is fair to the player, and fair to the other players in deciding who can earn a playoff spot. Below is a scenario of a player moving up to a higher level during the year and how it would affect the playoff Point Total:
Season 1: 90 points earned at 3.5 level = 315 points
Season 2: 70 points earned at 4.0 level = 280 points
Season 3: 80 points earned at 4.0 level = 320 points
Playoff Point Total = 915 points