Tennis Match Day Planning Guide

It's 1:30pm on a Saturday afternoon. Your ladies' team has a home county league fixture at 2pm. Two of your four courts are already occupied by members who booked social play sessions and don't know there's a match on. The opposition has arrived but nobody is at the clubhouse to greet them. The balls for the match are still in a cupboard that's locked, and the person with the key is playing in the match. There's no tea or squash available because nobody organised it.

Tennis match days are different from most team sports. You're managing multiple courts simultaneously, each with an independent match that could last one hour or three. The fixture might involve twelve or sixteen players across four or six rubbers, all starting and finishing at different times. The schedule is inherently elastic, which makes the surrounding logistics harder to plan - and therefore more important to plan.

The week-before timeline

Monday

• Confirm the fixture. Check your county or league website. Confirm opposition, start time, number of rubbers, and match format (singles, doubles, or mixed).
• Court allocation. Decide which courts are being used for the fixture and block them. If you run a court booking system - paper or electronic - make sure league fixtures are entered and social play is redirected to remaining courts. The biggest source of match day friction in tennis is courts being occupied by members who didn't know about the fixture.
• Team selection and notification. Your captain should have the team confirmed by Wednesday at the latest. Players need to know the start time, their rubber allocation if possible, and whether they should arrive early for warmup.

Wednesday

• Volunteer roster. Tennis match days need fewer volunteers than most sports, but the roles still need filling: clubhouse volunteer (one - opens up, provides refreshments), a team captain or coordinator who manages the fixture, and someone for pack-down. For larger fixtures, add a second person for hospitality.
• Hospitality confirmed. Who's providing tea, squash, and biscuits? For home fixtures, this is your club's responsibility and it matters. A decent spread at the changeover or after the match shows visiting teams your club is well run.
• Court surface check. For outdoor courts - are they in playable condition? Hard courts may need sweeping. Artificial grass courts need checking for moss or standing water. Clay courts (rare in the UK but they exist) need specific preparation.

Thursday

• Equipment check. Match balls - new tins for league fixtures. Check your league's ball specification (many county leagues specify a particular brand). Scoresheet or scorecards. First aid kit.
• Opposition communication. Send the visiting captain your club's address, parking details, and any facility information. If your club is hard to find or has restricted parking, say so now.

Friday

• Weather check. For outdoor courts, rain changes everything. Know your league's rules on postponement - some require play to start if courts are playable at the scheduled start time, others allow clubs to agree a postponement. Have a process for communicating a weather call.
• Final confirmations. Courts blocked, volunteers confirmed, balls purchased, clubhouse access arranged.

Match day timeline

Sixty minutes before start

• Open the clubhouse. Turn on the urn. Set out cups, tea, coffee, squash, and biscuits.
• Check the courts. Sweep debris, check nets are at the correct height (0.914m at the centre), ensure court markings are visible. Outdoor courts - check for standing water or slippery patches after overnight rain.
• Unlock ball cupboard. Have match balls ready.
• Put out signage if your club uses it - "Match in progress" signs help members understand court restrictions.

Thirty minutes before start

• Greet the opposition. Show them to the changing rooms, offer refreshments, point out the courts.
• Team captains meet. Confirm the order of play, any scoring regulations, and match format.
• Players warm up. If your league allows warmup on the match courts, allocate five to ten minutes. If not, direct players to available courts or a hitting wall.

During the fixture

• Court monitoring. The match coordinator should keep track of which rubbers are in progress, which have finished, and whether courts need to be reallocated as matches run long or short. Tennis fixtures are unpredictable in length - a three-set rubber on Court 1 might take two hours while Court 2 finishes in fifty minutes.
• Scoring. Ensure each court has a visible scoreboard or that results are being reported to the match coordinator. Many leagues require a signed scoresheet at the end.
• Refreshments. Keep the tea and squash flowing between rubbers. Players coming off court after a long set need water and a sit-down.
• Spectator hospitality. If non-playing members or families are watching, the clubhouse should be welcoming and open.

Post-match

• Scoresheets signed. Both captains confirm the result. Submit to your league by the required deadline.
• Hospitality. Invite the visiting team for tea and refreshments after the match. This is where tennis's social tradition lives - the post-match drink, the handshake, the conversation about the good rallies and the lucky net cords. Invest in it.
• Court reset. Nets adjusted if needed, courts swept, any court equipment (windscreens, scoreboards) stored.
• Clubhouse cleaned. Wash up, empty bins, wipe surfaces. Lock up.
• Report issues. Court surface problems, net damage, lighting failures - report them now, not next week.

Weather contingencies

Outdoor tennis is entirely weather-dependent, and English weather is entirely unpredictable.

Rain. If courts are wet, play can't start. Your league will have rules about waiting periods (typically thirty to sixty minutes) before a match is formally postponed. Have a plan for communicating with the opposition if you need to call it off - and make the call as early as possible to save people travelling.

Wet courts after rain. Hard courts often have standing water. A squeegee or roller can clear a court in fifteen to twenty minutes. Some clubs invest in court covers for their primary match courts. For artificial grass, the surface usually drains well but can be slippery when damp - use your judgement.

Wind. Tennis in high wind is miserable but usually playable. If debris is blowing across the courts, a pre-match sweep is worth the effort.

Heat. Summer league fixtures can coincide with genuinely hot days. Have extra water available, encourage breaks between rubbers, and watch for signs of heat exhaustion.

Floodlights. For evening or late-autumn fixtures, check your floodlights are working before the match. A bulb failure at 4pm in November ends the fixture. Report maintenance needs early.

Court allocation for mixed fixture programmes

If your club runs men's, ladies', and mixed teams, you may have two or three fixtures in a single weekend. Planning court access is critical:

• Season-long fixture calendar. Map all home fixtures onto your court schedule at the start of the season. Identify clashes early.
• Priority rules. Decide which fixtures take precedence when courts are limited. League matches over friendlies. First teams over lower teams if courts are genuinely scarce.
• Member communication. Publish the match schedule prominently - on the noticeboard, on your website, through your booking system. The single best way to prevent court clashes is making sure every member knows when matches are on.

Hospitality that reflects your club

Tennis has a strong social tradition. The post-match refreshments don't need to be elaborate, but they do need to exist.

A minimum standard:

• Tea, coffee, and cold drinks
• Biscuits or cake
• Available within five minutes of the last rubber finishing

A good standard:

• All of the above plus sandwiches or light food
• A bar open for after-match drinks
• A volunteer hosting - greeting, serving, making visitors feel welcome

The visiting team's impression of your club is formed as much in the clubhouse after the match as on the court during it.

How TidyHQ helps with tennis match day

Tennis clubs manage court bookings, fixture scheduling, membership renewals, and social events on top of match day logistics. When these run through separate systems - a paper booking diary, WhatsApp groups, a spreadsheet for subs - the committee's time disappears into coordination.

TidyHQ's event management lets you create each home fixture as an event with volunteer roles attached. Court bookings, team selection notifications, and match day reminders run through one system. Members see what's happening and when, which solves the "I didn't know there was a match" problem that causes court clashes.

For clubs managing LTA affiliation, membership renewals, and coaching programme sign-ups alongside match day, having a single platform means less time juggling systems and more time on the tennis.

FAQs

How far in advance should we block courts for fixtures?

At the start of the season. When your league fixtures are published, enter every home match into your court booking system immediately. Blocking courts a week before the match is too late - members will have booked social play sessions that then need cancelling, which causes resentment.

What do we do if a rubber runs significantly long and delays the schedule?

Most leagues have time limits or regulations for this situation. Check your league's rules on unfinished rubbers. In practice, the match coordinator should communicate with both captains about timing, and courts that finish early can be reallocated to help the schedule recover.

Do we need first aid cover for a tennis fixture?

A stocked first aid kit should be accessible at every fixture. Tennis injuries are less frequent than contact sports but do happen - ankle sprains, wrist injuries, and heat-related issues. Having a trained first aider available is good practice, especially at larger fixtures.

References

• Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) - National governing body for tennis in Britain, including club support and competition management
• LTA Club Support - Resources for club governance, development, and facility improvement
• Club Matters - Sport England's free support programme for community sports clubs
• Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) - HMRC guidance on CASC registration and tax reliefs
• Sport England - Community Sport - Funding and support for grassroots sport in England