Rules and Glossary

Draft
The system by which team rosters are determined. Players enter by signing a letter of intent. Each year, Mylan World TeamTennis holds both a Marquee & Roster Draft before the season. There are four or five rounds to the drafts. Returning franchises have the right to protect players from the previous year's roster. Each player that a team protects reduces the number of available draft selections for that team. Teams draft in reverse order of the previous year's final team standings, based on overall match won/loss record. The team that wins the Championship match will draft in the last position. In the case of a tied record, order is determined using the WTT tiebreaking system. That order continues throughout the draft. 

6 teams will compete for the King Trophy during the 2016 Mylan WTT season.  In 2015, the Washington Kastles won a record fifth straight title by defeating the Austin Aces 24-18.  Current franchises include the New York Empire, Orange County Breakers, Philadelphia Freedoms, San Diego Aviators, Springfield Lasers, and Washington Kastles.

Extended Play
Extended Play eliminates the possibility of the final sets becoming exhibitions. If the team ahead in the cumulative score wins the final game of the last set, then that team is the winner. If, however, the trailing team wins the final set, the match is sent into Extended Play and continues until, a) the leading team wins one game, or b) the trailing team ties the match score. If the score becomes tied, the match is decided by a Supertiebreaker.

Event
Each event is won by the first team to reach five games. Should a set be tied at 4-4, a nine-point tiebreaker is played. 

Game
Game scoring is no-ad (first team to win four points wins the game). Should the game reach deuce (3 points each), the receiver chooses the side from which he/she will receive serve. In mixed doubles, the serve is always gender to gender at deuce. Each game counts as one point in the team's cumulative match score. Players change sides after every four games. Lets are played and either partner may return the let serve.  

Match
A match is a contest between two Mylan WTT teams and consists of five sets plus Extended Play, if any, and Supertiebreaker, if necessary. The events/sets are men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles and mixed doubles.

Mylan WTT Finals
The 2015 Mylan WTT Finals were held on the home court of the Eastern Conference Champion, the Washington Kastles. In 2016, the Finals will be held in the New York City area. 

Officials
Seven roving linespersons and a head umpire comprise the officials’ group at a Mylan WTT match. The head umpire is in charge of the match. His/her decisions are final.

Order of Events
The coach of the home team chooses the order of events/sets.

Regular Season & Post-Season
The 2016 regular season is scheduled to run July 31-August 13.  The top two teams advance to the Mylan WTT Finals on August 27 (at a site TBD in the New York City area).

Scoring
All games, sets and Supertiebreakers are won by a margin of one point.

Service Clock
New in 2015, the league introduces an on-court service clock which counts down 25 seconds from the end of a point to the next serve. The first time violation per set is a warning and additional violations will result in point penalties.   

Substitution
A coach may substitute one player, per event, per gender at the conclusion of a point. If a player is substituted for, he/she may not return to the match in that same set.

Supertiebreaker
In the event of a tied match at the conclusion of five sets or if the trailing team ties the score in Extended Play, a 13-point Supertiebreaker, involving the same fifth set event, decides the outcome of the entire match. A coin toss determines the choice of side, server and receiver. Players change sides after six points. The first team to win seven points is awarded a single game and the match.

Team
Each team has a coach and four players; two men and two women (five players if there is a marquee player on the team). Teams may name local alternates and substitute those players should a regular team member become injured during a match. Players are permitted to play in three sets per match.

Tiebreaker
If a set reaches 4-4, a nine-point tiebreaker is played to decide the winner of the set. A tiebreaker is won by the first team to reach five points. Players change sides after four points. The tiebreaker counts as one game and decides the outcome of the set.

Timeouts
Similarly as with other professional league team sports, Mylan WTT has instituted the use of timeouts during match play.  Each team is allotted 2 timeouts per set.  Timeouts are twenty (:20) seconds in length and do not carry over between sets.  Teams receive one timeout each for Extended Play added to the remaining timeouts from the 5th set. Teams also receive one Timeout each if the match goes to a Supertiebreaker.  Only the coach may call a timeout.  Coaches or players may enter the court area during these breaks in action.