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Revised Saturday, August 1, 2026
The Indianapolis Industrial League is a competitive league for high school aged players through adults playing at a NTRP 3.5 level or above. The league consists of seven teams of 22-rostered players: the Allison-Roevers, the Delinquents, the Lobsters, the Raiders, the Volley-Llamas, the Royals, and the Outlaws. Each week, six of the seven teams will compete while one team has a bye.
League matches are a triple round robin format consisting of three singles (1S, 2S, and 3S) and three doubles (1D, 2D, and 3D) matches per session each week. Each session includes 10 minutes of warm-up followed by 80 minutes of play. The sessions run on Saturdays from August through February at 8:30 AM, 10:00 AM, and 11:30 AM. The regular 21-week season is followed by a 3-week playoff. Schedules will be administered to the team captains before the start of the season.
Each player on the weekly line-up is responsible for paying for their individual participation in the IIL match each week. All rostered players will be required to keep a credit card on file at WIRC. Players who do not have their card on file by the Friday before the opening match of the season, regardless if they are playing that match, cannot earn points for their team until their card is successfully on file. A league fee of $7 per player will be assessed at the start of the season. Players who neglect to pay the league fee will not be permitted to play as a rostered player.
The weekly payment schedule for matches consists of two tiers: the member tier and the non-member tier.
Member passes expire at the conclusion of the season after the second anniversary of the purchase date of the pass, and all remaining unused plays will be lost. In other words, if a pass was purchased on October 7, 2017, the pass would expire at the conclusion of the 2019–2020 season. (The second anniversary would be October 7, 2019, and the pass would last through the end of that season of play, which would be the 2019–2020 season.)
Passes may be shared among members of the same household; however, use of a shared pass does not override the playoff eligibility rule. Captains may also choose to use one of their personal pass plays to cover a player's payment. Repayment may be worked out between the captain and that player at a later date.
Passes will expire at the end of the season of the two-year anniversary of the purchase date, and all remaining unused plays will be lost. In other words, if a pass was purchased on October 7, 2017, the pass would expire at the conclusion of the 2019–2020 season. (The second anniversary would be October 7, 2019, and the pass would last through the end of that season of play, which would be the 2019–2020 season.)
All Industrial League captains and players must have an up-to-date membership form or guest form on file with WIRC prior to their first match. Players who have not completed their registration forms will not be permitted to play or score points for their team.
Persons who elect to captain an Industrial League team must fulfill obligations including but not limited to the following:
Beginning in the 2018–2019 season, one (1) free membership will be awarded to each team for the team captain. Teams who elect to share captaining responsibilities between two individuals can split the cost of the second membership between the two captains.
A captain will also earn the benefit of a 24-play pass at the start of each season. Teams who elect to split the captain's responsibilities will split their 24 plays equally between the two individuals. The pass and individual plays on each pass are non-transferable, except in the instances of captains choosing to utilize a pass-play for a last minute substitute player, to cover the cost of play for one of their rostered players, and/or to cover the cost of a court in order for their team to earn points for a defaulted match. Captains may not transfer their captain's pass to another player for that player to use at their discretion.
Each team shall submit a roster of 22 players and their contact information to the Indianapolis Industrial League by the Tuesday that precedes the week that the league is set to start. (In other words, two Tuesdays before the first Saturday of play.) Rosters should include all players' preferred email address, telephone number, and NTRP/USTA Rating. If a player does not have a current NTRP, captains, with the assistance of a WIRC teaching pro, shall estimate players' ratings and indicate the rating as an estimate. Prior to the start of the season, the IIL Commissioner will alert captains to players from the previous season who were rostered but played fewer than two (2) times.
An individual may be listed on only one team roster. Each player participating in a weekly team match must be listed on his/her team's official roster in order to score points for their team. If a team has 22 rostered players, the team will need to move a player off the roster in order to add a new team member. Players may be removed from and then later returned to a particular team's roster only once during a season. There is a limit of three (3) roster changes per Industrial League season. Removing someone from the team roster and subsequently re-adding them at a later date would count as two roster changes.
Players added after the initial roster submission must be confirmed in an email by a club staff member as being officially on the team roster by 8:00 PM on the Tuesday prior to Saturday play in order to score points for the team.
Rosters must be full and/or finalized by November 1 at the latest. Any additions made to rosters after November 1 count as a roster change. Additions made prior to November 1 do not count as roster changes; this is simply part of building the finalized roster. A IIL Staff Member will lock the captains' ability to edit rosters on November 1. All subsequent roster changes must be submitted in writing to the WIRC Staff and all other captains.
Every seven weeks, the IIL Staff will review the scoring of each player at their assigned position(s) for each third of the regular season to determine whether or not a player's IIL Rating needs to be adjusted up or down. For example, if a 4.5 player is constantly shutting out their opponent at 2S, they likely need an IIL rating of 5.0. If a 4.5 player is consistently being shut out by their opponent at 2S, their IIL rating may need to be adjusted down to a 4.0. IIL Staff will communicate first with the player's captain to discuss and receive feedback. If ratings are adjusted, all captains will be notified of the change.
In December of each season, the IIL Staff will review any updated USTA ratings on the USTA website in order to update the rosters accordingly. A summary email will be sent to all captains noting any ratings changes on the rosters.
WIRC will collect and maintain a running list of potential free agents for the Industrial League captains to add to their roster during the season or to use as subs. Similar to other sports, this running list of players will be known as the “Waiver Wire.” Teams with the lowest amount of points based on the current league standings have first choice to add a player from the Waiver Wire. Adding a player to the roster after the November 1 deadline, whether that player is replacing another player or not, will count as a roster change.
Line-ups shall include players from the team roster. If a captain cannot fill the line-up with rostered players, the captain may use a free agent, another team's rostered player, or a new player from outside the league.
Players shall be assigned playing positions based on NTRP, proficiency at singles or doubles play, and level of fitness. The guideline NTRP ratings for each position are as follows:
Captains should not put a 5.0-rated player at 2 Doubles unless the team has rostered multiple 5.0-rated players at 1 Doubles already. The captain of this team should inform the captain of the opposing team of this situation if it arises.
Line-ups shall be submitted by 5:00 PM on Thursday before Saturday play. Captains are responsible for filling all positions in their line-up. West Indy Racquet Club and its employees will not be responsible for filling positions. WIRC will provide a list of subs and their level to captains to aid in filling line-ups. WIRC will also work to connect new interested players with a captain and/or place them on the free agent list.
Once line-ups are submitted, WIRC Staff must check the players' ratings each week to make sure they comply with the guidelines for playing position above. Ratings will also be noted on a shared document with all captains so that each captain can see what rating has been fielded for each position of play and make adjustments accordingly.
Guest players from another team, free agents, and new players score no points for the team on which they are substituting. However, guest players from another team will score all the points earned for their own team. The only exception to this rule is if a player, acting as a guest player on another team, is playing against their own teammate. In this case, their team can earn full points.
Each game is scored using traditional scoring (with advantage).
The winner of each match is determined by the total number of games won during the timed match. At the end of each 90-minute session, indicated by the sounding of a buzzer, all play stops. Even if play is in midpoint, that point does not count. Games still in progress do not count in determining the winner of the match. If the match is “on serve,” then the match ends in a tie, and each team gets 1 point toward the team scoring. If a match is not “on serve,” the winner of the match is determined according to the match score at the end of the last completed game.
Play shall be continuous with no more than 90 seconds between games and 25 seconds between points as dictated by Friend at Court regulations for changeovers.
In doubles play, players may switch sides once during the match after 8 games have been played or after 45 minutes of play, whichever comes first. In switching sides, the player originally receiving the serve from the deuce side may switch to the ad side, and the player originally receiving the serve from the ad side may switch to the deuce side. This may occur only once during match play.
A player who arrives late can be forced to forfeit his/her points for the match. The captains of the opposing teams will discuss the situation and decide whether or not there was sufficient time to complete a full match.
In the event of a default due to a no-show player, the defaulting team will suffer a penalty of −2 points. The team that did not default the match will earn +2 points for their team, and the match will count toward that player's play-count in preparation for play-offs. Any no-show player will be charged the full amount of the court. Failure to collect from a no-show player will result in a player being charged against the captain's free plays, and the captain and the no-show player will resolve remaining payment issues.
If a no-show occurs during a play-off week, the same rules apply: the team with the no-show player will automatically be penalized −2 points, and the team whose player showed up for the match will be awarded +2 for their team.
If both teams agree to forfeit a court due to an inability to field players for that court, neither team will score or lose points. Both captains must communicate with WIRC prior to Thursday at 5:00 PM before the Saturday match, stating their agreement to default a court and win/lose zero points.
If one team cannot field a player, but the other team can field a player and does not agree to forfeit, the team who cannot field a player will lose 1 point for that match and the team who can field the player will gain 1 point for the match. Additionally, the play will count toward the player's play-off eligibility.
If a player must default due to injury in the middle of a match, the defaulting team will score 0 points and the opponents will automatically be awarded +2. Both players will have this match count toward their play-off eligibility.
A team will be awarded two points for each individual match won each week based upon the actual number of games won or as a result of a default by the opposing team, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. A team will receive −2 points for each match defaulted. The team taking advantage of the default will receive 2 points and credit for an 11–0 match. Any points will be evenly attributed to each of the players in doubles.
The weekly and regular season team standings shall be determined on the basis of the total number of points won during the weekly matches. In the event that two or more teams have the same number of points won, the respective positions in the final standings shall be determined based upon the least number of games lost during the season for all matches. In the event that the foregoing rule does not break the tie, final positions shall be determined on the basis of the head-to-head matches. If the teams have split head-to-head matches, the winner shall be determined on the basis of the least total number of games lost in the head-to-head matches.
Prior to the playoffs, a captains' meeting will be held and run by the Indianapolis Industrial League Commissioner and/or a member of the WIRC staff to establish correct player ratings and make any clarifications prior to playoff play. At this meeting, play-off line-ups must be submitted and the Commissioner must sign off that all players, positions, and levels are appropriately placed for the safety and benefit of all Industrial League players and games.
In the playoffs, the winner will be determined by the team that earns the most points. In the event of a tie, the tiebreaks are applied in the following order:
If the teams remain tied after all three tie-breaking measures are tried, both teams will be recognized as first place winners for the season.
In order to score points for their team during playoff matches, players must have played five (5) regular season matches as a rostered member of the team. If an ineligible player plays, he/she will be considered a substitute player (free agent) for whichever team he/she plays for in a playoff match.
Players may “play up” in the play-offs provided the captains of the two competing teams know in advance and agree to the level being played up in the higher position.
At the end of the regular season, the team in first place will earn a 3-play pass. This pass will be usable immediately and will expire at the conclusion of the season after the second anniversary of the issuance date of the pass.
At the end of the regular season, the team in second place will earn a 1-play pass. This pass will be usable immediately and will expire at the conclusion of the season after the second anniversary of the issuance date of the pass.
The Champion of the Indianapolis Industrial League will be honored with their name on the IIL plaque displayed in the WIRC lounge. All play-off eligible players from the roster of the championship team will earn a free tennis membership for the following membership year.