Rally FAQ & Guide

• Singles: two players practicing or playing a match.
• Doubles: four players—the host plus three others.

Choose every format you’re open to. Exact matches rank higher in Discover, but other formats may still appear while Rally's local game supply is growing.

• Practice: casual hitting and drills.
• Match Play: warmup followed by scored sets.

Think of these as setting the vibe, not writing a contract. Rally ranks your preferred style higher, but may still show another style when the rest of the game is a strong fit.

Rally uses a USTA/NTRP-style self-rating from 2.0 to 5.0. It’s a practical guide, not an official rating.

Honest beats aspirational here. A realistic level makes the tennis better for everyone. Games in your level range rank higher, while other open games may still appear as lower-fit options.

Use the full tennis-level self-assessment for descriptions from 2.0 through 5.0, official USTA references, and advice for returning players.

Rally uses your ZIP as an approximate starting point to find nearby games, estimate distance, sort courts, and suggest fair locations for the group.

It is never shown as your home pin. Other players may see your general area, but not your ZIP, email, coordinates, or exact location.

It sets your preferred local range and gives nearby games a ranking boost. During Rally's early pilot, public games up to 25 straight-line miles from your ZIP-area center can still appear so you have more options.

This is an approximate distance, not actual driving, transit, or walking time.

Your weekly availability helps Rally rank games that fit completely inside your usual playing times. For player-hosted games, Rally also recognizes when shifting the start by up to 90 minutes would make the full game fit both players' usual schedules. It's not a commitment, and any time change still needs the host's agreement.

If your schedule changes constantly, you can leave it empty. You’ll still see compatible games; they just won’t get an availability boost.

It’s a useful sorting signal—not a promise of tennis chemistry. Rally considers:

• level;
• distance;
• usual availability;
• preferred game style;
• your selected formats and session types; and
• the host’s history of completed Rally games.

You’ll also see simple reasons like Level in range, Fits your availability, or Walking distance.

Public games that are open, have a seat available, and are within 25 straight-line miles of your ZIP-area center. Exact format and level matches rank higher, but other games can still appear while Rally's local game supply is growing.

You can filter by Singles or Doubles and search by player, area, court, or description.

Your own games and the games you’ve requested or joined live under My games.

Compare ways to find tennis partners in Boston, including pickup games, groups, leagues, and Rally.

Games labeled Open game are singles sessions created by Rally, with no player host. Join game accepts you immediately. When a second player joins, you’ll see Players matched and can coordinate in chat.

Rally does not reserve courts. Players arrange reservations and access. Unmatched games cancel two hours before play; withdrawing after that deadline also cancels the game and notifies the other player.

Not yet. The host reviews the request and accepts or declines it. Until then, you’ll see Request pending and won’t have access to the game chat.

For player-hosted games, as soon as the host accepts another player. Only the host and accepted players can read the private game chat. Use it for court plans, balls, arrival details, weather, or the all-important “I’m wearing a blue hat.”

Rally doesn’t have open-ended direct messages between player profiles. Conversations stay connected to a real game.

Yes. For player-hosted games, you can withdraw a pending request or leave after being accepted. The host is notified, and an accepted seat becomes available again. If that makes a full upcoming game incomplete, the game reopens for another player.

Please withdraw early when you can—nobody enjoys a last-minute scramble for a fourth.

Pick a format, session type, date, start time, and length. You can also add a description, choose a preferred court, and make the game public or private.

A good description can be short: “Looking to play two sets,” “Working on serve returns,” or “Court already reserved.”

No. Pick one now or choose together later. Once players are accepted, Rally can suggest courts that keep the longest trip as reasonable as possible for everyone.

Choosing a court in Rally does not reserve it. Check access, fees, conditions, and booking rules before you go.

Check Rally’s reviewed Boston court directory and official reservation links.

Open My games → Manage game. You’ll see each player’s name, general area, and self-rated level. Accepting someone adds them to the game and opens chat access; declining can include a short explanation.

A game stays Open while it still needs players. It becomes Confirmed at two players for Singles and four for Doubles.

Yes. You can update the time, length, vibe, description, court, and privacy. If players have already joined, mention important changes in chat too.

If you cancel, accepted players are notified. You can also permanently delete an open or cancelled game, which removes its requests and messages.

A Rally game has a web link you can send by text or drop into WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, email, Discord, or any other app. There’s nothing special for the recipient to install just to open the link and see the game details.

The link keeps the useful parts together: format, session type, time, court, open seats, host, and game status. Instead of an invitation getting buried under 40 replies, people can check the current plan and request to join in Rally.

• Public games can appear in compatible players’ Discover results and can also be shared directly.
• Private games stay out of Discover and are found through their shared link.

Either way, sharing the link doesn’t automatically add someone. The host still approves every join request.

• Bookable: reservations appear to be available.
• First come — no reservations: the court is understood to operate without bookings.
• Booking TBD: Rally doesn’t yet have reliable booking information.

Court policies and conditions change. Double-check anything important before traveling. If the directory is wrong, use Suggest changes or Report a missing or incorrect court; submissions are reviewed before publication.

For cold-weather options, see the verified indoor tennis court guide for Greater Boston.

When available, game cards show temperature, rain chance, and wind near the start time. With no court selected, Rally uses the host’s approximate ZIP-area center. Treat it as a heads-up and use chat for the final weather call.

Calendar options appear once an upcoming game is Confirmed. The event includes the latest time, court, description, and Rally link. If a confirmed game is cancelled, accepted players with alerts enabled receive a cancellation and calendar update by email.

Other signed-in players may see your display name, profile picture if you add one (otherwise your initials), self-rated level, and general area around a game. Your ZIP, email, coordinates, and exact activity times stay hidden.

Read Rally’s full privacy policy.

Rally is for adults 18 and older. Be honest about your level and availability, communicate changes promptly, respect court rules, and treat every player without harassment or discrimination.

Don’t spam, impersonate others, ask for payments through Rally, share anyone’s private information, or use Rally to arrange anything other than recreational tennis.

Use Report when Rally should review someone’s conduct. Use Block when you no longer want contact; blocked players stop seeing each other’s games. In an immediate emergency, contact local emergency services.