Safety and safeguarding

Report a concern

1. Open the relevant player, hit, venue update or Watch entry.
2. While signed in, choose Report, Report update or Report stream. Choose the concern and explain what happened with the minimum detail needed for review.
3. Submit the report and save the reference shown in the confirmation. Include this reference if you contact us about the report.

If you cannot sign in, or your concern is about the service rather than one item, email support@playhitters.co.uk. For immediate danger or urgent safeguarding concerns, contact the appropriate emergency or safeguarding service first.

Do not download, copy, forward or email a sexual image of anyone under 18. Report where it appears without attaching the image. PlayHitters will preserve only the information needed for review or an authority referral.

A harmful link in an update or Watch entry can be reported to PlayHitters and to the hosting service. Do not open, download or redistribute suspected child sexual abuse material to gather evidence. Give the location of the entry; you are not expected to investigate or confront the person reported.

Block someone

Open the member's player page and choose Block. Blocking hides profiles, public hits, ordinary venue updates, Watch entries and shared contact details between the two accounts, and prevents new requests. The other member is not told who blocked them.

Blocking does not itself cancel an accepted place or refund a payment. Private arrangement and payment recovery remain in My tennis, with identifying details withheld where required. It also cannot take back information already seen or stop contact outside PlayHitters. Assigned Venue Managers retain access to their venue's updates and Watch entries for moderation; administrators retain investigation access.

Manage blocked players in Settings, or open My tennis to review an existing arrangement. Blocking and reporting are separate actions; report harmful conduct as well when it needs review.

Keep attendance reports accurate

Attendance reporting corrects the record of a completed hit. It is separate from reporting harmful conduct or an unsafe arrangement. Report only what you directly know and give a concise, factual reason.

• One accepted player did not attend: the organiser can make a private no-show report from the hit within seven days of its end, provided the hit took place.
• You were named in a report: you have 72 hours from the report to dispute it. An undisputed report becomes effective after that deadline. A disputed report has no effect unless an administrator upholds it. Review the exact deadline in your attendance reports.
• The whole hit did not take place: only the organiser can correct the whole-hit outcome within seven days. Do not name individual players when nobody played.

Organisers can withdraw unresolved mistakes; administrators can dismiss or uphold cases with a recorded reason. Individual no-show decisions do not automatically suspend an account or change a payment or refund.

Recording the whole hit as not played removes completed and trust credit for everyone, closes individual no-show reports and starts a full original-method refund for every online-paid place. PlayHitters cannot refund costs paid at the venue. Hits are never marked not played automatically. These reports and corrections live in My tennis → Activity.

Under-18 and mixed-age tennis

PlayHitters is age-inclusive. A member under 18 needs a parent or guardian's approval for the account and each hit. The parent or guardian remains responsible for suitable supervision, travel, arrival and handover arrangements. Follow the venue's current booking, access, welfare and supervision rules.

Do not put an exact age, school, home address, private contact details or supervision plan in public content. Check professional claims with the venue or relevant governing body. A listing or community confirmation is not a safeguarding check.

• A child can contact Childline on 0800 1111.
• An adult worried about a child can contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or report to the relevant local council.
• Tennis-specific concerns can also be sent through the LTA safeguarding concern form.

Filming and livestreaming

Check the venue's filming rules and get any permission it requires before filming or going live. Tell everyone who may be seen or heard what you plan to share, where it will appear and whether a recording will remain, and get their agreement. An accepted place in a hit or permission to publish on PlayHitters does not give permission to film.

For anyone under 18, the LTA recommends written consent from both the child and their parent or carer before taking and using their image or video. Read the LTA photography and filming consent guidance.

Keep the camera on the agreed court and avoid bystanders, neighbouring courts, changing areas and private conversations. A live stream can reveal where someone is right now. Keep names, school details and other private information out of the picture and description. Respect anyone who declines or changes their mind; stop or reframe the stream so they are not included.

Use a provider account you control and check its audience and recording settings. End the broadcast at the hosting service as well as ending your Watch entry. Removing a PlayHitters link does not remove the provider's video or copies made by other people. Viewers can use the entry's Report stream action for a filming concern. The Privacy notice explains external media and player connections.

Trust and its limits

Hits use PlayHitters's curated venue catalogue; members cannot select arbitrary home or meetup addresses as a hit venue. Inclusion does not transfer responsibility for a hit to the venue or verify its participants.

Email verification, private LTA-number claims and community confirmation add accountability and gate broader or paid hosting. A provisional claimant can offer one Starter Community hit at a time. For those Starter hits, requester contact sharing stays off while the organiser's email is shared with accepted players. These are signals, not proof of identity, age, parental authority, character, accreditation or DBS status.

Community confirmation comes from qualifying completed Community play or administrator or assigned venue manager review. Keep claims and attendance records truthful; never arrange false participation or use a report to manipulate confirmation. Deliberate collusion or abuse of review tools may lead, after review, to account restrictions or closure. Honest, good-faith mistakes are considered in context. See confirmation guidance for progress and review routes.

Review, complaints and appeals

PlayHitters records and reviews reports, assesses content suspected to be illegal and acts on content found to be illegal or against the community code. Action may include removing content, restricting an account, cancelling an unsafe upcoming hit or preserving relevant records. Concerns may be referred to the police, local safeguarding services, the LTA or the National Crime Agency.

Report information is kept private where possible, but may be shared when necessary to protect someone, handle the complaint or meet a legal duty. Only information that can safely and lawfully be disclosed is returned.

To complain about handling or appeal a content or account decision, use the safety appeal route at support@playhitters.co.uk. Include the report reference, decision and a concise reason. PlayHitters records whether the decision is kept or changed. See Contact us.