Tennis Panorama News

The United States Tennis Association (USTA)  announced that on January 1, 2012 the rules of tennis officially will be changed and require that 10 and Under Tennis tournaments be played utilizing smaller, lighter racquets and lower-bouncing balls on smaller courts. The change was adopted by the USTA in the summer of 2010.

This rule change signifies the emergence of 10 and Under Tennis as an integral part of the development of young players. The scaled-down equipment and smaller courts better allow kids to rally and play the game earlier in their development, and increase the likelihood that they will return to the court and continue to improve while having fun doing it.

“We want tennis to be fun and accessible to kids as they enter the game,” said Jon Vegosen, USTA Chairman of the Board and President. “Similar to other sports such as baseball, basketball and soccer, kids will now learn and compete on the right-sized court with the right-sized equipment, which will help us grow the game.”

“Scaling tennis to the size of children will promote greater participation and ensure that young kids will be able to play tennis by developing their skills much more quickly,” said Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, USTA. “This rule change to the competition format for kids ages 10 and under is critical to the long-term growth of our sport, and ultimately will help us develop new generations of world-class players.”

The specifications for the revised rule hold that all tournaments for those ages nine and 10 be played on 60-foot courts using orange low-compression tennis balls and regulation nets (3- feet at the center) or, for those more experienced and more skilled players, on 78-foot courts with green lower-compression balls. Tournaments for those eight years-old and younger are to be played on 36-foot courts using either red low-compression balls or foam balls and nets at a height of two-feet, 9-inches.

In preparation of the rule change, in 2011 the USTA helped install more than 3,000 youth-sized tennis courts in 283 markets in 45 states throughout the country. The courts were either constructed or refurbished by painting permanent 36-foot and 60-foot tennis lines on existing 78-foot tennis courts, or constructing stand-alone 36-foot and 60-foot courts. These courts were built in 502 facilities, which include public parks, school yards, tennis facilities and at local community based youth organizations.

Many traditional 78-foot courts are also seeing an impact of 10 and Under Tennis as some are now featuring 60-foot blended lines. Blended lines are painted in a different, more subtle color than the traditional lines, which enable courts to be adapted for both adults and younger children to play on the same courts without confusion.

The installation of the 3,000 youth-sized tennis courts is designed to also encourage children in diverse communities to become more active by playing tennis. Earlier this year, the USTA made a commitment to the White House, the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, and the First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! organization to build the 3,000 courts.

The USTA announced on Monday that it will invest a total of $1,300,000 to bring 10 and Under Tennis in 26 communities across the country as part of its ongoing efforts to encourage young people to get active and start playing the sport. Similar to other youth sports where equipment and playing fields are scaled to size for kids, 10 and Under Tennis provides the youngest players with the ability to achieve immediate success by playing tennis on smaller courts, using smaller and lighter racquets and slower-moving and lower-bouncing balls. The USTA’s goal over the next five years is to bring 10 and Under Tennis to kids in more than 100 local markets nationwide.

Each of the 26 communities will receive $50,000 in matching grants from the USTA.  The grant money will be used to build new courts and adapt current tennis courts to accommodate 10 and Under Tennis. Communities also will work with the USTA national office to make sure local organizers are taught the proper techniques and skills to implement this new method of bringing the game to kids. The USTA and its 17 sections will be working with schools, public parks and youth organizations to add tennis to PE classes and after-school programs.  As kids develop their skills and love for the game, they also will be encouraged to participate in Play Days, USTA Jr. Team Tennis and USTA tournaments. The $50,000 will be provided over a three-year period for communities to add new programs.

The 26 markets are:

In addition to the USTA’s $50,000 grant, the markets will receive an additional $50,000 grant from their respective USTA sections. A total of $2.6 million will be invested in the communities to ensure future generations will continue to play the sport for a lifetime.

“10 and Under Tennis will allow thousands of youngsters to have more success and more fun in learning and playing the game,” said Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, USTA. “With this approach, tennis has become the newest ‘pick-up’ sport, and we expect to see participation numbers increase dramatically in the very near future.”

The USTA has created a website – USTA.com/facilities – for those groups interested in applying for court construction or renovation grants and learning more about this major initiative. As part of the USTA’s commitment to grow the game of tennis, all courts that are built or renovated under this grant program will be lined for 10 and Under Tennis. In addition, as part of a public-private partnership, the USTA will build courts in places where local officials, public parks and schools commit to building tennis into their core programming for kids. For more information on 10 and Under Tennis, visit 10andundertennis.com.