In the last few weeks, the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) organised the regional tennis 10s or the Kids Play – the official name of the event – at three different venues. Even though the unrelenting rain was a dampener on the proceedings, the enthusiasm shown by the participants, coaches, and all concerned with the event was truly commendable. Before going any further and in the name of full disclosure, it needs to be said that this writer was also involved in certain segments of the tournament as a coach. But in this case, the intention of this multi-part article is not to discuss the results of the tournament but to discuss how tennis 10s events should be used for the improvement of the players as they progress to higher age groups. But it is essential, of course, to first understand what these events actually are. An introduction to tennis Tennis 10s or Kids Play, however you may call it, is “the introduction” to tennis. This is generally played in the age groups of Under-seven (Red Ball), Under-eight (Orange Ball), and Under-10 (Green Ball). The first thing to understand is why the age groups are called by different coloured balls. This is because of the fact that each of these age groups are played using the coloured balls mentioned earlier. Although the game of tennis is still conventionally played using the traditional yellow ball, these particular age groups use the aforementioned coloured balls. One very obvious reason for this is the fact that young kids will be more attracted to the game of tennis because of the coloured variety and the colourfulness of the balls used to play the game of tennis at that age. Coloured balls The Red Ball is played for the youngest age group of Under-seven or, in Sri Lankan terms, grade two kids. They play on a quarter of a court with the net stretched across from the service line to the baseline in the middle of the court. Therefore, in essence, they are playing on a quarter of the standard court with the net in the middle. They use red coloured balls which are bigger in diameter than the normal ball and are also much less pressured. Therefore, the seven-year-old kids who are playing the game have to cover a less distance in the court and the bounce of the ball is very much less because of less pressure and thus is manageable at their age. The scoring method is also different in that the chronological method of scoring is used. (Ex.: 1, 2, 3...) The Orange Ball court is very much the normal size of the tennis court in width, but is less than the size in length. The two baselines for the Orange Ball court are marked exactly through the half distance between the service line and the baseline on each side of a normal tennis court. Therefore, the kids use about 75% of the length of the standard court. Since the Orange Ball kids are eight years old, they can better manage the court. This helps them to hone their game at this age. The Orange Ball is as the same size as a normal tennis ball but has about 50% less pressure than the normal one, helping the kids to manage its bounce. The chronological method of scoring is used in this age group also. ‘We’re playing tennis’ The Green Ball court is the normal-sized tennis court. All the rules that apply to tennis apply to Green Ball tennis matches. The scoring system is the same as the normal scoring system. The only difference is the ball used. Whilst it is the same size as the normal tennis ball, it is less in pressure. It has about 75-80% of the pressure of the normal ball. This gradual transition which is related to the age of the kids makes it easier for them to adapt to the game of tennis. Another advantage is the fact that players experience success – not in terms of results – in terms of hitting the ball over the net and keeping a rally makes it easier to retain the kids in the game for the longer term. This system creates the feeling in the minds of the kids that “we are playing tennis”. ‘Win at all cost’ The SLTA recently organised its tennis 10s tournament, in the above age groups, at the regional level. The regional qualifying teams could then enter the all-island level. This year, the regional tournaments were held in Kurunegala, Negombo, and Colombo. Since the whole idea of tennis 10s is to make sure that the young players understand the game of tennis, it is important that these events are used for the betterment of the players and not just to focus on the result of the given moments. With this objective in mind, this writer was left wondering whether the most important purpose of the tournament was met. That is because the attitude of some of the parents as well as most of the coaches was to “win at all cost”. Main purpose This attitude, in the present writer’s opinion, is absolutely detrimental for the future improvement of the players. If the concerned parties want to achieve a result at any cost, that will in fact beget the very opposite of what is expected by organising tennis 10s tournaments! Unfortunately, this seemed to be the attitude of some of the participants as well. In such an instance, the SLTA must be praised for the stance they had taken. They had brought in some sensible, practical rules and regulations to make sure that the main objective of the tournament is met. That’s for the kids to play tennis and have fun. Next week: Our discussion on tennis 10s will continue with elaboration on the attitude of the parents and the coaches if the kids are to derive a real benefit from Tennis 10s competitions.