Kids/Junior Tennis Racquets

When selecting a Tennis Racquet for a Junior player here is a good rule of thumb to use.

• Up to 12 years old - Player Height - Up to 57 inches, Racquet Length - 26 inches
• Up to 10 years old - Player Height - Up to 54 inches, Racquet Length - 25 inches
• Up to 8 years old - Player Height - Up to 50 inches, Racquet Length - 23 inches
• Up to 6 years old - Player Height - Up to 47 inches, Racquet Length - 21 inches
• 3 to 5 years old - Player Height - Up to 43 inches, Racquet Length - 19 inches

Tennis Balls

Kids need a ball that is sized and paced to their playing abilities. A yellow tennis ball moves too fast, bounces too high and is too heavy for smaller racquets. Each age group, therefore, uses specific kids tennis balls better suited to their size and playing ability.

• 11 years and over - Standard Yellow Tennis Ball
• 9 to 10 year old advanced - a low compression green felt ball moves a little faster and travels farther than the orange ball, but it still had a lower bounce than the standard yellow tennis ball.
• 9 to 10 year old - a low compression orange felt ball moves a little faster and travels farther than the red ball used with the younger group, but it still had a lower bounce than the standard yellow or green tennis ball.
• 8 years and under - A red foam or low compression, red felt ball moves slower, bounces lower and travels less distance.

Tennis Courts and Nets

Portable nets and throw-down lines or tennis tape or pennant flags as an alternative to a net, as well as chalk or painters tape to create the lines for the court allow organizers to create multiple kids tennis courts for 10 and Under Tennis play.

Court Sizes

• 11 years and over - Regular Size Court 78' x 27' singles 78' x 36' doubles. Net Height 3' center 3' 6" posts
• 9 to 11 years old advanced - Regular Size Court 78' x 27' singles 78' x 36' doubles. Net Height 3' center 3' 6" posts
• 9 to 11 years old - Court Size 60' x 21' singles 60' x 37' doubles. Net Height 3' center 3' 6" posts
• 5 to 8 years old - Court Size 36' x 18'. Net Height 2' 9"

10 & Under Scoring

• 11 years and over - Any Scoring System within the Rules of Tennis
• 9 to 11 years old advanced - Modified Scoring formats for shorter matches are recommended
• 9 to 11 years old - 2 out of 3, 4 game set using no-ad scoring. 3rd set is a 7 point tiebreak
• 5 to 8 years old - 2 out of 3, 7 point tiebreak. (official USTA rule for 8 and under)