page_title: 10 and Under Tennis
section_title: Red Stage 1 (ages 4-6)
hierarchical_section_title: 10 and Under Tennis / Red Stage 1 (ages 4-6)
caption_attribution_description: English: Red Ball
context_page_description: 10 and Under Tennis is a program that was introduced by the United States Tennis Association in the summer of 2010. Upon making the change official in 2012, it modified the format of all USTA and International Tennis Federation events involving players of years 10 and younger. The program changes the game making it easier for children to succeed. The objective is to adapt the court, balls, racket, and net to the size and strength level of youth players. These alternations create the opportunity for younger players to spend more time hitting balls rather than chasing them. It allows them to hone tennis skills and accelerate their development. The hope is that earlier success in tennis will translate to a lifetime of interest in the sport and perhaps set a foundation for generations of more world-class players.
  Under the changes made through 10 and Under Tennis, not only are court dimensions smaller, racket shorter, and tennis nets lower but the balls used are larger and have less compression. With a lower compression, balls don't bounce as high. This keeps them within a younger players strike zone creating more chances to make contact with the ball.
context_section_description: Red stage 1 is for ages four to six.
  Ball:
  Color: Red & Yellow
  Material: Foam
  Size: larger than felt red ball
  Compression: n/a
  Racket:
  Size: 23 inches or less
  Court:
  Singles Dimensions: 36 feet by 18 feet
  Doubles Dimension: n/a
  Net:
  Height: 2 feet 9 inches
  Scoring:
  Best of 3 games.  7 points per game.  First to 7 wins the game.
  1 set to 6 games (lead by 2) with a 9-point tie-break at 6–6. Every game starts at 30-30 (https://thirty30tennis.com)
  Goals:
  Developing basic athletic skills as well as eye / hand coordination.
caption: Red Ball
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