International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on Monday that its new rule for 10-and-under competition had come into worldwide effect.
The rule states that 10-and-under competitions can no longer be played using a regular yellow tennis ball, but instead the mandatory use of slower red, orange or green balls on the appropriate size court.
The rule change is a key part of the ITF’s Tennis10s programme, which promotes the use of slower and lower bouncing balls, shorter and lighter rackets, and smaller courts to make it easier for children to take up the game.
One member of the local tennis fraternity and national coach, Cordell Williams, welcomed the change, saying that it will go a long way in effectively coaching players of a young age.
He added, however, that Antigua & Barbuda has been utilising the required balls since last year.
“Last year we ran a series of competitions in which we used the different stages of balls, (while) last year the ITF did a lot of provisional work with each territory in terms of us using the different stage of balls in terms of workshops and tournaments and so we are ready to use the balls. The change of the balls makes a big difference in terms of small and younger kids being able to play tennis,” he said.
The youth, according to Williams, have been adjusting well to the change and are even requesting more time than usual on the courts.
“This year when I did my summer camps, I used the balls with the smaller kids and normally when we did summer camps, by 12 pm the kids would want to stop. But up until 1 pm the kids were still on the courts using the balls and what this does is take away the time from the coach being standing up on the court all day feeding balls,” he said.
“It allows the kids to develop pretty much on their own because the balls are slower and easier for them to hit,” Williams added.
According to Williams, the youngsters, after reaching a specific age category, would then have to switch back to the original balls.
“After they pass the age of 10 years old going up to 11 or 12, then they would start to use the regular balls because they would have already developed their strokes with the slower balls in terms of techniques and able to rally in terms of going for a longer period of time. It is a good thing from our prospective and the development of tennis worldwide,” the coach said.
The new ITF rule was approved at the 2010 ITF AGM in Washington.
This was only the fifth occasion the ITF Rules of Tennis have been changed in the history of the sport, following on from the foot fault rule, introduction of the tiebreak, introduction of set breaks and the new optional scoring methods.
The Tennis10s programme has already seen strong support from the ITF’s 210 national associations, some of whom have created promotions involving top players and other famous personalities to help communicate and implement the new rule change nationally.
(Source http://www.antiguaobserver.com/?p=69408)
