Short Tennis

[united4ever]

My 7 year old son came home from school and said they played tennis in PE at the local park which I know has full size tennis courts. I was going to buy a couple of rackets (Junior size) and take him again. However, my friend said it was probably short tennis they did. Not sure what this is but if I buy short tennis bats and ball would we then be able to use these on a full size court at the park. What's the best rackets to buy and balls too?

[Farahilda]

Children usually play mini-tennis. Here's the LTA info page about it:

www3.lta.org.uk/LTA-Mini-Tennis/

Your DS would be a red ball player. It's essentially the same game, but scaled down a bit (coaches mark smaller courts with plastic strips and have pop-up shorter nets, but you could just play in the serve markings and let a regular net down a bit) and with balls with a slower bounce to make it easier for younger players to actually play IYSWIM.

A shorter racket, to match body size, is better than an adult one. For an 8yo you'd probably need a 23 or a 25 inch one. At this time of year, they'll be readily available.

Red balls are more expensive than regular ones, and you'll probably need to buy from a proper sports shop.