Tennis: anyone else think it is the WORST?

[HepzibahHumbug]

Everything about tennis sucks IMO. It is fiendishly difficult, it is really expensive to provide the right facilities, the courts take up loads of room, only max 4 kids can use one court at a time, it does not develop social/team skills in any way, and it is staggeringly boring to watch.
So please, whyohwhy do our schools waste so much time and money and teaching expertise on it? Games should be for all and should be FUN, while at the same time teaching kids to be happy team players.
AIBU?

Most state schools don’t bother with tennis. Most children are taught tennis at private clubs. Schools have few courts and many prefer other sports these days. That’s why tennis is considered a MC sport - parents go to private clubs! Also team games are not better than individual sports otherwise we would never do athletics or badminton or swimming. However tennis takes a lot of space and many schools just don’t have it.

My DDs boarded and they had 23 tennis courts but barely stepped onto one as there was so much other sport available.

If tennis is not being taught in a fun way then that is down to the teaching. There are loads of fun exercises out there where you can have more than four players on a court, and there's cardio tennis. I believe doubles does teach social/team skills especially good communication.

At DS's school the netball courts double as the tennis courts.

Have you sat through a cricket match? Now that is boring, watching your child stand in a field for three hours. And it is more expensive in terms of kit and protective kit.

I loved Tennis at school.

Pairs teaches team skills. Even skills practice with two of you requires cooperation of the other person not being a dick.

Courts can double up for something else (Tennis was a summer sport)
Better than cricket or badminton

I'm a tennis player, and have done a small amount of coaching with younger people.
Yes you can use more than 4 on a court-plenty of games where you can have many more than that-the running game is one example where you have to run round the court, and you can easily start off with 6-8 people each side.

It is a team game, both in you can play doubles, which requires a lot of interaction to play well, but also as a team you support each other and socially it's a lot of fun.

The main problem with playing tennis is they don't do enough of it. It's a hard game at the beginning, and 6 weeks of 1 hour is not enough to really get to the point of feeling you're playing more than pat-ball for almost anyone (I'll discount the 3yo that walked onto the court for the first time and served, with an adult racquet from the baseline)
Even the top end of school players will find that it's a bit frustrating as they are not going to get good enough with just what they get in school.

Why denigrate tennis though (or cricket)? If it doesn't float your boat then fine, don't do it. At school, children should be introduced to a wide range of sports so that hopefully they can find one they enjoy. All sports offer a different balance of skills, tactics, team building, physical stamina etc etc. To single out tennis as being the bad boy is ridiculous.
Oh ... and the courts are usually shared with netball, 5 a side football, etc etc.

Nope, I think you're wrong on every level. Tennis courts can double as netball courts, you can also play tennis inside. A tennis net, balls (normal tennis balls and foam ones, dependingmon where you are playing), paint on the ground and a few racquets are not expensive. It is also not fiendishly difficult if properly taught. I have a totally unco-ordinated ds and the only sports he ever took to were tennis and badminton. He will never be particularly good at any sport, but he nevertheless enjoys tennis and now plays tennis and badminton every week. Far better that than having been limited to team sports like rugby, football, basketball, hockey, or gymnastics, etc, all of which he loathed and would never in a month of Sundays continue. Personally, also, I find nothing more boring to watch than football - hardly any goals scored and the ball seems to spend half its time being thrown back onto the pitch. YAWN. So which sports you find boring is entirely a matter of personal preference. How accessible tennis is, though, probably also depends where you live - where we are, the local council-owned sports centre has tennis courts (also used for other sports) that can be cheaply hired for tennis, so you don't have to join a tennis club to play or own expensive equipment. There is a world of difference between aspiring to be a professional tennis player, which is expensive, and enjoying an amateur game of tennis, which can be done easily on the cheap.

I'd also add that tennis is just about the most sociable sport there is. Men and women play together, there's loads of club sessions up and down the country where people spend a few hours together playing some friendly doubles and having a good old matter about life the universe and everything ..... and they can continue this into their 90s.

As my DS said last night, tennis is the politest sport. You spend your time apologising for doing a flukey shot, praising other people's good shots & generally being a good sport. What's not to like in this day & age?

Eh??? Tennis is a very sociable sport and something that kids can take into adulthood and still enjoy. Just because you dont like Tennis doesn't mean it shouldn't be taught in school! And state schools do nowhere near enough sport as it is, they don't need to be dropping any!

Tennis is great for hand-eye coordination, manners, self control, concentration, reactivity, cardio...
Doubles is excellent for team or pair work and for spatial awareness too! Where I live it costs 140€ per year for a child (weekly 90 minute group lesson), and a kid's racket can be bought for 20€.
It has done my shy, gawky 7 year old so much good... And compared to the shitshow of his under 9s football team it's much friendlier!

Tennis is the only sport I did at school which I still play and enjoy 30 years later. Made good friends through it and find it very sociable

Huh? I am still enjoying tennis, and a social life attached to it, all year round - having long ago left behind netball, rounders and hockey. DP and I both play competitively in our local league despite being well into middle age. DC love their tennis lessons and have a list of tennis buddies for social games which they can play for free on our local park courts. It’s a fantastic game for any age.