Short Court Tennis
Purpose
Short Court tennis is designed to prepare athletes for matchplay competition and provide a transition to full court play while slowly introducing the logistics of the game.
Short Court tennis is a transition game for athletes who have been successful with Individual Skills Competition and are ready to begin competitive matchplay, but are not quite ready for a full court game. Short Court tennis is an excellent game to work on footwork, racquet preparation, court movement and the rules of tennis. By downsizing the tennis court boundaries, athletes can be more successful as they work on developing their game in a more compact, non-threatening environment. Adding only one variable at a time allows the athlete to make adjustments more easily.
Unified Sports Doubles Short Court tennis is the first transition step from Individual Skills Competition. Small court coverage reduces the movement component, while the Unified tennis partner provides a stroke model for the athlete. The partner also provides encouragement and praise for the athletes on an individual basis.
Unified Doubles Short Court tennis may be followed by traditional Short Court doubles (all players are Special Olympics athletes) and by Short Court singles play. This progression provides the athlete a sequential learning opportunity in the components of tennis matchplay necessary to proceed to full court play.
Short Court Rules
Short Court tennis follows the Rules of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) with the following exceptions:
- Server must stand behind the service line to serve. It will be considered a foot fault if the server steps over the service line prior to contacting the tennis ball.
- Only the service box area is in-bounds.
- PTR Speedballs are used, which are larger than regulation-size tennis balls and provide a slower paced game, permitting players to work on strokes and court coverage. As the athlete progresses in skill and court movement, low-compression tennis balls may used to provide faster ball speed.
