August 25, 2010 03:56 PM The International Tennis Federation today approved an amendment to the Rules of Tennis for 10-and-under competition. The change, approved overwhelmingly by the ITF Annual General Meeting, is designed to make tennis easier and more fun for children and to ensure that competition is appropriate for those 10 and under.

The rule will go into effect in January 2012 and will mandate modified courts that are smaller in size than the 78-foot courts currently used for tournament play. It will also mandate low compression tennis balls that move slower through the air and bounce lower and are thus better suited to the size and abilities of younger children.

"This is a great step forward for tennis, and I thank the ITF AGM for their support of this important initiative," says ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti. "Tennis 10s will improve the way we introduce tennis to young players."

"We applaud today’s decision and have supported the ITF throughout this process," says Lucy S. Garvin, Chairman of the Board and President, USTA. "We’re very excited about what this change means for the future of tennis."

Tennis 10s is similar to the USTA’s 10 and Under Tennis initiative, which embraces the tools of the QuickStart Tennis play format—with its smaller courts, slower-moving and lower-bouncing balls, and smaller and lighter racquets—to make tennis more accessible for children 10 and under.

"Scaling tennis to the size of children will promote greater participation and ensure that young kids will be able to play tennis much more quickly," says Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, USTA. "That is critical to the long-term growth of our sport and ultimately will help us develop new generations of players and champions."

10 and Under Tennis is designed around the same concepts as Little League Baseball and other youth sports such as soccer and basketball, all of which use equipment and field/court sizes scaled to the size of young children. With the smaller courts, lower-bouncing balls and smaller racquets designed for those 10 and under, kids are able to rally and play the game early on, developing a lifelong passion for the sport and creating a new generation of players and fans.

Roger Federer one of very few junior champions to win senior title. The popular Junior Wimbledon competitions are up and running and provide much interest on the outside courts in the second week as we talent spot for the next big name but do they offer a sure-fire a glimpse into Wimbledon's future?

In the 63 years since the Junior Boys has been running, just four junior champions have subsequently won the main senior singles event. Admittedly, it would be difficult to think of a more illustrious Wimbledon quartet than Roger Federer (1998), Stefan Edberg (1983), Pat Cash (1982) and Bjorn Borg (1972). Interestingly, Federer's opponent first up on Centre Court on Monday, Jurgen Melzer, won the Junior tournament the year after the Swiss maestro.

One other huge name, Ivan Lendl, won Junior Wimbledon in 1978 but famously never won the main event, losing twice in the final, while Mark Philippousis, a junior Wimbledon runner-up in 1994, also finished runner up in the senior event.

In the girls' competition, which also dates back to 1947, the ratio is not dissimilar. Amelie Mauresmo (1996) and Ann Haydon Jones (1956) went on to win the senior champinship but other notable junior champions such as Tracey Austin (1978) and Martina Hingis (1994) didn't. Losing junior finalist Maria Sharapova (2002) won the famous Rosewater dish two years later while Kim Clijsters, runner-up in the 1998 Juniors, still lives in hope. read more

Rafael Nadal's uncle at centre of illegal coaching row. The world No1 has denied the umpire's claim that he received coaching during his victory over Philipp Petzschner, but the incident has opened up a debate on the subject.

The issue of illegal coaching makes some people in tennis very uncomfortable indeed, as was evident one year at the US Open when there were suggestions that someone in Maria Sharapova's entourage had been holding up pieces of fruit to pass her messages during the match, and she angrily retorted that, "my life is about more than a banana". read more

By STEVEN WINE AP Sports Writer PARIS (AP) -- Taking the court for a morning match to start the French Open, defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova needed extra time to get going.

Robin Soderling followed her onto the stadium clay and was ready from the first swing. Kuznetsova lost the first six points and first three games Sunday, then swept nine games in a row and beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-1. Soderling, who ended Rafael Nadal's reign at the French Open a year ago, won the first nine games and defeated wild card Laurent Recouderc 6-0, 6-2, 6-3. read more

The International Tennis Federation announced today that Wayne Odesnik has been found to have committed an anti-doping rule violation under Article C.6 of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (Possession of a Prohibited Substance without a therapeutic use exemption).

The ITF has determined that Mr Odesnik should be suspended for two years. read more

I was in the six item express lane at the store quietly fuming. Completely ignoring the sign, the woman ahead of me had slipped into the check-out line pushing a cart piled high with groceries. Imagine my delight when the cashier beckoned the woman to come forward looked into the cart and asked sweetly, 'So which six items would you like to buy?'

Wouldn't it be great if that happened more often?

Hopman's style of coaching was unique. He did not try to modify stroke production as much as he tried to influence fitness, mental toughness, and performance. Such a coaching style would ignore some things that other coaches might try to inhibit. When you look at his success in both Aussie Davis Cup and with younger players, you can appreciate such coaching style. read more

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Third-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain advanced to the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) win over Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.

Nadal is the top remaining men’s seed in the tournament in Indian Wells, California, after losses by No. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland and No. 2 Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

No. 4 Andy Murray of Britain and seventh-seeded American Andy Roddick have quarterfinal matches today, when the women play their semifinals.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Gloster in San Francisco at rgloster@bloomberg.net.

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by Jian (Jose) Li, Ph.D., USPTA

ADHD is one of the most common childhood neurobehavioral disorders, affecting 4.5 million American children. A recent survey showed that a total of 15 to 19 million Chinese children suffer from ADHD as well. Inspired by the success of wheelchair tennis and its founder Brad Parks, I thought that if wheelchair tennis can help those people who have physical disabilities, tennis should make a positive impact on millions of children who are diagnosed with mental disorders. In the last three years, I have tried to prove that tennis is the right sport for ADHD kids.

I frequently see questions in my ADHD-tennis Web site mail box such as this: "Besides physically taking his chin in your hand and pointing his face at yours if your ADHD student is not looking at you during the instruction time, do you have other methods to share with us?" I would like to take this opportunity to share with other teaching professionals my hands-on experience with these children. read more