WRC's Miniature Courts on Forefront of Tennis Movement

Young tennis players on the new miniature courts at Western Racquet Club in Elm Grove have no idea they’re on the forefront of a new movement.

They just know these courts are theirs, built to make any 7-year-old feel like the next Sampras or Agassi.

WRC has the first courts in the state built solely for the United States Tennis Association’s 10 Under Tennis initiative. These four courts are 36 feet long, less than half the size of a regular court, and apply only to players 8 and under.

“Our mission with putting these courts in was to have a full-scale program,” said Tim Corwin, director of tennis operations for Western Racquet Club.

“If we are going to be on the cutting edge of the sport, and we are a tennis club, a lot of tennis-crazy in a good way people here, we needed to have a playing space for their children.”

Western built these four courts in the space required for one 78-foot regulation court. The USTA program also features lower-compression balls, shorter, lighter racquets and pared-down tournament formats that take a couple of hours rather than a weekend.

It’s all designed to attract and keep greater numbers of young players in a sport that has struggled to gain traction in the United States over the last few years.

“We’ve had pee-wee kits for kids for years, and now the last step is this smaller playing field," Corwin said.

“We’ve got kids trying it. It’s keeping them in it, that’s the key.”