New USTA rules will help kids take up tennis

NEW YORK (AP)

The U.S. Tennis Association announced a rare rules change that's taking hold worldwide, calling Tuesday for downsized courts, smaller rackets and less lively tennis balls for players 10 years and under.

The rule is designed to make tennis, a notoriously difficult game to learn, easier for young players, who often give up after finding themselves unable to handle adult-sized rackets and chase down balls on the regulation-sized, 78-foot court. The kids' courts will range from 36 to 60 feet, some with lower nets.

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''You're asking a 9-year-old to play on the same-size court as Roger Federer does,'' said Kurt Kamperman, the USTA's chief executive of community tennis. ''It's not always realistic.''

To illustrate the point, the USTA cut a commercial showing kids trying to take a corner kick on a World Cup-sized soccer field, pitch a baseball over the plate from 60 feet, 6 inches away and shoot 3-pointers on a regulation basketball court.

All pretty much impossible, as is - the USTA believes - teaching the concept of a good serve-and-volley game or regular grips when kids are killing themselves trying to cover the whole court, or lurching for balls spinning over their heads.

The USTA is making the move for two reasons.

-First, to keep participation numbers high. In a struggling economy, tennis has fared better than most sports - and the sales of tennis rackets for juniors have been among the best of those numbers.

-Then, if those numbers improve, slowly a growing tennis pipeline will start feeding the elite levels.

The state of America's player development program is on many minds, especially with Querrey's elimination marking the second straight year that no American man has reached the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open. Earlier this summer, there were no U.S. men in the world top 10 for the first time since the rankings began in 1973.

Using the examples of other sports that downsize the playing field for youngsters, Kamperman hopes parents will get past the idea that they're pushing their kids to play ''mini-tennis,'' and not the real thing.

''One reason video games are fun for kids is that it gives them something they're good at,'' he said. ''That's the point here. If they're good at it, they'll keep trying. If they don't think they're good at it, they won't. This gives us the best chance to find a bigger pool of athletes.''

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DUBS LOVE: No more American men left in the U.S. Open?

Don't tell that to Bob and Mike Bryan.

The most successful doubles team in tennis history advanced to the semifinals Tuesday with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski. The match ended about the same time Sam Querrey was eliminated, meaning no American man will make it to the singles quarters for the second straight year at the U.S. Open.

The Bryans know how that story will play.

''It's always going to say, `There's no Americans left in the tournament,''' Bob Bryan said. ''And then some guy way in the back will say, `What about the Bryans?'''

''We like that guy,'' Mike Bryan said.

Even though doubles is the more popular than singles in most pockets on the recreational scene, it doesn't capture fans' imaginations on the pro level anywhere near the way singles does. That results in less prize money, which turns back on itself and compels fewer top players to play.

The Bryans, though, have been almost exclusively devoted to doubles since they were kids. In February, they recorded their 600th win - an Open Era record and another bit of news the average sports fan probably missed.

''The hard-core tennis fan can appreciate it, but singles players are more famous,'' Bob Bryan said. ''It's like when Brad Pitt goes on the red carpet, there are a million people waiting for him there because he's famous. We like the niche we're in. Yeah, it'd be nice if more fans came to the matches. But we've been talking about this for 10 years. You just kind of accept it after a while, I guess.''

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PRESIDENT'S MAYOR: Former New York City Mayor David Dinkins was honored with the U.S. Tennis Association's President's Award. Dinkins has served six consecutive two-year terms as the USTA's director at large and is currently the longest-serving member on the USTA Board of Directors.

Since its inception in 1999, the award's recipients have included Billie Jean King, Lindsay Davenport and Mike and Bob Bryan.

Dinkins was mayor from 1990-93, and a key player in the planning and construction of Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.