What Age Should My Child Start Tennis?

There is some debate over the age at which a child should start playing tennis, with extreme opinions coming down on either side of the argument.

It appears to be one of those issues that inflames parents, and while there may never be a “right” answer, you should be able to proceed into making an informed decision.

The first question to ask yourself is – what do you want your child to get out of playing tennis? Knowing the answer to this will ease the decision process. Do you want your child to perhaps go on to have a professional tennis career or use it just as a source of fun a fitness?

In the first instance, we'll look at the first option; that you want your child to have some kind of professional tennis career. Looking at the histories of some of the all time greats, it would be easy to think that as soon as your child can hold a tennis racket they should be playing. This was certainly the case for stars like John McEnroe and Rafael Nadal, but that doesn't mean it's the right choice.

For example, Roger Federer – currently world number two and arguably the greatest tennis player of all time – did not start playing tennis until he was six years old. He played in group sessions and didn't even begin professional solo lessons until he was 10. This somewhat blasts the theory of “the earlier the better” out of the window, and leaves the probability of professional tennis success down to natural talent alone. If professional chances were down to the age of starting the game alone, Federer would not have been world number one for over four years.

So while the temptation may be to begin tennis coaching as soon as your child is able, it doesn't actually guarantee any long term success as a tennis player. As a result, the age at which a child should begin tennis – with professional aspirations or no – is still unsure.

Tennis is a high-impact sport, demanding a lot of physicality. For this reason, most sports scientists recommend a starting age of around eight years old as ideal. At this age, the muscles, tendons and ligaments have had plenty of time to develop and strengthen. At age eight, a child will also be mature enough mentally to understand the tactical aspects of the game.

Before this age, it is of course possible for a child to play tennis and enjoy it hugely. The age eight is most commonly accepted as the age at which intense, solo training can begin. Even if you are not aiming for your child to have a professional career, introducing this specialised training at eight years old is very beneficial to health and happiness. By all means, allow your child to play for fun from whatever age, but for the best chance of minimising injury and risk, save the high-impact training until their eighth birthday.

However, it is well worth remembering that every child is different. Your child may be particularly well built for their age, with more a more developed muscular structure, and therefore training could begin slightly earlier. The same goes if a child is small in stature and yet to receive a big growth burst. Tailor the age at which you begin tennis coaching to your child's personal mental and physical capabilities, using age eight as a benchmark, and you can't go far wrong.