Is it OK for my child to play only tennis?

Learning to play tennis is a gift that will reward your child for the rest of their life. But what if they appear to be pretty good at it? Editor Lizzie gives us her top 5 tips on how to get the most from your child’s tennis talents…

In my recent interview with BBC Radio Bristol, I was asked, “Can you tell at an early age if a child will be any good at tennis?” And I replied yes, from ages as young as four, five, six years old, as a coach, I can certainly see if that player has some talent. Strong hand-eye co-ordination and a natural athleticism are particularly important, but when they express a real enjoyment of being out on the court too, I feel I might just have a little tennis superstar on my hands!

So what can a parent do to help fully nurture that talent?

It’s common to want to invest a lot of time and effort into just this one sport. Buying into the myth that early specialisation will speed up your child’s development on the court. That they will begin to enjoy a lot more success a lot quicker than their peers and perhaps even get noticed by county captains or LTA academies.

But for me, it’s not about going too hard too soon. Yes, there may come a time when a child needs to make a decision whether they want to pursue only their tennis, but I’d say that doesn’t need to happen until early to mid-teens. So until then, as a tennis parent, your aim is to help your child reach their full potential but also, more importantly, ensure they always have fun and stay in love with the game.

So to help you do that, I’ve put together my top 5 reasons why I believe children should participate in a multitude of sports rather than just tennis…

1. Reduce the risk of injury

At a young age, your child’s body is still growing and developing. Committing to just tennis does have the potential to lead to repetitive or overuse injuries as they repeatedly put the same muscles and body movements under stress. Tennis elbow, shin splints and stress fractures are all examples of these and are common amongst keen young tennis players. Unfortunately, what comes next is pain, rehabilitation programmes and a lot of rest - trust me, it’s no fun for anybody to go through, let alone a young child.

2. Less chance of burnout

Burnout is a result of excessive and prolonged emotional, physical and mental stress and this can certainly be caused when specializing in only tennis (or any one sport) from a young age. There’s potential for too much pressure, those repetitive strain injuries could creep in and resentment may start to take its toll. Before you know it, the player has had enough and fallen completely out of love with the game. It’s something I have witnessed a lot, I sometimes wonder if it’s the reason I stopped playing competitively – but the good news is, I do believe it can be prevented.

As a parent, encouraging your child to fuel other interests as they grow up, whether that’s other sports or alternative hobbies, will offer a more balanced approach to life outside of school. This can certainly take the heat off their tennis so it doesn’t become the ‘be all and end all’, and I really believe this more versatile approach could be key in keeping that player in the sport for longer.

3. Create an all-round athlete

I’m a strong believer in sports helping one another, and playing lots of different games at a young age has so many benefits when it comes to developing a strong all-round athlete. It means different body parts, muscles and reaction skills are always being used which helps to strengthen them in ways just one sport couldn’t do. It’s a no brainer that this added strength and development will only enhance your child’s performance on the tennis court.

And participating in other sports will also provide a natural break from tennis which can help with recovery in between sessions. This is so important in minimising your child’s chances of getting those horrible repetitive strain injures!

4. Develop more transferable skills

Gaining and developing transferable skills is a gift that tennis can give you to take into all aspects of your life. But other sports can give you this too. Different sports demand different skills and offer a variety of experiences in which to draw from. It could be working with different coaches and adapting to their training styles, learning to work independently or in teams, and all the time being exposed to a range of social situations.

The more skills a young person can develop, the more equipped they will be at reaching their full potential not only on the tennis court, but also, it can help them off the court too.

5. It keeps it fun

Fun has got to be at the heart of all the sport we do. Without fun, we can’t fully love the game we’re playing and then what’s the point?

We play tennis because we love it, and we need to make sure our children keep feeling that way about it for as long as possible. Specialising too early, and only experiencing this one sport growing up could get boring and really take the fun away from them. The cliché ‘less is more’ is certainly true in this case!

So parents, by supporting your child’s love of tennis and getting the most from their talent, I strongly believe you should support them with a bunch of other sports and activities too. Let’s help give them a more balanced and fun approach to this brilliant sport so they can continue to enjoy and get the most out of it for life.

See also:

A gift for life - Why every child should learn to play tennis

How to choose the right size tennis racket for your child

How to be a good sportsperson: 12 unwritten rules of tennis behaviour for junior players

Lizzie Flint is a writer and a practicing level 3 LTA professional tennis coach.

She has been in love with the game since picking up a racquet at the age of four – and she has seen it from every possible angle: playing, analysing and reporting on tennis all over the world. Read more about Lizzie here.