Short version tennis, also known as short court tennis, offers children, Special Olympics athletes and beginning tennis players the opportunity to learn to play tennis on a smaller court. The Special Olympics recommends that short version tennis players follow all official International Tennis Federation rules with only a few exceptions.
Court Dimensions
A standard full-size tennis court is 78 feet long and 27 feet across for singles play, and 36 feet across for doubles play. Each side of the court has a service line parallel to the net and 21 feet behind it. The center service lines divide the spaces between the net and the service lines into two equal service boxes. In short court tennis, the service lines function as the end lines of the court, making the court only 42 feet long. Singles short court players should observe the singles sidelines, and doubles short court players should observe the doubles sidelines. Balls that hit the court's boundary lines count as in bounds.
Serving
Each rally begins with a serve. To serve in short court tennis, you must stand behind the service line. Neither of your feet can touch the service line during your serve motion. For your first serve, you must stand behind the right service box. You then alternate between serving behind the left and right service boxes. Your serve must travel crosscourt to the service box diagonally opposite your serving position. You have two opportunities to serve for each point.
Points and Scoring
You win points by hitting a serve or shot in bounds that your opponent cannot return before the ball bounces twice. If your opponent hits the ball into the net or out of bounds, you also win the point. Short court tennis players can play with traditional tennis scoring, in which players must win four points to win a game, six games to win a set and the best of three of five sets to win a match. Or players can choose to play to a certain number of points or games.
Ball
The Special Olympics recommends that short court tennis players use a larger ball for slower-paced play. Players also can use soft foam balls or low-compression balls before progressing to standard tennis balls.
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