Practice time
How much should a young child practise tennis?
For children aged about 5 to 8, around 10 minutes of home practice on 4 to 5 days a week is plenty on top of lessons. Short, regular sessions work better than long, occasional ones, and total organised sport each week should stay below the child's age in hours.
The short answer
- About 10 minutes, 4 to 5 days a week, for red ball players. Older players can build towards 15 minutes.
- Short and regular beats long and rare. Youth training research finds the best results from sessions of 10 to 15 minutes, two or three times a week.
- Quality matters more than minutes. Planned, varied practice improves skills more than simply adding time.
What tennis federations suggest
Federation pathways keep tennis a small part of a young child's week. One comparison of federation guidance puts red ball players aged 6 to 8 at around 1.5 hours of tennis and 2.5 hours of other sports a week. The USTA suggests children aged 6 and 7 take no more than three group lessons a week, and that young players mix tennis with plenty of general activity.
Five rules that protect young players
- Hours of organised sport per week should not exceed your child's age. Going over doubled the odds of serious overuse injury in one large study of young athletes.
- Keep free play at least half as long as organised sport. Children whose organised sport outweighed free play by more than 2 to 1 had higher injury rates.
- Take 1 to 2 days off sport-specific training each week, and a few months off each sport across the year, as the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends.
- Play other sports too. Specialising in one sport before about age 12 raises the risk of injury and burnout.
- Stop if something hurts. Pain in the wrist, elbow, shoulder, knee or heel means rest, and see a doctor if it continues.
How it fits the rest of the day
The World Health Organization recommends an average of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a day for children aged 5 to 17. A 10-minute practice session is one small part of that, alongside play, school sport and lessons.
Signs it is too much
- Your child starts to dread practice or asks to stop.
- Aches that come back after each session.
- Tiredness, poor sleep or falling performance over several weeks.
If you see these, cut back and bring the fun back first. Shorter sessions or a game instead of drills usually fixes it.
More guides
Sources
- Steib et al. 2017, dose of neuromuscular training in youth (Frontiers in Physiology)
- Jayanthi et al. 2015, sports specialisation and overuse injury in young athletes
- American Academy of Pediatrics 2024, overuse injuries, overtraining and burnout
- USTA 10 and under FAQ
- USTA NorCal: comparison of federation training and competition guidance
- World Health Organization physical activity guidelines
This guide is general information for parents, not medical advice. Check with your child's coach or doctor about their own situation.