Junior Team Tennis gains momentum across USTA Missouri

Most people think of tennis as an individual sport. Even when competing as part of a team, each person focuses on his or her match, and the team with the most matches or games won wins the competition.

But the growth of Junior Team Tennis in USTA Missouri is changing that perspective.

“So often tennis is played as an individual sport, even if you’re playing doubles,” said Leslie Echols, USTA Missouri executive director. “You’re just on your court and not thinking about the others. Junior Team Tennis is an opportunity to really expand players’ thinking.”

Junior Team Tennis applies to kids of all competition levels between the ages of 5 and 17. In the JTT format, players play singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

“It’s a good way to work on individual skills while helping your team win,” Echols said.

So far, the summer of 2025 has been filled with successful Junior Team Tennis events and promotions. The first one was KidsFest, held in conjunction with the Jefferson City YMCA at the end of May, as attendees learned more about JTT and tried their hand at tennis on a mini court.

“There was literally a nonstop stream of kids lined up, four or five kids deep, for almost the entire four hours of the event,” Echols said. “There is so much interest in tennis. The kids had a great time, and the parents seemed very interested in the opportunities available for their kids to start learning tennis.

“We’re now working with the director of sports at the YMCA, and they’re interested in collaborating with USTA to host Junior Team Tennis events in the future.”

The second event was in the middle of June in Rolla, where the focus was on kids aged 5 to 10. The local newspaper published flyers about JTT, which drew significant interest from parents in the community.

There are new courts in Reeds Spring, which is near Branson. Echols met with the athletic director and middle school tennis coach, who both have connections with coaches around the area. There is a strong push for a Junior Team Tennis event in the very near future.

There’s also continued progress in Springfield, which has had previous success running JTT programming.

Besides exposure to the team concept, Junior Team Tennis has a second focus, and that is to build awareness of sportsmanship.

“Before and after every match, we encourage players to display good sportsmanship,” Echols said. “At the end of the match, we recognize the players who displayed good sportsmanship. We really want to build in reminders and opportunities for recognition for players who are displaying good sportsmanship.”

Learn more about Junior Team Tennis by clicking here, and Echols can be reached at ustamissouridirector@gmail.com with any JTT questions.