USTA Missouri Junior Team Tennis Readies for Season

USTA Missouri is excited to relay that after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Junior Team Tennis (JTT) will be back in the fold for 2021.

Courtney Nesbitt, USTA Missouri junior and adult competition coordinator, said the district will have local pockets of weekly league play in Springfield and Camdenton. It is Nesbitt’s hope that a couple additional cities within the district will emerge with programs as well.

For that to happen, USTA Missouri is encouraging individuals interested in helping provide or create Junior Team Tennis squads to get in contact with Nesbitt. She can be reached via email at: Courtneytime2grow@outlook.com

“Getting teams together provides an opportunity for our kids to be able to play Junior Team Tennis. Without the providers, we can’t run the league. They’re super important to us right now,” Nesbitt said.

Coaches or parents considering forming Junior Team Tennis squads should know USTA Missouri requires only a four-person lineup, which creates an easier barrier to entry for assembling teams. Nesbitt said the tentative plan is to begin the season toward the beginning of summer — potentially late May or early June. The weekly league will likely run for four or five weeks at the outset.

USTA Missouri is also intending on hosting an end-of-season event or tournament where all the Junior Team Tennis players meet and play at one location. That is projected to be toward the beginning of August. Participants get the opportunity to compete in both singles and doubles play.

“JTT is a great team experience because tennis is so individualized. It’s a good opportunity for kids to learn to play on a team,” Nesbitt said. “It’s a good way to start competitive play. I know a lot of kids are scared of tournaments and events like that. JTT is a low-pressure situation. It’s short. You come for your match once a week and leave, as opposed to being there all day for a tournament.”

In the Springfield and Camdenton areas, there are plans for offerings in orange ball, green ball as well as yellow ball. The Missouri district’s efforts come on the heels of a successful first Junior Team Tennis season in fall 2019 in which 35 players participated. This year’s plan — following the 2020 layoff due to COVID-19 — is to reboot and recharge those efforts with the assistance of providers stepping up to make teams.

To learn more about Junior Team Tennis, click here.