District to court youth tennis players at new park

Tennis is about to get a whole lot more fun for beginners.

The newly-opened Barsotti Park in Aloha boasts the district’s first permanent, stand-alone 60-foot tennis court. Shorter (by 18 feet) and narrower (by nine feet) than a standard court, it is designed to make tennis more accessible to players 10 and under.

The court is a welcome addition to THPRD’s youth tennis program.

“Playing tennis with regular balls and a full-size court is really frustrating for new players,” said THPRD General Manager Doug Menke. “With a small court and softer balls, they can start playing as they’re learning. That creates interest and retention. It works.”

Menke advocated for inclusion of the court at Barsotti, which has been developed with funds from the 2008 bond measure.

“We had been looking for opportunities to do this without eliminating existing courts,” Menke said. “At Barsotti, a full-size court wouldn't have worked. We were challenged space-wise.”

The surface area required for the court is 88 feet by 47 feet, far less than the 120-by-60-foot surface required to build a regulation court.

Scott Erickson, the district's Human Resources coordinator, is the father of one of the top 10-and-under players in the Northwest. Erickson had a first-hand look at the benefits of the 60-foot surface when his daughter Lucy played at a tournament in Kirkland, Wash., last summer.

“I felt like I was peering into the future,” Erickson said. “It had to be so empowering for her to go out and play a real, live tennis match as a 9-year-old on the small court.”

There has been an organized push for 10-and-under tennis by the USTA to help spur growth of the sport. Tualatin Hills Tennis Center Supervisor Brian Leahy said that orienting the sport toward kids has yielded positive outcomes.

“We've been using small racquets and slower moving tennis balls in our entry-level lessons, and kids are having more fun because they are having immediate success,”

Leahy said Tennis Center staff have had discussions about programming lessons at Barsotti Park this summer and thinks the court will benefit tennis programs.

“Bottom line, kids just want to play,” Leahy said.

Menke agrees, and believes young people aren't the only ones who will benefit from the smaller surface area.

“Seniors love the small courts,” he said, “because covering the court isn’t as easy as it used to be.”

Needless to say, Menke is bullish on the concept of making his favorite sport more accessible to more people. Of smaller courts like Barsotti’s, he noted, “It will not be our last one.”