When a child enjoys tennis and starts showing promise, it is natural to wonder what comes next. Should they add another lesson? Enter more tournaments? Give up another sport to spend more time on court?
The Australian Institute of Sport’s 2026 Sport Specialisation in Youth Athletes Position Statement offers a useful framework for those decisions: encourage broad experiences during childhood, and let a young person’s readiness, interests and circumstances guide a gradual move towards specialisation.
For tennis families in New Zealand, the message is reassuring. Children can start young, develop good skills and take their tennis seriously while still having room for other sports, friendships and life beyond the court.
Starting young and specialising are different things
The statement distinguishes early exposure from early specialisation.
Early exposure might mean learning to rally, playing tennis games or enjoying a weekly coaching session. Early specialisation involves intensive training and competition in one sport throughout the year, with limited involvement in other activities, before puberty.
The distinction matters. A child picking up a racquet at five is having an opportunity to learn. Whether their tennis becomes overly restrictive depends on what participation involves and what it leaves room for.
The statement treats specialisation as a continuum. Training hours matter, but so does whether tennis crowds out other movement experiences, school, friends and opportunities to explore.
What does the evidence say?
The statement reports limited evidence that early specialisation improves the likelihood of reaching elite levels in sports where peak performance occurs in adulthood. It also cautions against assuming that exceptional junior results reliably predict senior success.
The strongest and most consistent evidence of potential harm concerns overuse injury and burnout, particularly when participation involves repetitive training, competition throughout the year and insufficient recovery.
There is an important qualification: researchers cannot always separate the effects of specialisation itself from the heavy workloads, restricted experiences and limited recovery that may accompany it.
For families, the practical lesson is to look beyond the number of tennis sessions. Consider the whole experience: how much the child is doing, how they are recovering, whether they enjoy it and what they are giving up.
How does this fit with tennis in New Zealand?
These ideas are relevant to our own sporting environment.
Tennis NZ’s Athlete Development Pathway encourages exposure to a variety of sports, games and physical activities through childhood, including until at least age 12.
Sport NZ’s Balance is Better guidance also challenges the idea that early specialisation is necessary for future success and highlights the value of varied sporting experiences.
The Australian statement adds a useful nuance: turning 12 does not automatically make a child ready to specialise. Physical development, emotional readiness, motivation and individual circumstances all need consideration.
For a Kiwi tennis player balancing club coaching, school tennis, interclub and other activities, that means planning around the person rather than simply following an age group or competition calendar.
What does this mean on court?
Tennis requires coordination, balance, movement, decision-making and technical skill. Those qualities can develop through tennis and through a wider range of activities.
A practical application is to give children opportunities to run, jump, throw, catch, balance and solve movement challenges alongside learning their strokes. Other sports and informal play can contribute to that variety.
Families do not need to enrol children in several paid programmes to achieve it. Playground games, backyard play and informal activities with friends also have value.
There is another consideration: playing several sports does not automatically create a balanced workload. A child combining tennis, football and school sport can still have a crowded week. The combined demands need to be considered.
What this means for The Game
The Game offers tennis opportunities across schools, clubs, junior programmes and performance coaching. Our emphasis on a welcoming, encouraging environment provides a natural starting point for applying this guidance.
For families choosing a programme, the useful question is: What experience will help this child develop and keep enjoying tennis?
Sometimes that may mean regular group coaching alongside other activities. For a motivated player who is ready for greater commitment, it may mean a more focused programme, introduced gradually and reviewed as their needs change.
For a coaching business, the statement also encourages a broader view of progress. Better technique and match results matter, but so do confidence, independence, enjoyment and the desire to return next term.
Supporting a future performance player and helping a child discover a lifelong recreational sport are both valuable outcomes.
Five questions before adding more tennis
Before increasing training or reducing other activities, parents and coaches can discuss:
- Whose goal is this? Does the child want more tennis, and can they express a different preference?
- What does the whole week involve? Include coaching, matches, school sport and other training, alongside school and travel demands.
- What would the child give up? Consider friendships, other interests, informal play and downtime.
- How are they responding? Discuss enjoyment, energy, recovery and any pain or discomfort.
- When will we review the decision? A suitable plan can change as a child grows, their interests shift or school demands increase.
The statement also recognises that young people with disability may face different opportunities and constraints. Variety and progression should be considered in the context of the individual’s needs and access to suitable activities.
Can a child still pursue ambitious tennis goals?
Yes. The statement recognises that specialisation can be an appropriate stage of development.
It recommends that the decision reflect the athlete’s readiness and goals, with gradual increases in training, adequate recovery and continued attention to wellbeing, education and social connection.
Ambitious goals deserve thoughtful planning. A child who wants to pursue competitive tennis needs a programme they can grow with, and permission to reassess it along the way.
At The Game, “for the love of the game” is a useful starting point for that conversation. We want young players to improve, enjoy the challenge and have reasons to keep coming back.
Considering your child’s next step? Talk with your coach about their interests, current commitments and goals, so you can discuss a suitable balance together.
Further reading
- Australian Institute of Sport / Australian Sports Commission, Sport Specialisation in Youth Athletes Position Statement (2026). See the AIS release and access information.
- Tennis NZ: Athlete Development Pathway.
- Sport NZ: Was it specialising in one sport too soon?.
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