My first exposure to the USTA Quickstart program was when it was decided that it was time for my kids to take lessons from someone who wasn’t me. Logistics dictated that I was not the parent who actually shuttled them to the lessons, which precipitated a communication path that most closely resembled a bad rendition of the “telephone” parlor game. This might be a good time to mention that my husband grew up on a farm that was about 60 miles from the closest tennis court. Red dot? Orange dot? Whaaaat? What he was relaying to me about the lessons and the Quickstart program was all very confusing to me.
To compound matters, one of my kids regarded herself as yellow ball ready and bristled at having to play baby tennis. My other child… well… her tennis career consisted primarily of hanging onto the side of the fence screaming at her Dad that she hated tennis. That message came through loud and clear.
I have to admit that I was at best skeptical that the Quickstart program was even needed. I was annoyed at the extra nets and extraneous lines on the courts. I hated the fact that a red or green dot ball would mysteriously, but regularly, apparate into the ball basket for my adult drills.
That attitude changed when I first saw courts constructed specifically for Quickstart for the first time. They are adorable. Clearly this is needed.
Other than a surprise affection for tiny courts, I really know next to nothing about Quickstart and it was my intention to just skip over the Quickstart related rules in this blog, but I discovered that I had to briefly touch on the topic due to USTA Comment 1.4.
USTA Comment 1.4: A regular 78-foot court with permanent blended lines is suitable for sanctioned play in divisions that require a 78-foot court.
USTA Friend at Court, 2019
A permanent blended line is a line on the court that is unrelated to the standard markings for a 78 foot tennis court. Later in the rules, there are specifications for permanent blended lines that are very detailed and specific. USTA Comment 1.4 is essentially indicating that a court with additional lines for other formats is legal for USTA sanctioned play. I believe that this is specifically referring to Quickstart layouts. I choose to believe that lines for Pickleball are prohibited and subject to corporal punishment.
USTA Comment 1.5 points to diagrams that provide the dimensions of the two Quickstart court sizes. They are smaller, and… I don’t know if I have mentioned this or not… darn cute.
- United States Tennis Association (2019) Friend at Court. White Plains, NY
