This week, I met with 28 coaches across Hong Kong to explore how we can make Red Ball tennis more effective, engaging, and representative of the game.

Too often, Red Ball sessions are dominated by activities that take place outside of tennis, throwing, catching, or running drills that may help with coordination but don’t always transfer to striking skills. Research and practice now show us that this traditional approach may be holding players back.

The Problem with Traditional Red Sessions

Most Red Ball lessons still rely heavily on non-tennis activities. In some cases, 70–80% of the session involves throwing and catching, while only 15–20% is actual gameplay. This creates two issues:

• Players aren’t learning to connect racket and ball early enough.
• The environment doesn’t prepare them for the real decisions they’ll face in matches.

Research supports this concern. Anderson et al. (2021) found that while performance coaches are aware of contemporary methods, traditional, drill-heavy practices remain dominant, often focusing on repetition without context. Similarly, studies on motor skills in the early years show that skill transfer depends on context, skills learned outside of the sport environment do not automatically carry over (Payne & Isaacs, 2020).

Why Representative Learning Design Matters

One of the key messages I shared with the team is the importance of Representative Learning Design (RLD). In simple terms: practice should look and feel like the game.

• Perception and action must stay coupled: Players should learn to read the ball, space, and opponent, not just repeat isolated movements.
• Repetition without repetition: Skills are developed by solving the same problem in different ways, not by copying the same movement over and over (Renshaw et al., 2019).
• Affordances drive skill: Children learn best when they discover opportunities for action, not when they are told what to do (Chow et al., 2016).

This is especially important at the Red stage, where children are forming their first tennis memories.

Throwing, Catching, and Striking: The Evidence

Many coaches asked about the role of throwing and catching. Research does show that these activities can support coordination and teamwork (Payne & Isaacs, 2020). But the evidence on transfer to tennis skills is weak.

Hightower (1983) found no significant relationship between the accuracy of an overhand throw and the accuracy of a tennis serve. While the movements share surface similarities, skill in one does not reliably predict skill in the other.

That means time spent throwing and catching is not wasted, but it must not replace racket–ball interactions. For real transfer, the majority of practice should involve hitting, rallying, and playing points.

Coaching Strategies Shared

During the session, I shared a number of practical strategies for making Red sessions more representative and inclusive:

1. Start with the game – Even beginners can rally if the activity is scaled (smaller courts, slower balls, shorter racquets).
2. Two-touch tennis – Allow players to control the ball with one touch and strike with the second. This increases contact time while keeping the activity game-like.
3. Scaling constraints – Modify space, scoring, or equipment to create opportunities for success (e.g., larger courts to encourage explosive movement, balloons for very young beginners).
4. Embrace messiness – Mistakes are part of learning. Research shows that variability helps players adapt under pressure (Chow et al., 2016; Renshaw et al., 2019).
5. Educate parents – Many still expect tidy drills. We must help them understand that chaotic, game-like practice leads to deeper learning and better retention.

The Bigger Picture

This workshop highlighted both the challenges and opportunities in modernizing Red Ball tennis. Coaches want to make lessons more engaging, but cultural habits—parents expecting structure, federations emphasizing technique—often push practice back into traditional patterns.

The research is clear: children learn best in context. Throwing and catching can play a supporting role, but the majority of time should be spent hitting balls, making decisions, and playing the game.

By embedding principles of ecological dynamics and constraints-led coaching, we can help children not just participate in tennis, but thrive in it.

Final Thoughts

The response from the 28 coaches in Hong Kong was inspiring. Many admitted they had been running drills out of habit, or to please parents, but left with new ways to make sessions more game-like and effective.

This is the kind of conversation we need more of in tennis worldwide. If you’d like to dive deeper into these ideas, I share weekly practice designs and insights in my newsletter, The Coaching Playbook.

And keep an eye out in 2026 I’ll be hosting a global coaches’ conference dedicated to reimagining how we teach the game.

References

Anderson, R., Reid, C., Morrison, C., & Roberts, S. (2021). Coach approaches to practice design in performance sport: The role of representative design. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 16(2), 516–528. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747954120957849

Chow, J. Y., Davids, K., Button, C., Renshaw, I., & Tan, C. W. (2016). Nonlinear pedagogy and the constraints-led approach: Principles and applications to sport coaching. Routledge.

Hightower, R. (1983). The relationship between selected motor learning abilities and the tennis serve. Journal of Human Movement Studies, 9(3), 119–126.

Payne, V. G., & Isaacs, L. D. (2020). Human motor development: A lifespan approach (10th ed.). Routledge.

Renshaw, I., Davids, K., Newcombe, D., & Roberts, W. (2019). The constraints-led approach: Principles for sports coaching and practice design. Routledge.