The HitCourt 10s Rulebook
Red, Orange and Green ball levels with Stars progression, round-robin-first formats and Standings instead of rankings - built for the youngest players.
HitCourt 10s — Regulations for Under-10 Tennis
v1 — 16 October 2026. HitCourt's own Under-10 product. It brings together the four programmes the Captain gave us — the UTF Super 10s Stars (promotion by matches and wins), SLTA Cool Tennis (round-robin first, short scoring, Technical Committee promotion), DLTA / AITA 10 & Under (open draws, no seeds, Saturday sign-in) and USTA 10U / Net Generation (no rankings, recognition for playing) — and adds one thing none of them has: the HitCourt 10s Ladders, three ladders side by side (Red, Orange, Green) that a child climbs week by week. Opt-in. A Circuit Owner or a Standalone Referee chooses HitCourt 10s for their Under-10 events. Nothing here applies to an event that has not chosen it. Every ⚙️ provision below is a HitCourt default the Circuit Owner (or the Referee, per event) may change; the 🔒 provisions are what make it HitCourt 10s.
Part A — The Idea
Under-10s don't chase rankings — they climb. A child moves through three ball colours, each with three Star levels, by playing matches and winning some of them. Every match a child plays on court counts toward their next step. HitCourt recommends no ranking points and no ranking lists for Under-10s (D.5). What a child (and their parents) see is where they are, what they have played, and how close they are to the next Star.
There are two routes up, and a child may use either — whichever comes first:
- The Stars Route — play enough matches, win enough of them (Part C).
- The Ladder Route — reach the top of your colour's ladder and hold it (Part E).
The Referee (acting as the Technical Committee) confirms every move up. HitCourt shows "Ready to Move Up"; it never moves a child on its own.
Part B — Colours, Stars and Ages
B.1 The Nine Levels 🔒
| Ball Colour | Court / Ball | Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Red (stage 3) ball, short court | Red 3 Star → Red 4 Star → Red 5 Star |
| Orange | Orange (stage 2) ball, ¾ court | Orange 3 Star → Orange 4 Star → Orange 5 Star |
| Green | Green (stage 1) ball, full court | Green 3 Star → Green 4 Star → Green 5 Star |
A child always holds exactly one level. Red 3 Star is the first step; Green 5 Star is the last.
B.2 Age Caps ⚙️
| Colour | A child may play this colour until … |
|---|---|
| Red | 31 December of the year they turn 6 |
| Orange | 31 December of the year they turn 8 |
| Green | 31 December of the year they turn 10 |
A child who is over age for their colour moves to the next colour's 3 Star (and, on the ladders, to the bottom of the next colour's ladder). HitCourt flags "Over Age" so the Referee can confirm it. A child who passes Green's cap leaves HitCourt 10s and plays the Under-12 events.
B.3 Starting Level ⚙️
A new child starts at Red 3 Star, or at the 3 Star of the colour their age allows (6 & under Red, 8 & under Orange, 10 & under Green) if they are older. The Referee may set a different starting level when a coach or parent shows the child already plays at it — the reason is recorded.
B.4 No Going Back ⚙️
Once a child has moved to a new colour they play that colour's events and do not return to the old colour. Option (SLTA style): the Circuit Owner may allow up to two more tournaments in the old colour after a move up.
Part C — The Stars Route (Moving Up by Matches and Wins)
C.1 HitCourt 10s Thresholds ⚙️
To move from a level to the next, a child needs both numbers, played at their current colour since the date they reached their current level:
| Current Level | Matches Played | Matches Won | Moves to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red 3 Star | 25 | 5 | Red 4 Star |
| Red 4 Star | 15 | 5 | Red 5 Star |
| Red 5 Star | 10 | 5 | Orange 3 Star |
| Orange 3 Star | 15 | 5 | Orange 4 Star |
| Orange 4 Star | 15 | 5 | Orange 5 Star |
| Orange 5 Star | 10 | 5 | Green 3 Star |
| Green 3 Star | 15 | 5 | Green 4 Star |
| Green 4 Star | 15 | 5 | Green 5 Star |
| Green 5 Star | — | — | plays on; may also enter Under-12 events |
(Defaults from the UTF Super 10s criteria. A Circuit Owner may adopt the SLTA Cool Tennis numbers instead — Starter → Achiever 9 matches / 2 wins, Achiever → Pro 12 / 3, Pro → next colour 9 / 3 — or set their own.)
C.2 What Counts as a Match 🔒
A match counts when it was decided on court: a winner was recorded and both sides were real players.
- Counts: a completed match, and a match ended by retirement (the child played).
- Does not count: a Walkover, a Bye, a match Abandoned, Not Played or left To Finish.
- Every event of the child's colour counts — a colour event (open to all Stars of that colour) and a Star event alike — in any tournament that uses HitCourt 10s, singles and doubles, group matches and knockout matches, and ladder matches (Part E).
C.3 Moving Up ⚙️
- HitCourt shows Ready to Move Up when both numbers are reached.
- The Referee confirms the move on the 10s Pathway page. The child's new level starts that day and their count starts again from zero.
- Early promotion: the Referee may move a child up before the numbers are reached, on the request of a coach or parent, when the child clearly plays above their level. The reason is recorded.
- A move up is never taken back except to correct a mistake.
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