Introducing girls to tennis with Judy Murray’s Miss-Hits
‘And when you don’t have any more tennis balls I will get you one!’
Four-year-old Big Girl was talking enthusiastically about how she could help Daddy T next time he wanted to play tennis. She had picked up various tricks after we had been invited to attend a Miss-Hits tennis session for girls with Judy Murray at Royal Albert Hall and watch Greg Rusedski and Fabrice Santoro playing on court in the Champions Tennis event.
Judy Murray’s Miss-Hits is designed to be a fun and friendly tennis programme for girls aged 5 to 8, and after our taster session I wanted to see how we could organise for Big Girl to keep taking Miss-Hits lessons. This was less serious and more lively than some of the other lessons Big Girl has tried, and I think Judy Murray’s girly programme with dance, stickers and sparkles is perfect for inspiring girls to play tennis.
We warmed up with a fun tennis dance with a racquet in our hands, and the dance incorporated different strokes. We then did lots of different activities using plastic racquets, fluffy balls, pink balloons and chiffon, and Judy Murray explained how everything we did helped us practise skills we needed to become great tennis players, such as being able to move legs and arms simultaneously.
Four-year-old Big Girl loved hitting pink balloons, and Judy Murray suggested we could do different variations of the balloon activities, adding rice in the balloons for them to drop quicker, for example.
The Miss-Hits programme also incorporates six Miss-Hit stars, and the website features tips and videos from the characters, which all teach different skills. There’s also a Miss-Hits app, teaching girls about the game in a fun way.
After the session I now feel really inspired, realising that even though it’s Daddy T who plays tennis in our family, I can still do lots with Big Girl to help her develop tennis skills and we don’t even need full tennis equipment to have fun practising our moves in our own garden.
Miss-Hits is all about the things that girls like, and the lessons, app, activities and tips are worth checking out for parents wanting to make tennis more fun for girls.
Miss-Hits lessons for girls are now available in some London venues. See more on the website. As well as the on-court programme, there is also an online experience available for children, parents and coaches.
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