Maria Sharapova weighs in on the ongoing debate in the United States about whether smaller courts and lighter and bigger balls should be used for 10-and-under players. The USTA is supporting and pushing the changes for beginniner levels, while coaches like Wayne Bryan oppose it. The concept is popular in Europe and Sharapova is in favor of it, although she added that kids need to be aware that they will eventually have to transition to regular equipment.
"I think that it is an advantage from the beginning because it is much easier to have the lighter balls, and much easier to have a smaller court and I think it gives them a better sense of the game in a way," said Sharapova, who will play the BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden on March 5 with Caroline Wozniacki, Roger Federer, and Andy Roddick. "Whereas you are coming onto the tennis courts, for the first time and since it is one-on-one sport it can be quiet overwhelming. So for a young player that is trying it out, I think it is a wonderful opportunity, but then on the other hand if you do that for a very long time, you also have to realize that the reality of the sport this is not how you are going to play if you are thinking about taking it to another level and thinking of progressing into a serious stage of the game. It will also be an adjustment, so it’s a very thin line because you obviously want to encourage young children to start playing, but you also have to understand at a certain point the balls are going to be a little bit heavier and the court is going to be much bigger. So those fun elements that you learned in the beginning will be taken away. It is just a matter of how will they react to that."