King of the Court

Full Disclosure: the hardest thing about writing this particular blog entry was choosing which picture of a crown to use. Tons of great graphics out there!

Full Disclosure #2: I have a little trouble confusing this game with Champs and Chumps. In the interest of making sure we all have the two straight, here's the scoop.

King of the Court (or Queen, if you prefer - I have tried to come up with a simple alternative name for this game that works for both girls and boys but so far, nada. USTA likes 'Champion of the Court' but it just doesn't have the same ring, does it?) is another simple game that should be in every tennis instructor's repertoire. Very simple, very handy, very useful, and popular with players of all ages. Works for singles as well as doubles. Individuals or teams must win two out of three points to become King/Queen. Among a competitive group with good camaraderie, this game could go on for days. Everyone wants one last chance to become King/Queen.

As you may recall, in Champs and Chumps, only one point determines the new Champ. In this version, if you lose the first point, you still have a chance to prevail by winning the next two points.

Note I have also seen this played with only one point determining the new King/Queen. In fact, on the USTA's website Top 10 Games Every Coach Should Know, they have this game played with one point in singles and best of three in doubles. If you play it with only one point required to become the new champ, then what is the difference between this and Champs and Chumps, you might ask? In C&C there is a group of Champs taking turns playing against the Chumps. In this game there is always only one champ (singles) or two (one doubles team) on the Champion side.

Whoever wins the first round, that side is designated as the King/Queen side of court, and subsequent winners must move to that side. If you don't do that, and just let the winners stay on their side regardless of which side they are on, it gets confusing who is King/Queen.

Update: Duh! Over a year on, I finally have figured out the difference between these two games. K/Q only has one player on the winning side. Champs/Chumps has two groups of players on each end of court. So for example let's say you have a group of 8 players. In K/Q, you would have one player on the winning side and the other 7 trying to earn their way to be King or Queen. In Champs/Chumps, the group would be split equally with 4 players on each end of court. After each point, winner moves or stays on Champs side and loser moves or stays on Chumps side.