On The March

This player was down two sets, 1-5 in the third,
and came back to win this Wimbledon semi match.

On The March is similar to Capture The Net in that it emphasizes all-court play (tennis-speak for Get Your Booty To The Net). This activity works for any number of players. If you have more than two players, divide into teams.

There are three positions available to play from: baseline; service line; and net.  For the first point of the game, both singles players begin from baseline. They play a singles point.  Winning team moves forward one position after each point; losing team moves back (unless they are at baseline, in which case they remain there). If you are playing this as a team activity, new players come in after every point. If you have an even number of players, be sure to have them switch around the playing order so that they are playing different opponents. An easy way to do this is to have two spots/lines per side for the waiting players (either far behind the baseline or at the net posts) and have them alternate which spot/line they are waiting in. They then alternate spots/lines feeding next player up.

You can structure the winning activity either by number of points won first, or by time limit. Hint: if the players are self-feeding, crafty players (they come in all ages!) will try to feed a lousy first ball to get an easy point. Insist on a quality first ball, or feed it yourself if this is not an option.