Holger Rune started out on a mini tennis court

Every player starts somewhere small. For Holger Rune — Danish professional, ATP title winner, once ranked No. 5 in the world — that somewhere was a hall filled with mini tennis nets and children everywhere.

He had to wait for it. His older sister Alma started playing first, and he was only allowed to join once he turned six. "I think I could already play tennis in my head before I could finally start twice a week in a hall with mini tennis nets and children everywhere," he told Danish magazine NORD. "I loved it."

What kept him there was not a coaching programme or a talent pathway. It was his sister. She was better than he was, and every weekend he dragged her back to the club in Skovshoved to try again. "She was better than me, and I fought like mad to beat her."

That is exactly what a small court is built for. Shorter racket, slower ball, net you can see over — a six-year-old can rally, compete and lose a real match on day one instead of spending a season learning to make contact. The competition starts immediately, and so does the reason to come back.

He played football too. Once he was finally allowed on a tennis court, the choice made itself. "I am clearly more of a singles player than a team player. It is only my effort that decides whether I win or lose," he says. "It is also hard when you lose and you are alone, but at least you can only blame yourself and work on getting better."

None of this is unusual. Most professionals you watch on television began on a scaled-down court with a slower ball, because that is the version of the game a child can actually play. The full court comes later, once the strokes and the habit of competing are already there.

That is the point of Minitennis in Malaysia too. The court is small enough to fit where people already play — including covered pickleball courts — the ball is slow enough to rally with on the first session, and the game is real from the start. Whether a player ends up on the ATP tour or simply stays in the sport for life, this is where it begins.

Quotes from the interview "Q&A med Holger Rune fra Gentofte", NORD Magasinet, nord-magasinet.dk.