Beach tennis: a combination of tennis and beach volleyball

For those who like spending hot summer days outdoors, beach tennis is a great option. The game usually takes place on the seashore and does not require any special abilities. Of course some training is necessary, but in general this discipline is not hard to play at all. This sport is a combination of beach volleyball and ordinary tennis and is very much loved all over the world. Let us take a detailed look at beach tennis.

General information

Beach tennis is a team game with elements of classical tennis, beach volleyball and badminton. The field for this sport is similar to a beach volleyball court, but the difference is: the net is set at the height of 170 cm.

To start playing beach tennis, taking a couple of lessons with a coach is enough for a person any special sports background. It will help to master the technique and basic tactical elements. As for the equipment, everything that is needed is a tennis ball with reduced pressure and special rackets made of fiberglass or carbon fiber.

Beach tennis can be played on any ground where there is sand and where you can stretch the net. Camps (trips that combine training and tourism) and beach tennis tournaments are regularly held around the world. The geography of beach tennis tournaments is impressive. There competitions take place in Thailand, Brazil, Canary Islands, Russia and many European countries.

This game is a good way to spend your leisure time on three counts. Firstly, it will help to keep fit and lose a few pounds by running in the sand. Secondly, it will occupy your weekends, and thus, you are likely to find like-minded people and extend your summer all year long (in winter it is possible to play beach tennis indoors). Finally, seeing how a competitive event can turn into a beach party at the World Team Beach Tennis Championships is priceless.

Rules and requirements

Since INF, which stands for International Tennis Federation is the governing body of beach tennis, it is responsible for establishing the rules. This organization has a right to change them as well. In the document where the rules are published, masculine gender is used to refer to players. However, both women and men can participate in this game.

The standard sets a couple of requirements for the court. It should be 16 meters long and 8 meters wide. In the center of the field, a special net is placed. To do it, organizers use a special rope made of metal. The net is placed at the height of 170 centimeters above the ground. It should have a rather tiny ornaments, otherwise the ball can go through it.

The rope must be no more than 0.8 centimeters in diameter. The width of the braid placed on both sides of the net can vary from 5 to 6.35 centimeters. All lines must be 2.5 centimeters wide, but for the back lines. All lines must be of the same color contrasting to the rest of the court. All of them must be visible from all parts of the court. If their position is changed, they must be returned to the initial position.

The surface on which the game is played must be sandy. The sand must not be mixed with any stones, shells or other object. The surface must be flat and not have any height variations to prevent players from being injured. The court must be equipped with some fences placed on each side, a place for the spectators and a tower for the referee.

Equipment

According to the recommendations given by the International Tennis Federation, it is advisable that players opt for orange balls. Balls of this color are visible from all parts of the court and are actually used almost everywhere where beach tennis is played. The pressure in the balls must be reduced. When the game is about to start, the referee is to announce the number of balls that will be used. It is possible to use from two to six balls, with the exception of five. Five balls are never used in beach tennis.

The referee also lets players know whether the balls will be changed during the game. The change can happen in two cases: if a particular number of odd-numbered times have been completed by this moment or if a new set has not started yet.

As for the tennis racket, any can be used if the International Tennis Federation approves of it. Sometimes the Federation corrects the list of the rackets that can be used on its own, while in some cases, players or other organizations submit an application concerning a particular racket.

Players

There are two roles in this game: the pitcher and the receiver. The pitcher pits the ball into play as soon as one-point difference is established. Before the beginning of the game, the receiver occupies his or her position, and the pitcher occupies a comfortable position. As soon as the pitcher has made the choice concerning the position on the court, the receiver cannot change his. The game should involve at least four people: two players on each side of the net. It is not allowed to play alone against two opponents.

Game

Each game consists of three sets, or times. To win, it is necessary to be the first in two sets out of three. The first team that wins six games will be likely to win a particular set. Of course, in case both teams have won six games each, they will meet in an additional game. The sides on which teams will play in the first game are chosen by a toss. A team to have won this toss can choose who will be the receiver and who will be the pitcher, where they will play, or let the opponents make their decision. Every time the odd-numbered game is finished, the pairs change the sides.

Judging system

The scoring is the same as in tennis, with one exception: there is no rule of compulsory two-point advantage at the score “even”, that is, the player who wins the next point after the score “even” is considered the winner of the game (the so-called “sudden death” rule).

History

Beach tennis was born in 1978 in Ravenna, Italy. This is where people with rackets appeared on local beaches and started playing this game for the first time. The rackets they used were special: they did not have any strings and were fully made of plastic. Then the International Beach Tennis Federation was formed in Italy. Its first and still acting president was Giandomenico Belletti. In 2007, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) officially recognized the new kind of tennis and launched a program of world tour competitions.

Since 2008, European Championships have been held annually under the aegis of the ITF. The first European Beach Tennis Championships were held in Rome. In 2009, the first World Championship took place in Rome as well. In 2010, Turkey hosted the second European Beach Tennis Championships. Thus, beach tennis left its homeland of sunny Italy for the first time.

In 2011, orange balls were recognized as the official beach tennis balls, replacing the usual green ones. In 2012, the World Team Beach Tennis Championships were organized for the first time in Russia. A year later, the calculation of the world rankings was changed: the calculation was now based on the best six games instead of the best four, and updates were published on the ITF website 3 weeks after the tournament.

In 2014, a new leader was distinguished. On June 16, Brazilian Vinicius Font topped the ITF men’s world rankings, becoming the first non-Italian top player. Twenty-four countries took part in the World Team Beach Tennis Championships in Moscow. The final day of the Beach Tennis World Team Championships in Moscow was broadcast live for the first time. In 2015, this discipline was included in the Mediterranean Beach Games, where teams from nine countries participated.

All in all, beach tennis is a funny game that does not have a lasting history, but has a lot of followers all over the world. This discipline is very popular because the rules are rather simple, and it is available in most countries.