Beach tennis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Beach tennis was created to be a professional and recreational sport. In 2005 it was registered in New York City by Marc Altheim, who in a trip to Aruba two years earlier discovered the sport, which has been played there since 2000, introduced by a Dutchman.

As the name implies, it is a combination of tennis with beach volleyball. It is played in a court with the same dimensions and net as in beach volleyball, with a tennis racquet and tennis ball with no pressure. It is always played in doubles format. The objective is to hit the ball to the other half of the court over the net without letting it drop on the sand or sending it out of bounds. Score is kept in the same way as tennis, counting 15, 30, 40 and game. There is no deuce. Only one serve is allowed. Players cannot touch the net. Each match has one set, played until a team wins 8 games. The sport is very fast and animated.

Currently the top players in the sport are Phil Whitesell and Chris Henderson, both of whom previously attempted a career in professional tennis.

Beach tennis will be one of the attractions at the Family Circle Cup, in Charleston, to be played in April 2007. Beach Tennis USA will organize there its first professional tournament.