Beach Tennis Basics - Introduction

The first question I get when people meet me and find out what I do, is always the following:

"What is Beach Tennis?"

My first response to that is always "well, it's a sport that combines tennis, beach volleyball and badminton, all into one - it's fun to play and you can pick it up at any level!" Then I would try to explain some basic information and rules of beach tennis.

Thankfully our friends at SOLAR have summarized all you need to know to get a first idea of how the sport is played (see extract below) - go check them out, they're super-cool and fun - and can help you out with your equipment needs if you're interested to pick up beach tennis as a sport. And if you've made it this far on my page, I feel pretty confident that you're already intrigued by the sport.

What is Beach Tennis?

To start, the sport originated in the 1970s in Ravenna, Italy and is now widely played all over Italy, Brazil, Japan and now the US.  It's played on a sand court, similar to beach volleyball court at roughly 52 feet by 26 feet. The net is set at 5'7'' (so lower than a volleyball net) with smaller mesh (so that the ball won't go through) Beach Tennis Equipment: - Beach Tennis Paddles: Similar shape to a tennis racket, but it's a paddle with no strings. Instead the paddles are typically made of carbon-fiber or fiberglass and have an EVA foam core.  - Beach Tennis Ball: A stage two yellow and orange tennis ball (the ball has half the pressure as a regular tennis ball)

Beach Tennis Rules

Serving: One player will serve for an entire game (first to 4 points). Player can serve from anywhere behind the baseline. A ball may hit the net and still count during the serve. If a player faults during the serve, a point is awarded to the other team (there is no second serve).  Points: A game is played to four points, scored 15, 30, 40, Game. There is no add in scoring (like there is in tennis).  Game, Set, Match: A game, as said above, is played to 4 points (no advantage). A set is won by first team to win 6 games (must win by two) and a match is won by first team to win two sets (so best of three). 

Game Play: The ball is hit once per side before having to be returned over to the other team's side.  

Photo Credit: GoDrone Riviera

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