Beach tennis

Beach tennis is a game combining elements of tennis and volleyball and played on a beach.

Recognized

• First played 1972.
• First championship was played in 1976/1978.
• International Federation Beach Tennis (IFBT) was founded in 1995.
• International Tennis Federation (ITF) was recognized in 2008.

Overview

Beach tennis is played in over 50 countries and by more than half a million people, with its greatest popularity occurring in Italy, Brazil and Spain. Beach tennis offers a highly aerobic cardio workout with low impact to the knees and joints because it is played on sand.

The sport preserves most of the rules and scoring of traditional tennis, but the ball is not allowed to touch the ground, and other modifications have been made to adapt to movement around the sand court and to the faster pace of the game. The game is played entirely with volleys, which makes for a quicker game than does traditional tennis. Points start with a serve and end when the ball touches the ground, forcing players to dive to reach difficult plays in a similar manner used by volleyball players. The objective is to return the ball with only one hit so that it reaches the opposing side of the net.

A depressurized tennis ball, which travels more slowly through the air than does a regulation tennis ball, is used for beach tennis to allow for longer rallies. The sport is usually played by two-person teams on a regulation beach-volleyball court with a 5-foot-7-inch-high net.

File:Rackets Beach Tennis.jpg

Beach tennis rackets and balls

History

Beach tennis emerged in Italy in the early 1970s when tennis players on vacation in Lido degli Estensi, in the Ferrara town of Comacchio, played using their rackets and the existing volleyball nets already installed on the beach. The game was played for the first time with its current set of rules in Torredembarra, Spain in 1976. The first championship was played in Torredembarra in 1978. Since then (with few interruptions), it takes place on the same beach every year. Over the years, the sport spread to the beaches along the coast of Italy, and it is estimated that there are now more than 1,600 beach-tennis nets along the Italian coast in addition to a growing number of inland and indoor courts. There are an estimated 250,000 Italian beach tennis players.

The international spread

Beach tennis arrived on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro around 2008, and the sport now dominates about one-third of the beach-volleyball courts along the Brazilian coast, and there are more than 50,000 beach tennis players in Brazil. Most Brazilian tennis clubs have converted, or are converting, at least one traditional tennis court into a few beach-tennis courts.

Though originally played only on beaches, beach tennis is now played at tennis clubs, indoor beach tennis/volleyball warehouses, country clubs, resorts, gyms and sand arenas.

The sport is entering its golden age following its recognition by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in 2008. The ITF now manages the most well-known and reputable international ranking of beach-tennis players. The ITF is allocating resources to the development of the sport and has set up exposition sand courts at professional tennis tournaments such as the Japan Open, Roland-Garros, the Australian Open and the US Open.

Top tennis players who have played beach tennis include Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Andy Murray, the Bryan brothers, Rafael Nadal and Gustavo Kuerten.

The ITF also supports beach tennis by sanctioning tournaments. In 2013, the ITF began to organize regional and world championships. By 2015, 89 official sanctioned tournaments were held worldwide annually, and thousands more unofficial tournaments are held around the world each year. In 2015 the Pan-American games were held in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil, with participants from 16 countries. Also in 2015, a team championship tournament was held in Moscow with participants from 28 countries, with adult, junior, male and female teams

In the United States

Beach tennis was formalized in the United States in 2005 by Marc Altheim, who discovered the sport on a trip to Aruba in 2003. The sport had been played there since 2000, having been introduced by a Dutchman. As of 2007, beach tennis had made progress toward acceptance as a mainstream sport, with an official standards organization known as Beach Tennis USA (BT USA). In 2007, BT USA reached television deals with the Tennis Channel and SNY, but the organization is no longer active. The Beach Tennis Association currently maintains player rankings and operates tournaments in Southern California.

ITF Beach Tennis World Championship

Men's

YearTemplate:Efn	Champion	Runner-up	Score in the finalTemplate:Efn	Semifinalists
2009	Template:Flagicon Riccardo De Filippi Template:Flagicon Marco Ludovici	Template:Flagicon Luca Meliconi Template:Flagicon Paolo Tazzari	6–2, 6–2	Template:Flagicon Stefano Fiore / Template:Flagicon Luca Giavanni Template:Flagicon Alan Maldini / Template:Flagicon Cristiano Menighini
2010	Template:Flagicon Alan Maldini Template:Flagicon Luca Meliconi	Template:Flagicon Massimiliano Corzani Template:Flagicon Luigi Mazzarone	6–4, 6–2	Template:Flagicon Francesco Ercoli / Template:Flagicon Cristiano Menighini Template:Flagicon Alessandro Calbucci / Template:Flagicon Alex Mingozzi
2011	Template:Flagicon Alessandro Calbucci Template:Flagicon Luca Meliconi	Template:Flagicon Marco Ludovici Template:Flagicon Gullio Petrucci	6–2, 6–1	Template:Flagicon Michele Cappelletti / Template:Flagicon Luca Carli Template:Flagicon Fabrizio Avantaggiato / Template:Flagicon Luca Cramarossa
2012	Template:Flagicon Marco Garavini Template:Flagicon Paolo Tazzari	Template:Flagicon Alessandro Calbucci Template:Flagicon Luca Meliconi	6–2, 7–6(4)	Template:Flagicon Marco Faccini / Template:Flagicon Alex Mingozzi Template:Flagicon Luca Cramarossa / Template:Flagicon Alex Maldini
2013	Template:Flagicon Alessandro Calbucci Template:Flagicon Marco Garavini	Template:Flagicon Michele Cappelletti Template:Flagicon Luca Carli	7–6(7), 6–0	Template:Flagicon Luca Cramarossa / Template:Flagicon Niccolo Strano Template:Flagicon Matteo Marighella / Template:Flagicon Luca Meliconi
2014	Template:Flagicon Alessandro Calbucci Template:Flagicon Marco Garavini	Template:Flagicon Luca Cramarossa Template:Flagicon Luca Meliconi	7–5, 6–2	Template:Flagicon Matteo Marighella / Template:Flagicon Niccolo Strano Template:Flagicon Michele Cappelletti / Template:Flagicon Luca Carli
2015	Not held
2016	Template:Flagicon Michele Cappelletti Template:Flagicon Luca Carli	Template:Flagicon Davide Benussi Template:Flagicon Alessia Chiodoni	6–3, 6–1	Template:Flagicon Nikita Burmakin / Template:Flagicon Dennis Valmori Template:Flagicon Marcus Ferreira / Template:Flagicon Thales Santos
2017	Template:Flagicon Michele Cappelletti Template:Flagicon Luca Carli	Template:Flagicon Luca Cramarossa Template:Flagicon Marco Garavini	6–4, 6–1	Template:Flagicon Doriano Beccacioli / Template:Flagicon Davide Benussi Template:Flagicon Ralf Abreu / Template:Flagicon Diogo Carneiro
2018	Template:Flagicon Mikael Alessi Template:Flagicon Antomi Ramos Viera	Template:Flagicon Nikita Burmakin Template:Flagicon Tomasso Giovannini	7–5, 7–6(5)	Template:Flagicon Luca Cramarossa / Template:Flagicon Marco Garavini Template:Flagicon Michele Cappelletti / Template:Flagicon Luca Carli
2019	Template:Flagicon Alessandro Calbucci Template:Flagicon Michele Cappelletti	Template:Flagicon Nikita Burmakin Template:Flagicon Tomasso Giovannini	6–3, 6–0	Template:Flagicon Ramón Guedez / Template:Flagicon Aksel Samardzic Template:Flagicon Nicolas Gianotti / Template:Flagicon Antomi Ramos Viera
2021	Template:Flagicon Nikita Burmakin Template:Flagicon Tomasso Giovannini	Template:Flagicon Doriano Beccaccioli Template:Flagicon Mattia Spoto	6–2, 4–6, [10–7]	Template:Flagicon Nicolas Gianotti / Template:Flagicon Théo Irigaray Template:Flagicon André Baran / Template:Flagicon Vinicius Font
2022	Template:Flagicon Michele Cappelletti Template:Flagicon Antomi Ramos Viera	Template:Flagicon Nicolas Gianotti Template:Flagicon Mattia Spoto	3–6, 6–2, [10–7]	Template:Flagicon André Baran / Template:Flagicon Nikita Burmakin Template:Flagicon Allan Oliveira / Template:Flagicon Thales Santos
2023	Template:Flagicon Mattia Spoto Template:Flagicon Nicolas Gianotti	Template:Flagicon Michele Cappelletti Template:Flagicon Antomi Ramos Viera	7–5, 6–2	Template:Flagicon Thales Santos / Template:Flagicon Théo Irigaray Template:Flagicon Ramón Guedez / Template:Flagicon Carlos Vigón
2024	Template:Flagicon André Baran Template:Flagicon Michele Cappelletti	Template:Flagicon Nicolas Gianotti Template:Flagicon Mattia Spoto	6–2, 2–6, [10–6]	Template:Flagicon Diego Bollettinari / Template:Flagicon Carlos Vigón Template:Flagicon Mathieu Guegano / Template:Flagicon Hugo Russo

Women's

YearTemplate:Efn	Champion	Runner-up	Score in the finalTemplate:Efn	Semifinalists
2009	Template:Flagicon Simona Briganti Template:Flagicon Rosa Stefanelli	Template:Flagicon Franca Bruschi Template:Flagicon Laura Olivieri	1–6, 7–5, 6–2	Template:Flagicon Joana Cortez / Template:Flagicon Aline Sokolik Template:Flagicon Claudia Di Marco / Template:Flagicon Elena Vianello
2010	Template:Flagicon Federica Bacchetta Template:Flagicon Giulia Spazzoli	Template:Flagicon Giorgia Gadoni Template:Flagicon Rosa Stefanelli	3–6, 6–3, 6–1	Template:Flagicon Simona Briganti / Template:Flagicon Laura Olivieri Template:Flagicon Simona Bonadonna / Template:Flagicon Sara Petrolesi
2011	Template:Flagicon Simona Briganti Template:Flagicon Laura Olivieri	Template:Flagicon Simona Bonadonna Template:Flagicon Eva D'Elia	7–5, 6–4	Template:Flagicon Federica Bacchetta / Template:Flagicon Giulia Spazzoli Template:Flagicon Samanta Barijan / Template:Flagicon Joana Cortez
2012	Template:Flagicon Simona Briganti Template:Flagicon Laura Olivieri	Template:Flagicon Federica Bacchetta Template:Flagicon Giulia Spazzoli	6–4, 4–6, 6–4	Template:Flagicon Sofia Cimatti / Template:Flagicon Veronica Visani Template:Flagicon Simona Bonadonna / Template:Flagicon Eva D'Elia
2013	Template:Flagicon Sofia Cimatti Template:Flagicon Veronica Visani	Template:Flagicon Giorgia Gadoni Template:Flagicon Camilla Ponti	7–6(2), 7–6(4)	Template:Flagicon Arianna Carli / Template:Flagicon Flaminia Daina Template:Flagicon Patricia Díaz / Template:Flagicon Natascia Sciolti
2014	Template:Flagicon Federica Bacchetta Template:Flagicon Sofia Cimatti	Template:Flagicon Martina Corbara Template:Flagicon Camilla Ponti	7–5, 4–6, 6–1	Template:Flagicon Violante Battistella / Template:Flagicon Michella Zanaboni Template:Flagicon Marie-Eve Hoarau / Template:Flagicon Mathilde Hoarau
2015	Not held
2016	Template:Flagicon Joana Cortez Template:Flagicon Rafaella Miller	Template:Flagicon Eva D'Elia Template:Flagicon Giulia Gasparri	2–6, 6–2, 6–3	Template:Flagicon Camilla Ponti / Template:Flagicon Ninny Valentini Template:Flagicon Daria Churakova / Template:Flagicon Irina Glimakova
2017	Template:Flagicon Federica Bacchetta Template:Flagicon Giulia Gasparri	Template:Flagicon Sofia Cimatti Template:Flagicon Flaminia Daina	6–3, 5–7, 6–4	Template:Flagicon Eva D'Elia / Template:Flagicon Veronica Visani Template:Flagicon Joana Cortez / Template:Flagicon Rafaella Miller
2018	Template:Flagicon Federica Bacchetta Template:Flagicon Giulia Gasparri	Template:Flagicon Sofia Cimatti Template:Flagicon Flaminia Daina	2–6, 6–4, 6–3	Template:Flagicon Maraike Biglmaier / Template:Flagicon Rafaella Miller Template:Flagicon Eva D'Elia / Template:Flagicon Veronica Visani
2019	Template:Flagicon Maraike Biglmaier Template:Flagicon Rafaella Miller	Template:Flagicon Sofia Cimatti Template:Flagicon Giulia Gasparri	6–3, 1–6, 7–5	Template:Flagicon Eva D'Elia / Template:Flagicon Veronica Visani Template:Flagicon Flaminia Daina / Template:Flagicon Nicole Nobile
2020	Not held
2021	Template:Flagicon Giulia Gasparri Template:Flagicon Ninny Valentini	Template:Flagicon Patricia Díaz Template:Flagicon Rafaella Miller	6–2, 6–3	Template:Flagicon Sofia Cimatti / Template:Flagicon Nicole Nobile Template:Flagicon Joana Cortez / Template:Flagicon Flaminia Daina
2022	Template:Flagicon Giulia Gasparri Template:Flagicon Ninny Valentini	Template:Flagicon Patricia Díaz Template:Flagicon Rafaella Miller	7–5, 6–4	Template:Flagicon Vitoria Marchezini / Template:Flagicon Marcela Vita Template:Flagicon Sofia Cimatti / Template:Flagicon Nicole Nobile
2023	Template:Flagicon Patricia Díaz Template:Flagicon Rafaella Miller	Template:Flagicon Ariadna Costa Template:Flagicon Elena Francesconi	6–1, 6–1	Template:Flagicon Julia Nogueira / Template:Flagicon Marcela Vita Template:Flagicon Veronica Casadei / Template:Flagicon Greta Giusti
2024	Template:Flagicon Patricia Díaz Template:Flagicon Rafaella Miller	Template:Flagicon Giulia Gasparri Template:Flagicon Ninny Valentini	7–5, 6–4	Template:Flagicon Elizaveta Kudinova / Template:Flagicon Anastasiia Semenova Template:Flagicon Veronica Casadei / Template:Flagicon Ariadna Costa

ITF Beach Tennis World Team Championship

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2021
2022
2023
2024

See also

• ITF Beach Tennis Tour

External links

• IFBT-International federation of beach tennis or beach paddle tennis (Mostly in Italian)
• IFBT International Beach Tennis (Current governing body)
• ITF / A guide to beach tennis
• ITF Beach Tennis Tour
• ITF Current Rankings