What is Beach Tennis?

A man playing beach tennis at sunset on a sandy beach with palm trees, spectators, and the ocean in the background.

Beach Tennis is a cool, high-energy cousin of tennis, beach volleyball, and badminton, played on the sand with solid paddles and a depressurized ball.

Similar to tennis, players use a paddle/racquet to hit a ball back and forth over a net. As in badminton or volleyball, the point is over when the ball hits the ground (or any part of a person’s body).

Beach tennis is beginner-friendly, fast, rally-heavy, and social because the standard game is played with a partner.

The Basics: How to Play

🚫 No Bounce: Players hit the ball back and forth over the net, and the ball must stay in the air. If the ball touches the sand, the point is over.

🎾 The Gear: We use solid paddles (no strings!) and a slightly softer, depressurized tennis ball (Stage 2 Orange).

🏐 The Court: It’s played on a standard beach volleyball court (16x8m) with the net at 1.7m or 1.8m high.

1️⃣ One Serve: Unlike regular tennis, you only get one chance to serve. If you miss, you lose the point.

💯 Game & Scoring: Similar to tennis - a game is first to 4 points (15, 30, 40, Game), but with No-Ad at deuce. It’s sudden death!

One set is six games; one match is best of three sets, with the third set being a shorter 10-point tie-breaker.

Illustration of a beach tennis court with detailed measurements, including 16 meters in length and 8 meters in width, and a zoomed-in diagram showing the net heights: 1.7 meters for women's, mixed, and juniors, and 1.8 meters for men's doubles.

Standard ITF Court Dimensions: 8m x 16m, Doubles, 4.5m x 16m Singles

Beach Tennis in Santa Monica, California

A Global Game

Born in Italy in the early 1970s, beach tennis has exploded in popularity worldwide, becoming a major sport in Brazil, Spain, and now the US. It is officially recognized by World Tennis | International Tennis Federation (ITF), which governs the rules and manages the Beach Tennis World Tour and championships.

Play Beach Tennis in LA

Technical Specs & Advanced Rules

  • Net Height:
    1.7m (~5ft 7in) for Women, Mixed, & Juniors
    1.8m (~5ft 10in) for Men.

  • 3-Meter Zone: Returning players cannot enter the 3-meter "Prohibited Zone" (marked on the court) before the serve is hit.

  • Prohibited “No Block” Zones: No player (serving or receiving) may touch the sand within 3 meters of the net until the ball is hit.

    • When serving in professional men's doubles, this zone is 6 meters for the server's partner.

  • Serving: You can serve from anywhere behind the baseline, within the imaginary extended sidelines, to anywhere in the opponent's court (no diagonal requirement!).

  • The Ball: We use ITF Stage 2 (Orange) depressurized balls.

Download Official ITF Beach Tennis 2026 Rulebook

Detailed Diagram of Beach Tennis Court:
8m x 16m Doubles, 4.5m x 16m Singles

A diagram of a beach tennis court with dimensions and zones labeled, including baseline, sidelines, net, server and receiver sides, prohibited zones, and markers indicating net height and total court length of 16 meters.
A plush tennis ball character wearing a white cap that says "beach tennis love", holding a coffee cup. The character has a smiling face and is sitting at a table inside a cafe with large windows.