What is Beach Tennis?
Beach tennis started in Italy in the early 1970s and has since grown in popularity all over the world, especially in Brazil and Spain. It’s a fun and dynamic sport that combines elements of tennis, beach volleyball, and badminton on a sand court.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) officially recognizes and governs the sport, with a dedicated Beach Tennis World Tour and championships.
Beach Tennis Rules
📜 ITF Rules of Beach Tennis 2025
Beach Tennis is mostly played in teams of two. It’s like tennis but with a higher net, and the ball can’t touch the ground. Players use paddles to hit a soft tennis ball over the net into the other team's court, in only one hit. Points start with a serve and end when the ball hits the ground, any part of the player’s body, any object outside of the net, or is hit more than once on one side.
Court Dimensions:
Doubles: 16 meters long x 8 meters wide
Singles: 16 meters long x 4.5 meters wide
Net:
A close-meshed net to prevent balls from flying through. The height of the net for Women, Mixed, and Juniors is 1.7 meters high (~5ft 7in); for Men: 1.8 meters high (~5ft 11in).
Paddles/Racquets: Shorter and more maneuverable than traditional tennis rackets, without strings.
Balls: Slightly depressurized tennis balls (ITF Stage 2), which travel more slowly and have a lower bounce on sand, allowing for longer rallies.
Key Rules/Differences from Traditional Tennis:
No Bounce: The ball is not allowed to touch the ground. All shots are volleys. If the ball touches the sand, the point is over.
No Second Serve/Lets on Serve: There's only one serve allowed per point. If the serve hits the net and goes over, it's still in play (no "let").
Scoring: Similar to tennis (15, 30, 40, game), but with "no-advantage" scoring (if tied at 40-40, the next point wins the game). A set is usually 6 games. A match is usually best of 3 sets, with the third tie-breaker set frequently being a 10 point game.
Serving Position: The server can serve from anywhere behind the baseline, and can serve to anywhere on the opponent's side; it doesn't have to be diagonal.
No-Block Zone: There's a 3-meter zone behind the net that returning players are not allowed to enter before the serve is hit (for professional men's doubles, this zone is 6m for the server's partner).
