Touchtennis is a modified version of

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

played on a compact court with foam balls and shorter () rackets. It is regularly featured on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

and is growing in popularity and acceptance as an alternative form of the full size game. Former and current ATP Players include Fernando Gonzalez,

Marcus Willis Marcus Willis (born 9 October 1990) is a British professional tennis player. Willis made his tour debut at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships after qualifying for the main draw, where he gained recognition after playing against Roger Federer in the ...

Jeff Tarango Jeffrey Gail Tarango (born November 20, 1968) is a retired American tennis player. He was a top-ten doubles player and a runner-up at the 1999 French Open men's doubles tournament. He is now the Director of Tennis at the Jack Kramer Club, which ...

and Chris Eaton. TV personality Bear Grylls plays tournaments and is a vocal supporter as is comedian

Miranda Hart Miranda Katherine Hart Dyke (born 14 December 1972) is an English actress and writer. Following drama training at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Hart began writing material for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and making appearances in va ...

It is also used as a tool by the

Lawn Tennis Association The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Founded in 1888, the LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. It believes that tennis can provide "physical ...

in the United Kingdom and the RFET in Spain to increase the number of people playing an adaptation of tennis.

History

Touchtennis was created by Rashid Ahmad as a means of entertaining his young daughter in the back garden. It was developed to include a tour, complete with rankings, 4 major Grand Slams as well as Masters events and other smaller tournaments that offer a lower value of ranking points.

Equipment

Rackets

Official touchtennis rackets must be no shorter than and no longer than . The racket's head size may be no greater than .

Balls

Special foam balls have been developed to withstand heavy hitting. The official ball of touchtennis is in diameter and made from white cut foam.

Court

The dimensions of an official touchtennis court are for singles and for doubles. However, variances of up to 25cm are tolerated on all lines in order to make the game more accessible and varied.Players can also utilize a badminton court by lowering the net and taping a new service line away from the badminton service line towards the baseline.

References

{{Reflist

External links

touchtennis website
Forms of tennis Ball games Racket sports Sports originating in England