BTA introduces Beach Tennis
Botswana Tennis Association ( BTA) will officially launch Beach tennis in the country at Majestic
Hotel in Palapye on Saturday. The International Tennis Federation ( ITF) have supported the event by donating the equipment which will be used during the launch.
According to BTA President Oaitse Thipe, the introduction of beach tennis will promote more participation in the sport as it is easy and cheap to set up. “Beach tennis is like any other beach sport, similar to beach volleyball; it is very easy to introduce and the set- up is also cheap. This means we can have more people across the country being able to set up courts and play beach tennis. We want to increase participation in the sport and this will give us a pool to choose our players from and enhance our development agenda,” Thipe explained. “Some of our players who haven’t done well in other courts can try their luck in beach tennis, former players can also partake in the game,” he added. He further explained that they will encourage their affiliates after launching, to engage on a mass participation in their different regions as the equipment used in the game is also very much affordable. “Our affiliates will now be introduced to the game, programs will be run and soon we will gauge our progress. In terms of coaching, there is not a lot of difference to the tennis we are used to; our structures in coach development allows for our coaches to be able to train beach tennis players,” Thipe shared. Beach tennis has been adopted as an Olympic sport and tennis president said they will work with Botswana National Olympic Committee ( BNOC) as they look to fast track the development of the game locally. “We are custodians of the sport; we will engage BNOC for support when necessary, experts will be invited through BNOC to have them come through and offer their expertise for the development of our game,” he said.
Quizzed on the prospects of qualifying for the next Olympics in 2024, Thipe explained that, although it is much easier to qualify for the Olympics through beach tennis, the next Olympics may be a little too soon for them to think of having a representative. “Right now we are introducing the sport, if we successfully implement our programs, we will know in the near future our prospects of qualifying for the Paris Olympics, but for now our focus is to set up the structures,” he answered.
The rules of the game states that the ball cannot touch the ground, as such the sport is played entirely with volleys. Due to this rule, beach tennis makes for a quick, intense, and exciting game. Points start with a serve and end when the ball touches the ground, forcing players to dive to reach difficult plays, similar to volleyball. As with regular tennis, the objective is to return the ball with only one hit so that it reaches the opposing side of the net. The sport uses a depressurized tennis ball to make for longer rallies as it will travel more slowly through the air than the usual tennis ball. According to experts, the sport offers an excellent cardio workout, which is highly aerobic but with low impact to the knees and joints because it is played on the sand.