Your guide to playing beach tennis: rules, tips and more

Sport / Date: 04-14-2025

Beach tennis is a sport that combines tennis, beach volleyball and badminton – the one with rackets and a shuttlecock. It was created in Italy shortly before the beginning of the 90s and began to become professional around the world in mid-1996.

What are the benefits of beach tennis?

It's true that getting a tan is a great advantage of playing beach tennis (which isn't always played on a real beach), but the sport can also be used as exercise on cloudy or colder days and you just can't play if it's raining and the court is uncovered.

And, without any difficulty, anyone who already plays can make a list of at least 15 benefits of beach tennis. Want to see?

Just two people available for a match are enough.
It is a lower impact activity for the joints.
Serves as a strengthening exercise for all parts of the body
Improves cardiorespiratory fitness and breathing
Helps reduce stress
Improves motor coordination
Improves balance
Reduces risk of injury
It can eliminate the risk of developing dementia or delay it
Tones legs and glutes
Promotes interaction between people
Positively impacts focus and concentration
Burn calories
It has easy to follow rules

As for the rules, you can read more details later in this article, along with all the “can” vs. “can’t”!

What are the rules of beach tennis?

The rules of beach tennis are all those regulations defined about the sport by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). You will learn about them in topics from now on.

1. The ball cannot bounce on the floor.

Unlike tennis or even ping-pong, in beach tennis, the ball that is thrown from one side of the court to the other cannot bounce on the opposing team's side. It must always be in the air and the fact that it bounces on one side represents a point for the team on the other side.

2. Ball in the net or out of the court is a point for the opponent

Just like in volleyball and tennis, if someone hits the ball directly into the net, the opponent scores. The same goes for when the ball is hit out of the court.

3. Beach volleyball nets are not the same as beach tennis nets

Another important rule: do not use beach volleyball nets to play beach tennis. The measurements – and even the holes! – of the two pieces of equipment are different. A beach tennis net must be exactly 1 meter and 70 centimeters high.

4. Beach tennis balls have a specific color

Have you been looking to buy specific balls for playing the sport? Make sure they have an orange tip and a lime green or “highlighter yellow” center. In addition to the different color that makes it easier to see on brighter days or in brighter places, beach tennis balls are deflated compared to court tennis balls.

5. You can choose where to withdraw from!

As long as they are behind the baseline of the court, a beach tennis player can choose where they want to serve from. If the match is played in pairs, the person who serves cannot be the person who is further forward doing the “service” and vice versa.

In each game, a different player serves. You will learn more about scoring in this modality a little later.

6. Is the pair mixed? The man can only serve underhand

In almost all beach tennis matches, players can decide for themselves whether they prefer to serve overhand or underhand by making back-to-front and bottom-to-up movements with the racket, respectively.

The only exception is in mixed doubles matches: in these cases, men can only serve underhand. Everything okay so far?

What can and cannot be done in beach tennis?

Still within the rules of the sport, some questions are quite common and the answer to all of them is simpler than you might imagine!

Can you double tap in beach tennis?

Double-tapping or “carrying” the ball with the racket is permitted in the sport as long as the player makes the same movement both times, almost as if he were to “double-tap” the ball by accident.

Can you block a serve in beach tennis?

Offside itself is prohibited, but walking or running towards the serve to limit the player serving is not, except that opponents can only touch the ball when it is officially in play.

Can you touch the net with a racket in beach tennis?

Neither the racket nor any part of the player's body may touch or pass over or under the net in a beach tennis match. Situations like this represent a point for the opposing player or team.

Now, how about exploring a little more about all the practical aspects of the sport? Starting with the points!

How do points count work in beach tennis?

Understanding how the beach tennis scoring system works is very easy: you just need to differentiate between the words “point”, “game” and “set”. A whole game consists of three sets and, if a player or team wins two of them, they win the match. Each set has at least six games and the games are won by whoever scores four points.

There is no advantage in case of a tie in the game.

One point is 15 in beach tennis, two points are 30, three points are 40 and the fourth point is the game point . Teams that score zero points during a game can also say they are in love.

To win a single set , the same team must win at least six games. In the event of a tie (5x5), whoever wins the seventh game first wins, but if the game is tied again (6x6), a tie-break will be necessary to break the tie.

The winner of this minor match is the one who scores seven points before the opponent(s).

Long sets can also be played , usually chosen for doubles matches, and can last up to nine games instead of six. The reasoning behind them is exactly the same, and the tie-break becomes decisive if the teams are tied at 8-8.

Again: whoever wins two sets of three comes out victorious in the overall competition .

So how does a tie-break work in beach tennis?

Simple! Teams tied at six games to six for single sets and nine games to nine for long sets play this match, which is shorter than the others. The first team to score seven points wins , but the victory is not yet decided! To be able to celebrate, the same team needs to win at least two of three sets.

What are the beach tennis accessories?

In addition to the stage 2 ball, as the ball with orange tips is called among experts, anyone who plays beach tennis also needs to have at least a good racket, suitable clothing with protection against ultraviolet rays, as well as a visor if playing outdoors or sunglasses with elastic.

For those who don't want to play barefoot, it is recommended to wear sneakers that protect your feet from temperature changes and even humidity. It's all very easy to find and choose, only the racket requires more attention.