Beach tennis, or beach ball, is a recreational game you can practice on the beach during summer time. This sport has first appeared as a solution for beaches' owners who wanted to amuse their customers.

The sport's origins are not known for sure, but it seems that it is in Italy that beach tennis matches have first taken place, on the Adriatic beaches more precisely, after world war two.

The game looks of course like tennis, but the ground is like a beach volleyball one, hence the net which is 5.5 ft high. The game consists in throwing the ball back to one's adversary with a special beach tennis racket. Unlike tennis, the ball cannot make a bounce so players must throw the ball in volley.

Players may either train to make as many volleys as they can (some made more than 350 passes, or try to play real matches while counting each players' score just like for tennis game. Teams of 2 can play as well, like for beach volleyball.

What is enjoyable as well with beach tennis is that we can practice it on any ground, but also indoor, or in very incongruous places like on a flat roof! However, most people practice it during vacation time on the beach, feet in the water, which makes this sport mostly a seasonal sport that depends on climatic conditions.

In Italy, where the sport has been first developed, there are many champions and tournaments even occur between young children of less than 10. Everyone may play beach tennis, that's why it is so popular. In the US, many National Tours are now organized in Florida and California by the BTUSA (Beach Tennis USA).