touchtennis#Court
{{Short description|Modified version of tennis played on a compact court with foam balls and shorter rackets}}
{{lowercase title}}
{{Infobox sport
| name = touchtennis
| nickname =
| country/region = UK, United States, Canada, Australia, Spain, Brazil, France, Belgium, New Zealand
| registered =
| contact = No
| team = Single or doubles
| mgender = Yes, separate singles and doubles {{&}} mixed doubles
| category = racket sport
| ball = Touchtennis ball, {{convert|21|in|cm|adj=on|abbr=on}} tennis rackets
| venue = Indoor or outdoor {{convert|12|×|6|m|abbr=on}} court with a tennis net
| obsolete =
| olympic = No
| paralympic = No
}}
Touchtennis is a modified version of tennis played on a compact court with foam balls and shorter ({{convert|21|in|cm|adj=on|disp=or}}) rackets. It is regularly featured on Sky Sports 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, Jeff Tarango and Chris Eaton. TV personality Bear Grylls plays tournaments and is a vocal supporter as is comedian Miranda Hart.
File:Centre court wide searle.jpg
It is also used as a tool by the Lawn Tennis Association in the United Kingdom and the RFET in Spain to increase the number of people playing an adaptation of tennis.{{Cite web|title=Learn More About Touchtennis|url=https://www.lta.org.uk/play-compete/getting-started/adult-tennis/touchtennis/|access-date=22 August 2021|website=www.lta.org.uk}}
History
Touchtennis was created by Rashid Ahmad as a means of entertaining his young daughter in the back garden.{{Cite web|last=Spencer|first=James|date=31 May 2019|title=touchtennis founder Rashid Ahmad talks to Tennis365 about how he founded the idea|url=https://www.tennis365.com/tennis-features/exclusive-it-started-off-as-this-ridiculous-dream-in-my-back-garden-rashid-ahmad-founder-of-touchtennis/|access-date=22 August 2021|website=Tennis365|language=en-US}} 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 {{convert|20.9|in|cm|1}} and no longer than {{convert|21.1|in|cm|1}}. The racket's head size may be no greater than {{convert|107|sqin}}.{{Cite web|title=Rules {{!}} touchtennis|url=https://www.touchtennis.com/gb/rules.php|access-date=22 August 2021|website=www.touchtennis.com|language=en-GB}}
= Balls =
Court
The dimensions of an official touchtennis court are {{convert|12|×|5|m|abbr=on}} for singles and {{convert|12|×|6|m|abbr=on}} 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 {{convert|2|m}} away from the badminton service line towards the baseline.{{Cite web|title=Venue search {{!}} touchtennis|url=https://www.touchtennis.com/gb/venue-search.php|access-date=22 August 2021|website=www.touchtennis.com|language=en-GB}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.touchtennis.com touchtennis website].