Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/193236
ON THE BEACH Italians may still dominate beach tennis but the gap has been significantly reduced over the past year. While Italian players achieved a clean sweep in the men's and women's events at both the World Championships on home soil in Cervia and at the European Championships in Brighton, Italy surrendered its crown as the world's No. 1 beach tennis nation to Brazil at the World Team Championship in Moscow in July. Vinicius Font and former Fed Cup player Joana Cortez combined to defeat Italian duo Marco Garavini and Giulia Spazzoli in the deciding mixed doubles to give Brazil a landmark triumph. www.itftennis.com Like Brazil, more and more countries are developing a focussed interest and the sport's continued growth is evident in the 153 tournaments and prize money in excess of US$375,000 already confirmed this year. As a result, a handful of the very best players are now able to focus on the sport full-time. "Nowadays the top players can live on beach tennis," said Italian world No. 1 Alessandro Calbucci. "The lower-ranked players still have to run their academies or gain extra money as coaches or teachers and so on, but if you're good enough you can enjoy life as a beach tennis player." One thing's for sure, you can certainly enjoy watching them. Here are some of their stories. ITFWORLD AUTUMN 2013 5