ITF

ITF Rules of Beach Tennis 2016 Page 4 of 28 1. THE COURT The court shall be a rectangle, 16.0 m long and for doubles matches, 8.0 m wide. For singles matches, the court shall be 4.5 m wide. The court shall be divided across the middle by a net suspended by a cord or metal cable which shall pass over or be attached to two net posts each at the minimum height of 1.7 m. The net shall be fully extended so that it completely fills the space between the two net posts and it must be of sufficiently small mesh to ensure that a ball cannot pass through it. The height of the net shall be 1.7 m at all parts of the net. A band shall cover the cord or metal cable and the top of the net. The maximum diameter of the cord or metal cable shall be 0.8 cm. The band shall be between 5.0cm and 6.35 cm deep on each side. The lines of the court shall be between 2.5cm and 5.0cm wide, except that the baselines may be up to 10.0 cm wide. The lines at the ends of the court are called baselines and the lines at the sides of the court are called sidelines All court measurements shall be made to the outside of the lines and all lines of the court shall be of the same colour clearly contrasting with the colour of the surface. All lines should be clearly visible before the start of each point. Court measurements may alter during a point due to natural movement of the lines in the sand but all lines should be returned to their original position before the start of each point. In addition to the court described above, the court measurements can be amended for junior beach tennis in accordance with Appendix VII. 2. PLAYING SURFACE The terrain must be composed of levelled sand, as flat and uniform as possible, free of rocks, shells and any other irregular objects. The playing surface must not present any danger of injury to the players. Note: Guidelines for minimum sand depth can be found in Appendix IX. 3. PERMANENT FIXTURES The permanent fixtures of the court include the backstops and sidestops, the spectators, the stands and seats for spectators, all other fixtures around and above the court and the chair umpire and line umpires when in their recognized positions. 4. BALLS Stage 2 (i.e. low compression "orange") balls, as outlined in the ITF Approved Tennis Balls & Classified Court Surfaces Booklet, are approved for play. Balls, which are approved for play under the Rules of Beach Tennis, must comply with the specifications in Appendix II. The event organisers must announce in advance of the event: a. The number of balls for play (2, 3, 4 or 6). b. The ball change policy, if any. Ball changes, if any, can be made either:

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