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25 Feb

How much you can earn in Beach tennis? Statistics + comparison to padel and beach volleyball

In 2019 there were 315 ITF tournaments in different categories around the world.In total in 2019 were played 15 tournaments higher categories ($15.000 and higher) which can be considered as professional tournaments of high level. 2 tournaments $50.0003 tournaments $35.0001 tournament $25.0009 tournaments $15.000The winner team receives 20% of a total tournament prize money (10% each player), finalists - 12%, semi-finalists - 5% and q-finalists - 2%. So it means if you reach quarterfinal of the ITF15.000$ where compete 8 best teams in the world you get only 150 dollars. The total amount of prize money of these high-level tournaments is $365.000 And total amount of prize money of the beach tennis tour (men and women) 2019 was $811.000 This means that $446.000 accounted for lower category tournaments, where even winning the tournament an athlete can only pay for the trip. So we can say that the total budget of a professional beach tennis tour is 365.000$. Meanwhile, Australian 2021 open 4th round looser received 320.000$. Let’s compare these numbers with padel and beach volleyball. The total prize money amount of World Padel Tour 2019 was $3.27 million. This was split between 20 tournaments of men’s tour and 18 tournaments of women’s tour. Here we are talking exactly about professional high-level tournaments. The total amount of prize money for the beach volleyball tour (men and women) 2017/2018 was $7.5 million. In total there were 44 tournaments in different categories. 17 of them had a prize money amount of 5.000$ per one gender. 16 tournaments had prize money 150.000$ and higher per one gender. The biggest tournament was the World Championship in Hamburg with $500.000 per gender.

03 Jan

New Sandever's purple/orange ball. Players opinion.

The talks about the new beach tennis ball started a long time ago, but due to the pandemic, the first big tournaments that were played with the new balls were the ITF50 and ITF100 in Gran Canaria at the end of 2020. Here we played with Sandever balls purple/orange color, which was very different from the balls we used to play before. So I decided to ask the players, how they like the new balls.Michele Cappelletti:“In general I like the ball. It’s pretty similar to the normal Sandever, talking about materials especially. And about the color, I don’t think it was the right ball for this tournament because in Gran Canaria we have dark sand and in my opinion, with dark sand, you need another color of the ball. So let’s call it a negative first test of the ball because it was not the right place to do it. It’s hard to find the perfect color. I know that Sandever and Sexy are testing some other new combinations, so we need to test more”.Nina Djordjevic:“The color didn't make a difference to me playing, but when I watched live videos, it was impossible to see, so I don't think that the color solved that problem.I liked that the ball is slower when playing, but it gets dead too fast, less than a set and the ball is already dead, so this should be improved. So all in all - I like the ball, but on TV it's really hard to see and the quality is too low, as the ball gets bad too fast”.Saulo Tejada:“I love it. Balls are very slow, which is perfect for me”.Castellano Hugo:“For sure I like these balls! I have only played two times with them and have reached two times the final so I think they are good. I don't give too much importance to the ball. I am happy to play and I didn't really realize that the colors changed. All balls are different so you have to adapt. I think that these balls are good for the game as you can make a strong smash and it's not too hard to make a good défense. Also on the return, you can have a lot of control with these balls. Even if the balls look really tired after thé warm up it's totally fine to play with”.Julia Chubarova:“If we compare these balls with Quicksand, I would say that Quicksand balls are better controlled. But with the new balls, it’s easier to defeat a hard smash so the rallies can be longer. Which is worse for me, but better for the game. The disadvantage of these balls is that they become soft and fluffy really fast. And the difference between the new ball and the same ball after 10 minutes is very big. It’s like you start to play the match with Babolat Orange and finish with old Artengo. About the color. I don’t know if it changed anything. During the day it’s quite the same, at twilight the orange/yellow ball is more visible. And on TV translation you don’t see the ball at all. I think it’s because of the dark sand in Gran Canaria. So maybe we need balls of different color depending on the sand color”.Antomi Ramos:“I didn’t like the ball at all. Very very difficult to see this ball during the rallies. I prefer the normal ball”.Sabrina Lopez:“Color is fine. It looks good, but the quality is not very good, it wears out very soon”.Manela Cunha:“For me personally I like the balls. I think they are not too soft or too hard. They are well balanced. But the color I don’t likeI think it is harder to see them if the light is not perfect. I don’t know if it is because of the 2 colors combined or if it is because of the color choice, but for me, I think, the color is worse.Manuel Ringsletter:“Comparing the changes the ball is good. Color has no effect on the game, not negative and not positive, visibility from outside is a bit better. It feels softer and heavier/bigger slowing down the game which is good. General feeling with the ball is good, still takes the spin, etc. One big problem is that it lasts only 2 games. After an extremely short time, the ball pressure goes down and the felt opens, changing the ball a lot. Quality in this case is poor and needs to improve while keeping the rest the same.When it's dark you see the ball a lot worse and I heard with lights it's impossible to see the ball when you play a high Lob. So color does do something and normal lighting will not be enough. Lights like in Aruba would be the minimum for night games

02 Jan

How is organized an International Beach tennis tournament during the Covid era?

Of course, it depends on the country, but I think many rules are quite similar.The biggest problem is that competition may be canceled at any time, therefore the entry deadlines are extended as much as possible. We signed up for the tournament in Gran Canaria just a week before the start. The 2nd problem is traveling. It is not always clear how to get to the competition. Flights are being canceled. Travel rules change constantly. We can also even talk about some kind of discrimination. It is clear that if the tournament is held in Europe, then the players from South America are in a worse position. For players from Russia, in turn, it is generally difficult to fly out of the country.Moreover, players from many European countries need to quarantine at home after visiting any other country.Of course, for professional athletes the rules are softer in many ways, but another problem is that the government of some countries may not even recognize beach tennis players as professional athletes...Now let’s move to the anti-Covid rules on the tournament...As we know, beach tennis is a part of the tennis family, so many rules apply to us. However, the money and forces of beach tennis tournament organizers are far from tennis ones, so we don’t have such strict rules with quarantine and covid-tests.Bubble rule. In beach tennis, it is not particularly enforced, but everyone is talking about it. The main thing is that tournament participants are advised not to leave the hotel except for matches, avoid public places and not communicate closely with other players. Again, nobody can check it. So you can freely do what you want outside the tournament site.You must wear a mask in the stadium (even on the beach), except when you are playing. This is monitored very strictly. At the stadium, you must keep a distance of 2 meters even with a partner, moreover, even with a member of your family. This is also being controlled.Before you could approach your court from any side of the beach, now there is an entrance and exit.Before the tournament, you need to fill out an online questionnaire, where, among other things, note that you have a negative covid test. In Gran-Canaria this test is also checked by an official hotel prior to check-in.Every day entering the site, you need to fill out a health questionnaire and measure the temperature.Outsiders cannot enter the stadium. Only a player and 2 attendants.There are no tribunes or spectators on the central court. In Gran Canaria on the central court instead of the stands were made lodges (tents). Each of them could accommodate up to 4 people.After every match cleaning ladies cleaned the chairs after the players. Ah yes, and no high-fives, kisses, or handshaking during and outside the match.

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