Along with your towel and sunscreen, be sure to pack your tennis racket in your bag this summer because beach tennis is the newest and hottest sport to hit a beach near you.

Combine a regulation beach volleyball court, a tennis racquet, a low-pressure tennis ball and the beach and what you get is beach tennis. Developed in Aruba in 2000, beach tennis was brought to New York and five years later Beach Tennis USA launched the sport in North America. In May of 2008, Tony Brannon, avid tennis player and entrepreneur together with Mark Cordeiro, director of tennis at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel, brought the sport here to the island and launched Beach Tennis Bermuda.

The first of weekly beach tennis matches were held last month at Horseshoe Bay Beach and Mr. Brannon sees that the sport is quickly catching on. "Week by week we are seeing more and more people signing up to play - people stop and watch as they walk by and ask how they can get involved," stated Mr. Brannon.

Played in doubles format, matches are played every Saturday morning at Horseshoe Bay Beach from 10 AM to 2 PM. Like volleyball, to goal of the game is to get the tennis ball to the other half of the court while ensuring the ball does not touch the ground or go out of bounds. Scoring is similar to a tennis match, however, there is only one set per match and players only get one serve per point. A team is deemed the winner if they win eight games by two games (also known as an eight game pro set).

The game is fast paced and is appropriate for recreational players and advanced tennis players alike. "Even if you haven't had much experience with tennis, you're going to love this sport, it's really easy to adapt to the game," said Mr. Brannon.

Mr. Cordeiro, who has been the tennis director at Fairmont Southampton for the past 14 years, thinks the sport is especially appealing to the advanced players as well, "the physical work out of beach tennis is tremendous and it is great for volley work as well by making players adhere to the continental grip."

Unlike a hard playing surface, the beach is a lower impact surface and is kinder on the joints and knees. Playing on the beach isn't bad on the eyes either. "Where else in the world do you have a setting like this (Bermuda)? The view, the softness of the sand and the layout of the beach make Bermuda a perfect place to play beach tennis," said Mr. Cordeiro.

It didn't take long for beach tennis to peak the interest of the island's top local tennis players. "Five of the top six tennis players on the island played with us last Saturday and they all seemed to enjoy themselves," added Mr. Cordeiro.

Andy Bray, the island's top-ranked player also joined in on the fun. "It's brilliant. It's a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon at the beach doing something active. Before I knew it, I looked down at my watch and I had been playing for three hours - the time flew," he said.

To add to the growing excitement, Beach Tennis Bermuda will host their first International Beach Tennis Tournament from September 19-21, 2008 at Horseshoe Bay Beach. The top professional players from around the world, including the reigning World Champions Matteo Marighella and Alex Mingozzi from Italy have been invited to participate.

The tournament will include a Pro Division as well as a Men's, Women's and Mixed Open. The format of the tournament will allow local players to face off against some of the best players in the sport and Andy Bray ready for the challenge. "It's always good to play against the top guys in any sport to see how they play and win. Beach tennis is different from regular tennis, you can't win by just hitting the ball hard, it's all about touch and placement," he said.

Matches will be played throughout the weekend and will culminate with a beach party featuring The Merrymen, one of the Caribbean's hottest calypso bands along with a DJ and a local Bermuda band.

One of the main sponsors of Beach Tennis Bermuda, the Fairmont Southampton Hotel, is also the official hotel for the tournament. Shelley Meszoly, regional director of sales and marketing, Fairmont Bermuda, feels that with the growing global popularity of the sport, the tournament will help further raise Bermuda's profile as a desirable tourist and sporting destination. "Beach Tennis Bermuda is another chance for Bermuda to be in the spotlight. With our spectacular natural beaches, hosting an international beach tennis tournament allows Bermuda to show itself to its best possible advantage," she said.

To sign up to play Bermuda beach tennis on Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm contact Mark Cordeiro at 535-7800 or markbermudabeachtennis.com or Tony Brannon at tonybermuda.com.

For more information on the International Beach Tennis Tournament or learn more about beach tennis, visit www.beachtennisbermuda.com.