It was so much fun, Divi decided to do it again! This year, from November 12 through the 17th, there will be another big International beach tennis tournament in Aruba. Called the Divi Resorts Aruba International Beach Tennis Event, it is already one of the most popular tournaments on the calendar of the ITF, the International Tennis Federation, which happens to be the same governing body of tennis, as most of us know it. You might think beach tennis sounds a bit crazy, but this combination of tennis and volleyball is indeed an official sport and coming on strong all over the world.
There will be more than 1000 players serving, volleying, acing, spiking and diving in the sand of Eagle Beach come November. The number of participants, a combination of professionals and amateurs, is an increase over last year’s event. Players hail from Aruba, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Columbia, France, Germany, Italy, St. Martin, Martinique, Mexico, The Netherlands, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the US. The prize money is $25,000, another indicator that the sport is growing.
Beach Tennis Aruba, the local organizer of the event, promises a festival of fun. As the host, Divi Resorts promises lots of excitement and special rates at three different Divi hotels: Divi Aruba Phoenix Beach, Divi Village Golf & Beach Resort and Divi Dutch Village. All resorts are within walking distance of the event venue.
Beach tennis combines the fun and social nature of volleyball with the fast pace of tennis, according to Beach Tennis USA. Check out their website for more background on the sport. By the way, Beach Tennis USA is working closely with the ITF to get beach tennis into the Olympics. So, you might say you saw it first in Aruba.
