Brazilian tennis

brazilian tennis is a parlor game derived from tennis but played on a small court with only the feet and head. the game is entirely of american origin – its description as “brazilian” rests on the idea that brazilians “like to use their feet.” coincidentally, the world’s number-one ranked brazilian tennis player was born in brazil.

history

the game was first conceived by j.d. doughney in the summer of 2007. it was further developed and refined by the field development department at glacéau, the company known for producing vitaminwater. in only a few short months, brazilian tennis has become an internationally known phenomenon enjoyed by a rapidly-growing base of players.

the court and equipment

brazilian tennis is played on a carpeted court that is 140” long by 72” wide. the “net” is 16” high and 8” deep. the game’s original net is a combination of one 26” long rectangular box in the center and two short office trash cans on each side. this will soon be replaced by a formal die-cut and printed corrugated cardboard assembly with a flat center and side gutters replicating the original net.

brazilian tennis is played with a white, smartwater-branded “pet” ball. although similar in appearance to a tennis ball, pet balls are “dead” and will easily flatten when stepped on.

proper shoes are an important part of the game but no specific footwear is required, and choice of shoes is entirely a matter of personal preference. popular choices for shoes include nike basketball sneakers, ballet-style soccer shoes, new balance 578s, pointy elf-style dress shoes and the notorious “illegal” lacoste paddle shoes.

game play and rules

brazilian tennis is a one-on-one singles game. play starts with a serve; the server bounces the ball behind the back line of his court and kicks it into his receiver’s court. in serving, contact with the ball must be made behind the service line. if an act of service (bounce or contact) illegally crosses the line, the point must be re-served. if a serve hits any part of the net and lands fairly inside the receiver’s court, it is a let, and the serve is re-played. if the serve does not land inside the receiver’s box, it results in loss of serve. there are no “faults” or second serves.

when a legal serve lands fairly in the receiver’s court, the receiver must return the ball back into the server’s court before it bounces twice. play continues with a rally as in tennis, with each player hitting the ball into his opponent’s court.

points are only scored on service (side-out scoring), as volleyball used to be played. the first player to reach seven points, with at least two more than his opponent, is the winner.

a player may use his feet, legs (below the inseam) or head to volley the ball.

all of the following result in loss of service/loss of point.
*hitting the ball with the hands, arms, chest or pelvis
*contacting the ball twice in the act of returning it (a double-hit)
*play off the ceiling
*physical contact with the net
*hitting the ball into the trash cans/gutters
*hitting the ball onto the flat area of net without getting it over into the opponent’s court
*hitting any natural obstruction surrounding the opponent’s court without first hitting the floor of opponent's court
*rushing the net on serve
*touching or being hit with the ball on the fly, without catching it clean or returning it, behind the baseline. all parts of a players body and clothes are in play. thus, any ball which otherwise appears to be going “out” and hits a receiving player on the fly is considered to be “in” – unless the receiving player catches the ball cleanly.

house rules

since brazilian tennis is played in a functioning office environment, several confounding obstructions affect game play and have resulted in the adaptation of the following rules:

after crossing the net, a ball must land in the opponent’s court without touching any obstructions to be considered fair. if a ball touches any permanent obstruction bounding the court after it has landed fairly in, the ball is still live and the receiver must play it back. to compensate for these obstructions, it is legal for the receiver to hit the ball off of permanent fixtures on his own side of the court, “on the way up,” towards his oppponent’s court. this rule only applies to permanent fixtures, not printers, inboxes or cubicle dividers -- the guiding principle here is "in the black."

after one player has reached four points, both players switch sides. this is to balance out the natural asymmetries of the court.

first service is determined by rock-paper-scissors. failure to properly deliver either a rock, paper or scissors is a fault and results in automatic loss of first service. it is customary to deliver on three rather than at 1,2,3, go.

rating system and rankings

in the early history of the game, it became clear that with a large field of participants, it was difficult to determine the relative abilities of the various players. at the urging of glacéau svp of marketing rohan oza, future commissioner jason gers sought out to establish a formal ranking system that would allow all players to measure their status. gers adapted the elo rating system (the same used in professional chess). the accessability of the rating system has provided an incentive for all players to compete and enhanced the popularity and staying-power of the game. the success of the rating system earned gers his status as commissioner.

brazilian tennis ratings include one variation from the elo system: the addition of bonus points for tournament winners (64 pts), runners-up (32 pts) and semi-finalists (16 pts).

the definitive number one-rated player in the world is jason camillos. he has consistently retained the highest individual rating for the majority of the game's history and has defended his rank by winning all IBTA invitational tournaments. eighteen players currently have active rankings. to have one’s rating enter the world rankings, a player must have five games played and be in the good standing of the league.

governing body

the governing body for brazilian tennis is the IBTA (or “ibratenna”), the international brazilian tennis association. the executive rules committeee consists of all ranked field development employees in the good standing of the league. the IBTA governs rules, tournaments, court improvements, ratings and publicity. the league shies from disciplinary action as generally unnecessary and counter to the informal environment that spawned the game. however, one player is currently under indefinite suspension for the infraction of whining. like many institutions of power, the IBTA’s authority was not established without casualties. in any case, the decision remains controversial.

for further information on brazilian tennis and/or to acquire regulation equipment, e-mail braziliantennis@gmail.com.

see also
*sepak takraw
*brazil
*parlor games
*glacéau

external links
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