By Mai Nojima
Circulation Editor
While typical teenagers go to the beach to swim, tan or surf, freshmen Blake and Tanner Suard play beach tennis, a sport that combines aspects of normal tennis and beach volleyball.
Beach tennis, formally organized in the United States in 2005, is a relatively new sport. The Suard twins decided to start playing competitively two and a half years ago with a little extra push from their coach, Danny Young.
“Our coach used to be the number-one beach tennis player in the United States,” Blake Suard said. “He encouraged us to try a local Halloween tournament. We then realized we wanted to continue playing competitively with one another.”
Players play beach tennis using paddles and a deflated tennis ball. Similar to volleyball, if the ball touches the ground, the volley is over and the player earns a point.
“Beach tennis [compared to tennis] is very easy on the body,” Tanner Suard said. “There is no jarring of the joints on hard surface because the sand is forgiving.”
Due to the low number of people playing this new sport, there are currently just adult tournaments. Tanner and Blake are two of the few teenagers competing in these local tournaments in Hermosa.
“Playing beach tennis has given them a lot of confidence because they are the only kids in the sport at Costa and have had to interact and compete with adults that are very competitive,” their mother Jamie Suard said. “I think that it has made them feel special and unique that other kids their age are not experiencing.”
Playing beach tennis has provided the twins with a new sense of community within the sport.
“The most enjoyable part of playing beach tennis is when you get to meet all of the people at the tournament and socialize with them,” Tanner Suard said.
So far, they have been in five local and one international tournament with great success, getting as far as the quarterfinals.
“As they continue to improve with practice, they have the potential to be great,” Young said. “We are trying to make beach tennis an Olympic sport, and right now the boys are on the right track in the process of becoming professional athletes. ”
Blake and Tanner continue to pursue their beach tennis career and are optimistic about making it to the top.
“We hope to improve and win more tournaments and also spread the sport to more people so they can experience the fun as well,” Blake said. “In the future, we want to play at more events internationally in order to gain more exposure playing at a higher level.”
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