Not terribly long ago, windsurfing was (and still is) one of Aruba’s most popular sports. Aruba hosts world-class windsurfing competition High Winds each July, attracting some of the world’s most serious athletes in the world who dart across the ocean like swift seagulls.

But now there’s a new sport on the block which proves that Aruba is as much a fit island as it is a beach-lovers’ island. Indeed, Beach tennis has spread like wildfire to almost every well-known and off the beaten path beach.

Here are a few tips to deepen your understanding (and love) of this sport:

• Scoring for beach tennis is pretty much like tennis: the 15-30-40 and deuce rules apply
• The “bat” used in the sport is technically a paddle racket, and is much smaller than a tennis bat, and much lighter(although not as light as a ping pong bat). The same aspects of tennis like forehand and backhand etc. apply to Beach Tennis
• Beach tennis, as the name implies, is played on beach sand in a professional volleyball court
• If you’re unsure about what to do, or how fast to run, enroll in lessons at Aruba’s Beach Tennis Association Member (check out the membership schedule here http://www.beachtennisaruba.com/register/)
• Moomba Beach is the place to flex your beach tennis muscles, if you’re a rookie at any rate. While the beach and bar come alive at night, people play beach tennis and drink cocktails all night long!

The rules of Beach Tennis are a mix of volleyball and beach tennis rules, but the thrill of running on the sand and getting that perfect backhand or volley is high: everything moves at lightning speed! The court is a standard beach volleyball court 30 feet wide and 60 feet long.

Aruba’s love of beach tennis is so strong that several bars offer the ability for customers to volley right after a shot of tequila or Aruba Arriba. Now isn’t that something worth flying to Aruba for?

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Photo credit: Charu Suri