With a calculated shot, Rodrigo de Nascimento returns the ball towards an angle of the sand court unreachable for his opponents, on the other side of the net. Barefoot, in shorts and a T-shirt, he enjoys Sunday in a beach setting… just a few blocks from Paulista Avenue.
“Beach tennis has become the beach of the Paulistano,” this 33-year-old lawyer, a Sao Paulo resident, told AFP at the end of the game.
The explosion of this sport in recent years has opened up an alternative for São Paulo residents, mostly from the middle and upper classes, to put their feet on the sand in the midst of routine, the desire of the majority in the largest metropolis in Latin America. , which lacks beaches.
“Although it was born in Italy, beach tennis has a Brazilian flavor, with the beach, sun, music… that’s why it worked here,” says Nascimento, who plays up to five days a week.
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That ‘tasty’ atmosphere also attracted Nile Mannrich, who started playing ‘beach tennis’ a couple of years ago with a class during his vacation on the beach and never left it again.
“For those who spend 12 hours in an office in Sao Paulo, having the chance to do a sport with their feet in the sand is very gratifying,” says the 55-year-old businesswoman, “looked” in a pink tank top with a matching skirt and mirrored glasses.
Beach tennis “is a mix between traditional tennis, beach volleyball and badminton,” which can be played alone or in pairs, explains Roberto Fadul, director of the beach tennis department of the São Paulo Tennis Federation (FPT).
But unlike other activities, just a bit of coordination is enough to join the trend that includes children and adults.
“There is no technical barrier that requires months of practice to be entertained,” says Fabio Costa, a member of the BZ Beach Club, located in Jardins, a wealthy neighborhood in Sao Paulo.
