Blind tennis originated in Japan in the 1980s and now it has become one of the most popular blind and visually impaired sports around.
This October (29th and 30th), Metro Sports and Social Club for the Visually Impaired are holding an open tennis tournament in Islington. If you, or anyone you know, would like to enter then please get in touch and we will send you the application form.
For those of you unfamiliar with the game, we have put together this guide to help you understand how it works:
- As with all ball games adapted for the blind and visually impaired sound is key – you must be able to hear the ball travel through the air. The 'soundball' is a table tennis ball with ball bearings inside for weight and noise; encased inside a foam casing which will not hurt a player should it hit them. It takes a lot of skill and practise for players to judge a ball's height, direction and speed from the sound. It is advisable to start with some simple sound awareness exercises and drills.
- It is important to find a quiet(ish) place to play for the player to hear the ball. For players with some sight light/shade distraction from sunlight or confusing court colouration can also impact playing ability.
- Players are classified according to their visual ability (see below). The server will call out 'ready' and the receiver 'yes' before play starts. The one major rule difference is that three bounces of the ball are allowed for totally blind player (B1) and two bounces for B2 or B3 visually impaired players.
- Players use mini-tennis racquets, which have shorter grips.
- Court markings are reinforced by having string such as baling twine fixed down with masking tape, which the players can feel with their feet if they wear thin soled shoes or locate with their racquet.
- A mini tennis net is used for B1 (totally blind) players, with a typical tennis court and normal net height for B2 or B3 visually impaired players.
- B1 or totally blind players play with a blindfold and play on a badminton court or with these dimensions marked on a tennis court. These court dimensions are 13.4m x 6.1m.
Visual Ability Classifications:
B1 - No light perception at all in either eye up to and including the ability to perceive light, with the inability to recognize objects or contours in any direction and at any distance.
B2 - Ability to recognize objects or contours up to a visual acuity of 20/60 and/or a degree of field of vision of five degrees.
B3 - 2/60 to 6/60 vision and/or field of vision between 5 and 20 degrees.
Please note that Metro's tournament is open to B2, B3 and B4 players.
After the event we will update the website with a feature on the event itself.
