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Rules of Play
Blind Tennis adopts the ITF (International Tennis Federation) rules for standard tennis with the following exceptions:
COURT DIMENSIONS AND NET HEIGHT
B1 Court
Dimensions: 12,8 m. x 6,1 m
Service line = 1,8 m. from the baseline and
4,60 m from the net.
Net height = 83 cm.
Tactile lines on all lines except service
boxes.
B2, B3 & B4 Court
Dimensions: 18,28 m x 8,23 m
Service line = 2,74 m from the baseline and 6,40 m from the net.
Net height = 90 cm.
The Ball
A standard Blind Tennis audible ball
Colour of the ball: YELLOW or BLACK.
Colour of the court: Standard indoor court colour or clear wood gymnasium court. If players agree, they can decide to change the colour of the ball for the match they are going to play.
RACKET SIZE
Any racket accepted by the ITF in
accordance with court sizes.
For the B1 game a maximum of 23 inches.
For the B2, B3 game a maximum of 25 inches.
For the B4 game a maximum of 27 inches.
Server & Receiver
If needed, both the server and the receiver may ask an umpire, ball person, or volunteer about their own position on court, in order to locate themselves on the court.
BLINDFOLD
B1 players must wear a standard Paralympic approved blindfold.
The blindfold may be removed only once per
game and during pauses in between games.
Players should signal to the umpire if they
need to move the blindfold in any way.
BOUNCES
B1 & B2 = Up to 3 bounces.
B3 = Up to 2 bounces.
B4 = Up to 1 bounce.
VOLLEY
Volley is allowed for all the categories.
When to serve & Receive
- Before starting the service motion the server must call “Ready?” and wait for the receiver to reply “Yes”. The server then has 5 seconds to serve the ball during which time s/he may not alter their position on the court.
- The server must shout, “Play” immediately before hitting the ball.
PLAYER LOSES POINT
- A B1 or B2 player loses the point if s/he does not return the ball before the fourth bounce (3 bounces allowed).
- A B3 player loses the point if s/he does not return the ball before the third bounce (2 bounces allowed).
- A B4 player loses the point if s/he does not return the ball before the second bounce (1 bounce allowed).
- Note: At all times the first bounce must be within the court or, in the case of a serve, within the appropriate service court. Any additional bounces may be inside or outside the court.
- If the ball hits the player inside the court before the first bounce, it is a point for the opponent (all categories).
- If the ball hits the player when they are outside the court before the first bounce, it is a point for the player (all categories).
IBTA Rules of Play Documents
Click on the link to download full accessible document of the IBTA Rules of Play to be reviewed by the Executive Committee