Beach Tennis USA will hold the first major event of its 2007 National Tour, the Sunshine State Smash, on Saturday & Sunday, May 5-6 on the beach at Ocean Drive, between 8th and 9th Streets, in Miami Beach, FL. The tournament will be taped for broadcast on television.

On Saturday, the Men’s Pro tournament will kick off at 11:00 a.m., with the finals taking place at 6:00 p.m. The Women’s Pro and Men’s & Women’s Amateur competition will be held on Sunday. There will be free instructional play all weekend and equipment is provided courtesy of Head and Penn, official equipment suppliers of Beach Tennis USA. Players from over 10 countries, including Italy, Brazil, Aruba, and the U.S. will compete for the $3,000 first-place prize, plus a guaranteed spot in the 2007 National Beach Tennis Championship in Long Beach, New York on September 1-2. Players wishing to compete can register online at http://www.beachtennisusa.net/.

Beach tennis, which was launched in the U.S. as a pro and recreational sport in 2005 by real estate developer Marc Altheim, is a true hybrid sport that combines tennis and beach volleyball into one exciting and fast-paced game. Played on a regulation beach volleyball court, two players on each team use standard tennis racquets to hit a depressurized tennis ball back and forth over the net without letting it hit the sand.

Returning to tournament competition in Miami will be two-time defending National Beach Tennis Champions, Phil Whitesell and Chris Henderson, of Charleston, South Carolina. The Sunshine State Smash also marks Beach Tennis USA’s first nationally televised event, as it will be taped for broadcast on both The Tennis Channel and SportsNet New York. Check local listings in your area for upcoming airdates.

About Beach Tennis USA
Based in New York City, Beach Tennis USA is committed to introducing Americans of all ages to the competitive excitement and recreational benefits of beach tennis. Company founders Marc Altheim and Fredric Finkelstein also established a governing body, the National Beach Tennis Association, in anticipation of the sport being played competitively throughout the U.S. To learn more, visit http://www.beachtennisusa.net/.