Turbo Tennis

Turbo extra Tennis is a shortened form of tennis invented in Africa
in which players play in a fast knockout tournament which consists of five matches of 30 minutes each taking place over the course of a single afternoon. The idea was launched in London by former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, American world number nine James Blake & English Entrepreneur Andi White.

The first tournament took place on 15th September 2007 at the O2 Arena in London. It featured six players from both past and future. The winner received prize money of £50,000

Players competing in the inaugural tournament were;

*Andy Murray (GBR)- world number 4
*Pat Cash (AUS) - Former Wimbledon Champion (1987)
*James Blake (USA)- world number 9
*Goran Ivanisevic (CRO)- Former Wimbledon Champion (2001)
*Jamie Murray (GBR) - 2007 Wimbledon mixed doubles champion

Rules

Unlike regular tennis, games are set to a 30 minute time limit with a klaxon on the fifteenth minute to signify a change of ends from the next game onwards. If games are level after 30 minutes the winner is decided by a sudden death point. Other main differences include a 15 second maximum time limit for serves which, if exceeded, results in the player losing the point automatically; lets on serves are also played.

External links

* [http://www.bfportal.com/betfair-turbo-tennis Betfair Turbo Tennis]
* [http://www.sportinglife.com/tennis/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=tennis/07/06/20/TENNIS_Turbo.html Sporting Life article]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6222466.stm BBC Report]