Frontenis
Played within the ‘pelota court’ of thirty meters, Frontenis is a sport in which rackets and a rubber ball is used. It is a variation of Basque Pelota. It can be played as singles or doubles and you can use also use tennis racket to play this game. Previously, it was a popular game that people of Spain, Argentina and Mexico love to play. But, today it is played in about eighteen countries around the world.
Frontenis originated in Mexico in the 1900s where players used rackets to hit the ball against the wall. Originally, it was named ‘frontontenis’ (from fronton meaning ‘pelota court’ and tenis that stands for tennis in Spanish) and afterwards its name was reduced to just ‘frontenis'.
In 1940, the sport came to the Iberian Peninsula and after that it spread to the other European countries. In 1952, Frontenis was recognized by IFBP as an international sport and its first World Competition was held in Spain (Donostia-San Sebastian)
The playing court consists of three walls, the front wall, Left/help wall and rebound wall. This court is 30 meters in length, 10 meters in width and it should be 10 meters high. These walls have signs for proper service distance and also to help players situating themselves in the court. Rules of playing this game vary all the way through national to international level.
Similar Sports
- Valencian Frontó — modified Valencian Pilota version of the original Basque Pelota game. The players don't stand face-to-face as in the more popular Valencian Pilota but share a common playing area.
- Basque Pelota — a range of fast-paced sports in which teams alternatively hit a ball against a wall.
- Tamburello — racquet and a ball based sport from Italy.
Related Pages
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports
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