Tennis has always been associated as a rich man’s sport. Memberships at exclusive tennis clubs were always restricted to the rich and influential, unlike football, it’s a sport that requires proper coaching which is an added expense. Adding to that is the cost of equipment such as racquets, balls, strings, shoes, shock absorbers and it all amounts to a sport that has rarely been accessible to those who could not afford it.
However, with the introduction of touchtennis, that perception has drastically changed. Not only has the sport never been more affordable, it can be played on any flat surface with no added expenses with the company of your friends and family. In an exclusive interview with SPOGO, we learn more about this unique initiative with the founder of touchtennis himself, Mr. Rashid Ahmad who spoke about coming up with the idea, the difference between touchtennis and traditional tennis, overcoming challenges, making people active and future goals!
Q 1) How did you come up with the idea of touchtennis, what sort of reception has it received and how quickly has the sport grown?
In all fairness, Tennis as a sport has been around for so many years and all I did was use the space I had available to play with my daughter and then with my friends. We started with a silly idea, some friends and I and before we knew it, it grew into something a lot bigger than what we thought it was ever going to be.
Q 2) What is the difference between touchtennis and the traditional format of tennis?
The main difference is that we use a compact court which is a quarter of the size of a tennis court. Other than that we use a foam ball, a 21-inch racket and a compact net so the court is much more condensed and allows us to play the compact version of the game. The scoring is very similar, 15-30-40. The main differences are that you only get one serve, and that if the ball clips the net and goes in, it is considered in play as there are no lets. The other fun rule is that you are allowed to throw your racket to make a shot. You can do that and can continue to play on.
Q 3) What are some of the challenges that you have faced as the founder of touchtennis? How is the sport being promoted around the world?
As far as the sport is concerned, it's never something we’ve actively tried to promote. We create content and we share it on the internet on various platforms, but we don’t actively market the sport to anybody. That has made it very simple for us. We just have fun playing and that is all we ever meant to do. We were never really out to globally dominate some sport. We just wanted to have fun, some friends and I. Now, we have ended up having barbeques all around the world. We somehow ended up in India and we have a license there and in other countries like South Korea, Italy, France, Spain, the UK, America, Saudi Arabia and all these countries.
Q 4) How important of a role does touchtennis play in making people live active, healthier lives because its more accessible than the traditional format of tennis?
As you saw during the lockdown, nobody was able to play tennis at all. It was impossible to go to a tennis club and play, the only alternative was to play in your garden. Touchtennis really exploded in the last couple of years because everyone was able to play the sport in their garden, either with our equipment or buying cheaper equipment from somewhere else. It does make tennis more affordable, friendly and welcoming than other adaptations out there that have very expensive equipment. Some of the paddles you can buy are 150 pounds whereas with touchtennis, you can buy the entire court including the nets, racquets and balls for 150 pounds.
Q 5) What is your goal and ambition for touchtennis in the future? How do you plan to achieve it?
Without giving too much away, the plan has always been rather loosely put together. We have never really had a concrete plan, Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has got a plan until they get punched in the face” and the same goes for touchtennis, we don’t ever want to get punched in the face, we just want to have fun! As the sport grows, my dream is to have kids from the streets win major tournaments and earn life changing amounts of money. That’s the dream and I’m looking at this as the route out of poverty for so many people and to change our perceptions of one another. My other dream is to have a touchtennis court across the India and Pakistan border, so that people can play on it and realize there are really no differences apart from what politicians tell us. If we can do that and have some fun along the way, what a great way to live!
