Barbados Prime Minister calls on Ghana to adopt Road Tennis
The Government of Barbados in a bid to strengthen friendly ties with Ghana, has appealed to Ghana to adopt its local sport, Road Tennis, to the collection of sporting disciples in the country.
The Prime Minister was speaking at the Ghana-Barbados Business Roundtable in Accra, where some Ghanaian private sector companies met with the Barbadian delegation to discuss possible investment opportunities available to both countries.
She said Ghana in developing the discipline could enable the country to put up athletes and also popularise the sport with the aim of making the discipline reach Olympics status.
“I would love Ghanaians to embrace Road Tennis and make it global. Barbados invented this game and it’s perfect for communities with limited space in the city center.”
“Our aim is to make it an Olympic Sport and if we can work with you (Ghana) to popularise it that will be a huge step in Africa with Ghana leading the way,” she added.
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Road tennis is a variation of tennis invented in Barbados in the 1930s, by primarily local working-class Barbadians, who could not afford to play lawn tennis.
Though mainly concentrated in the island nation of Barbados, it has been further introduced to California and the wider Caribbean.
It is a sport open to all and is played on the streets and on courts. It requires no sports attire; bare feet are fine.
There is nominal equipment: an 8-inch net, a tennis ball (bald is fine) and wooden paddles. With its fast, close volleys, it looks like table tennis outdoors without a table.
The Court is the road, internationally it is played on tarmac on a 21ft by 10ft court.
