Sport where hearing is key
Blind tennis. It seems like a difficult concept to grasp. However, consistent work, long hours of training, sharp hearing, and determination make it possible.
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“Instead of the usual tennis ball, blind tennis uses a special sound ball. Inside it are special sound-emitting elements. Players use it to determine the ball’s location, direction, speed, and their distance from it. The most important thing here is concentration, focus, and all attention directed to the sound,” explained Aidas Danilovas, director of the World Championship.
The court also differs from classical tennis. It is smaller, the net is lower, and the most important boundaries are marked with raised tactile lines that athletes feel with their feet or racket. This helps even completely blind players orient themselves in space.
Another important rule is that the ball is allowed to bounce up to three times.
“For example, in the B1 category, where completely blind athletes compete, three bounces are allowed. The same applies to the B2 category. In others, two or one bounce is allowed. This allows maintaining the game’s dynamics and simultaneously ensures that athletes with different visual impairments can compete on equal terms,” said A. Danilovas.
Why must there be complete silence in the hall during a match?
A blind tennis match has one particularly strict rule that spectators must adhere to: while a point is in play, complete silence must prevail in the stands.
“Theoretically, this rule also applies in tennis, but we have seen more than once how the stands erupt in applause even in the middle of a point. In blind tennis, every additional sound can prevent athletes from hearing the ball. Therefore, spectators only applaud after the point is over. That is why the atmosphere of blind tennis is often compared to, for example, golf – concentration here is no less important than skill,” said the Vilnius resident.
He stated that the first few minutes of acquaintance with blind tennis usually change people’s perception of this sport.
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“Blind tennis very quickly changes the spectator’s perspective. A person who comes sees not a disability, but a sport – speed, tactics, reaction, and immense professionalism. This is exactly what we want to show tennis lovers who will visit the World Championship in Vilnius.”
From Japan to Vilnius – a rapidly growing sport
Modern blind tennis was born in Japan in the 1980s. Later, it spread to Europe, America, Asia, and Australia, and today various international competitions take place on almost all continents.
In Lithuania, this sport took its first steps only a few years ago. The first training sessions began in 2022, a community soon formed, and Lithuanian athletes started participating in international tournaments. Today, about 30 players train in the country, with blind tennis centers located in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, and Šiauliai. 7 Lithuanian tennis players already have international classifications and are collecting world ranking points.
The country’s most prominent player, Karolis Verbliugevičius, is a medalist at world championships, and in 2025, he won the European champion title in Warsaw. This year, together with the Lithuanian national team, he will aim for medals at the World Championship held at home.
World Championship – an opportunity to discover unknown tennis
The organizers hope that at the end of August, people will be drawn to the SEB arena not only by the desire to support Lithuanian athletes but also by the curiosity to see with their own eyes a sport that few have even heard of until now.
“We want to show that even such a disability is not an obstacle for persistent, athletic, and passionate people. I can say that getting acquainted with blind tennis live, seeing the world’s blind tennis stars live – is truly an interesting experience. Therefore, I really want to invite everyone to the ‘SEB arena’, especially since the event itself is free,” said A. Danilovas.
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