the sport grew exponentially after the 1990s and today accounts for more than 300 000 official athletes world wide. the federation of beach tennis of rio de janeiro state (fbterj) was founded in 2008 - it was the first official organization for the sport in the country - up until today, it is the most influential organization for promoting beach tennis.
adăo chagas, a pioneer of beach tennis in brazil, is one most experienced players in the country - he is a core member of the beach tennis academy of rio de janeiro and is working to spread the popularity of the sport today. chagas gathered several firsts in his lengthy career, including first team to represent brazil in international competition, ravenna 2008, and first to defeat italy in aruba 2009 .
