Eight new touch tennis courts will be  opened by professional tennis players at Churchfields Recreation Ground in Weybridge tomorrow, May 31.

Josh Goodall and Chris Eaten are among the British players supporting their friend and touch tennis founder Rashid Ahmad at the launch.

Touch tennis, which was created in Surrey in 2002,  now has 1,300 ranked players in 12 countries and is hailed as a dynamic alternative to the mainstream game which relies on deft stroke play as opposed to raw strength.

Ahmad boasts: “I used to get thrashed all the time in real tennis, so I decided to invent a new game. Now I can beat guys like Josh on a touch tennis court.”

He explains that touch tennis is not about elitism, saying: “You don’t need a club, you don’t even need a court, just a bit of space, a couple of bats and a net.

“When my friends and I first started, we played over a table.”

Those not willing to sacrifice their kitchen table, but keen to hit some balls with pro players should head to Churchfields at 6.30pm tomorrow.