Frontenis
Encyclopedia
Frontenis is a Basque pelota speciality that is played in a 30 meters pelota court
using rackets
(a tennis
racket or a frontenis racket, which is quite similar). It can be played in pairs or one versus one, but this last one hasn’t got international representation.
Frontenis consists of one player of the pair has to hit the ball with the racket (before the ball bounces twice in the court) and it must hit the front wall and then it must bounce in the court. The best stroke is that the opponent can’t return. There are many technical moves to get this objective.
Frontenis demands having a great mobility, skill, physical agility, mental agility, coordination and training.
There are a few components that make up this sport:
Frontenis has been played only in Mexico
, Spain
, Argentina
and few countries more for many years, but now it is played in approximately eighteen countries all over the world.
brought terrible consequences to pelota. It almost disappeared, and it was relegated to few areas in Spain, France, Italy
and Belgium
.
The modern modalities of pelota were established at the end of the 19th century, and they were exported to all over the world. The Americas became a great importer of this sport. That’s the way frontenis arose.
The history of frontenis starts in Mexico in 1900. The most famous tennis players (Buttlin, Sharp, Crowle, Pérez Verdia, Maldonado, Clifford...) started playing with rackets and a tennis ball hitting it against a wall. This new game, with his first modern pelota court, built in Fernando Torreblanca’s house (Mexico), was called “frontontenis” (from fronton and tenis — “pelota court” and “tennis” in Spanish, respectively), and later its name was reduced to “frontenis”.
Because of the increase of the number of pelota players, pelota courts proliferated, and frontenis expanded from Mexico to neighbour countries and later to Europe. Frontenis was introduced into the Iberian Peninsula
in the 1940s from the Canary Islands
, which had several years playing it. In the 1960s, Olympic ball was introduced the from Mexico, and a lot of Mexican players used to travel to Spain and they used to teach the technique. The game and all its innovations were taken from Spain to other countries of Europe.
Every European country that plays pelota is member of the Union of European Basque Pelota Federations (UEBPF), and all the countries that play Basque pelota are members of the International Federation of Basque Pelota
(IFBP).
Frontenis (recognized by the IFBP) started being played in international competitions in 1952, in the First World Championship in Donostia-San Sebastian (Spain).
The time that the player can take to do these things depends on the velocity, rhythm and difficulty of the match.
of the Very Short type — 30 meters long, 10 meters wide and 10 meters high. Its walls must have signs to establish the distances of service, and to help the player to situate itself in the court. There are several parts that form the court:
The rackets have changed a lot since the beginning of professional frontenis (at the beginning of the 20th century).
At first, rackets were made of wood and the strings were made of animal guts. They were very heavy and they didn’t provide a comfortable play, but they were used for more than thirty years, until the times of the great player Jose, the “Poison” Becerra, who revolutionized this sport. Companies that made tennis products started to manufacture products for frontenis since this player started to win championships. In the 90s a Mexican company, “Master Pro”, was created only to manufacture frontenis products. Recently, some specializing in frontenis companies has been created.
Simple strings is used in Preolympic frontenis, and the tension varies depending on the ball — PENN (15-19 kilos), VIP (17-21 kilos), or CHAMPION ELITE (17-23 kilos). Double strings (duplication of 4 horizontal strings and 3 vertical strings) is used in Olympic frontenis, and it is to give more effect to the ball. This modality demands higher tensions, between 21 and 27 kilos.
) is the Olympic ball.
In 1916 somebody had the idea of playing with a racket and a tennis ball in a big pelota court. There was too much space and, in addiction, the bounce of the ball was very reduced, so frontenis was seen as a very slow sport. Pelota court was reduced and the cover of the ball was got out. Later, balls were imported from England and the United States, and they were made of oilcloth, looking for a better movement.
During the Second World War, balls stopped arriving, and the necessity of keep playing demands Francisco Beltran to look for the solution. And it was: injecting pressure to the balls, putting them a patch, and then, vulcanizing them. After the Second World War, Beltran imported a lot of oilcloth, and he started investigating and manufacturing balls. In a few years, he started to make them in the shape of two eights, instead of two middles.
A few years later was founded the first frontenis balls company, “201”, founded by Francisco Beltran (who gave the knowledge) and Doctor Jesus Ledezma (who gave the money). The ball has kept developing until today.
Fronton (court)
A Fronton is a two walled or single walled court used as playing area for Basque pelota.-History:The front wall of the first frontons in villages was usually the wall of a church...
using rackets
Racquet
A racquet or racket is a sports implement consisting of a handled frame with an open hoop across which a network of cord is stretched tightly. It is used for striking a ball in such games as squash, tennis, racquetball, and badminton...
(a tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
racket or a frontenis racket, which is quite similar). It can be played in pairs or one versus one, but this last one hasn’t got international representation.
Frontenis consists of one player of the pair has to hit the ball with the racket (before the ball bounces twice in the court) and it must hit the front wall and then it must bounce in the court. The best stroke is that the opponent can’t return. There are many technical moves to get this objective.
Frontenis demands having a great mobility, skill, physical agility, mental agility, coordination and training.
There are a few components that make up this sport:
- The player.
- The rules.
- The court.
- The racket.
- The technique, the tactic and the strategy.
Frontenis has been played only in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and few countries more for many years, but now it is played in approximately eighteen countries all over the world.
History
According to many historians, Greeks used to play pelota in times of the Greek Empire, in 600 B.C. Due to the wars and the conquests in times of the Roman Empire, pelota expanded over Europe. Kings and nobles had their own courts in the 12th century. France was the greatest European potency in pelota. There were two modalities: longue paume and courte paume, and they were similar to the game played today. The French RevolutionFrench Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
brought terrible consequences to pelota. It almost disappeared, and it was relegated to few areas in Spain, France, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
The modern modalities of pelota were established at the end of the 19th century, and they were exported to all over the world. The Americas became a great importer of this sport. That’s the way frontenis arose.
The history of frontenis starts in Mexico in 1900. The most famous tennis players (Buttlin, Sharp, Crowle, Pérez Verdia, Maldonado, Clifford...) started playing with rackets and a tennis ball hitting it against a wall. This new game, with his first modern pelota court, built in Fernando Torreblanca’s house (Mexico), was called “frontontenis” (from fronton and tenis — “pelota court” and “tennis” in Spanish, respectively), and later its name was reduced to “frontenis”.
Because of the increase of the number of pelota players, pelota courts proliferated, and frontenis expanded from Mexico to neighbour countries and later to Europe. Frontenis was introduced into the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
in the 1940s from the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, which had several years playing it. In the 1960s, Olympic ball was introduced the from Mexico, and a lot of Mexican players used to travel to Spain and they used to teach the technique. The game and all its innovations were taken from Spain to other countries of Europe.
Every European country that plays pelota is member of the Union of European Basque Pelota Federations (UEBPF), and all the countries that play Basque pelota are members of the International Federation of Basque Pelota
International Federation of Basque Pelota
The International Federation of Basque Pelota is the world-wide governing body for Basque pelota. It sets the regulations for international competition and organizes the competitions.-History:...
(IFBP).
Frontenis (recognized by the IFBP) started being played in international competitions in 1952, in the First World Championship in Donostia-San Sebastian (Spain).
The player
It is the human component of the game. It must: perceive the opponent’s position and the velocity and trajectory of the ball; decide the move he’s going to do depending on the spaces in the pelota court and on the level of itself to do the technical moves and their probability of success; carry out what he had decided.The time that the player can take to do these things depends on the velocity, rhythm and difficulty of the match.
The rules
Frontenis has its own rules, like every sport. There are international rules, national rules and territorial rules, and they differ from each other in several things.The court
The court used in frontenis is a pelota courtFronton (court)
A Fronton is a two walled or single walled court used as playing area for Basque pelota.-History:The front wall of the first frontons in villages was usually the wall of a church...
of the Very Short type — 30 meters long, 10 meters wide and 10 meters high. Its walls must have signs to establish the distances of service, and to help the player to situate itself in the court. There are several parts that form the court:
Front wall (frontis)
It is the wall situated at the front of the court. All the balls must hit this wall to be valid. It is the most important wall. It has to measure 10 meters wide and 10 meters high. The most characteristic thing of this wall is that it has, from the ground to 60 centimetres high, a surface that is not valid in the game. So, the useful surface of this wall is finally 10 meters wide and 9.4 meters high. The rims of this useful surface must have a 10 centimetres wide metallic sheet (chapa in Spanish, txapa in Basque).Left wall or help wall
It must be marked with the numbers of the pelota court (one number each 3.5 meters long), so it must have 8 numbers and 2 extra meters. In its rim it must have a 10 centimetres wide metallic sheet. This wall is very useful because it lets the player situate itself in the court.Rebound wall
It is the wall situated in the back of the court. It must be clear, with no marks on it. It must also have metallic sheets in its rims. It’s very important, because delimits the court, and lets the game to be longer. Many pelota courts don’t have this wall, so they aren’t chosen to play an official competition.The racket and the strings
The tool used in frontenis is a racket that, according to Spanish Pelota Federation (SPF) says: “They will be similar or equal to tennis rackets, made of wood, fibber, metal or graphite. Their weigh and strings braiding is not limited, and double strings can be used. The rackets length and width are not limited.”The rackets have changed a lot since the beginning of professional frontenis (at the beginning of the 20th century).
At first, rackets were made of wood and the strings were made of animal guts. They were very heavy and they didn’t provide a comfortable play, but they were used for more than thirty years, until the times of the great player Jose, the “Poison” Becerra, who revolutionized this sport. Companies that made tennis products started to manufacture products for frontenis since this player started to win championships. In the 90s a Mexican company, “Master Pro”, was created only to manufacture frontenis products. Recently, some specializing in frontenis companies has been created.
Simple strings is used in Preolympic frontenis, and the tension varies depending on the ball — PENN (15-19 kilos), VIP (17-21 kilos), or CHAMPION ELITE (17-23 kilos). Double strings (duplication of 4 horizontal strings and 3 vertical strings) is used in Olympic frontenis, and it is to give more effect to the ball. This modality demands higher tensions, between 21 and 27 kilos.
The ball
The ball in Olympic frontenis (the only modality accepted by the IFBPIfbp
The International Federation of Black Prides is a coalition of Black Pride organizers formed to promote a multinational network of LGBT/SGL Prides and community-based organizations....
) is the Olympic ball.
In 1916 somebody had the idea of playing with a racket and a tennis ball in a big pelota court. There was too much space and, in addiction, the bounce of the ball was very reduced, so frontenis was seen as a very slow sport. Pelota court was reduced and the cover of the ball was got out. Later, balls were imported from England and the United States, and they were made of oilcloth, looking for a better movement.
During the Second World War, balls stopped arriving, and the necessity of keep playing demands Francisco Beltran to look for the solution. And it was: injecting pressure to the balls, putting them a patch, and then, vulcanizing them. After the Second World War, Beltran imported a lot of oilcloth, and he started investigating and manufacturing balls. In a few years, he started to make them in the shape of two eights, instead of two middles.
A few years later was founded the first frontenis balls company, “201”, founded by Francisco Beltran (who gave the knowledge) and Doctor Jesus Ledezma (who gave the money). The ball has kept developing until today.