The 2009 Beach Tennis USA National Championship produced two days of exciting, fast-paced action. For the first time ever, the National Championship in the United States featured a "Paddle Battle" in addition to the regular racquet competition.

In the Men's Pro Paddle division finals, it was two Italian teams that would square off: Gianluca Chirico and Massimo Mattei (Ravenna, IT) versus Maurizio DiCori and Emanuele Bianchedi (Ravenna, IT). Although DiCori and Bianchedi were new-comers to American sand, it was no detriment to their game, as they defeated Chirico and Matei 8-5.

In the Women's Pro Paddle Division, Lee Whitwell and Joslynn Burkett (San Diego, CA) defeated Lucy Streeter and Kristen Flagler (Hermosa Beach, CA) 8-4.

On Sunday, in the Men's Pro Raquet Division, the two-time defending champions Matteo Marighella and Alex Mingozzi (Ravenna, IT) advanced to the finals to face off against former national champions Chris Henderson and Phil Whitesell (Charleston, SC). In dramatic fashion, the pair of Americans stunned the crowd as they delivered powerful, bullet-like serves, which was enough to defeat the seemingly unbeatable Italian team, 8-6.

In the Women's Pro Racquet Division, it was the duo from San Diego, CA yet again who would advance to the finals. Lee Whitwell and Joslynn Burkett would face the hometown hero, Nadia Johnston, and her partner, Nicole Melch, who have been unstoppable in the tournaments in which they competed this season. The San Diego team proved to be too much for Melch and Johnston as they gained and maintained momentum in the tiebreaker set to win it, 9-8(5).

Don't miss The Bermuda's 2nd International Beach Tennis Tournament at Horseshoe Bay Beach Club. This LIVE Internet Broadcast is being provided by Crimson Media/Bermuda Sports Network. Access 8 hours of LIVE Internet Broadcasting via Pay-Per-View for only $14.99

PIX Morning News reporter, Larry Hoff gets a lesson in paddle technique from Marty Salokas and Nadia Johnston at the site of the beautiful, new Allegria Hotel and Spa, in Long Beach, NY.

American Idol 2007 runner-up, Blake Lewis stopped by to lay down some killer beats with the lovely and talented BTUSA Girls. Also appearing at the event were Pulse 87 artists Kaci Battaglia and Sylvia Tosun.

Beach tennis is the hottest new sport in America and now you can be a part of it. Annual membership is only $35, and all players who become charter members will receive:

• Discounts on all BTUSA event registration fees
• Eligibility for Pro and Amateur points series
• 10% discount on all licensed BTUSA merchandise, including net systems, balls and official BTUSA apparel
• FREE BTUSA T-shirt

A special thanks goes out to all our 2009 tour sponsors, including HEAD Penn Racquet Sports, Adina Holistics, Long Island University/C.W. Post, Celsius, Lara Bar, AdUp Displays, Freaky Tiki Surf Shack, The Allegria Hotel and Spa, Sugo Pulse 87 FM and Function Drinks.

Every day people just like you get started building their own beach tennis movement right in their community. Getting started is easy. If you've got space at your health club, country club, hotel or resort, tennis club, or just a patch of sand somewhere, Beach Tennis USA can show you how to become one of our "Places 2 Play".

CLICK HERE to contact Melissa Gibson to learn how you can join our "Places 2 Play" program.

We've made some great new improvements to our web site this season, including the addition of more photos, video, and now we've added three new blogs.

Our BTUSA Pro Player Blog features tips and stories from our top pros. The Rec Room is authored by Melissa Gibson, BTUSA VP of Business Development, and contains great information on how you can get involved with "the movement".

Zach Smart's Sports Blog, features Zach's award-winning insight into the world of not just beach tennis, but every sport. Zach has been busy with daily BTUSA updates from the Sony Ericsson Open. CLICK HERE TO CHECK THEM OUT.

Now you can follow the 2009 National Tour on all of your favorite social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and see daily photo updates on our Flickr Photostream.

Check out our new selection of official BTUSA apparel and equipment. We've got hats, shirts, sand socks, rally towels, and our patented net systems. If it's beach tennis, it's here!