The International Tennis Federation, the sport's governing body, has announced that its new competition, the ITF Beach Tennis World Team Championships, will be held in Moscow for the next three years after a deal was signed with the Russian Tennis Federation.

The tournament, which this year will take place at Russia’s National Tennis Centre between July 13 and 15, will involve nations competing against each other on a round-robin basis. Each team will be comprised of two men and two women, with ties consisting of a men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

The team championships will join the individual Beach Tennis World Championships as the flagship events on the ITF Beach Tennis Tour, which launched in 2008.

Francesco Ricci Bitti, president of the ITF, said: "It is fitting that beach tennis is able to stage its own world team championships following the rapid growth of the Beach Tennis Tour. The ITF is proud of its family of international team competitions, and hope that these championships will attract even more nations to the sport.

"The Russian Tennis Federation has considerable experience hosting major international team competitions, including Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, and we look forward to working with them in establishing this new event."

Shamil Tarpischev, president of the RTF, added: "Beach tennis has fast become a very popular sport both in Russia and internationally. It is excellent that the ITF is in a position to launch a world team competition, and I have no doubt that this format will facilitate the continuing development of the sport and encourage more nations to take part."

Sportcal