Friday five: Tennis with a spectacular twist

Everyone knows that tennis is a spectacular game. But every now and again someone comes up with an ingenious way to add a dollop more spectacularity to the general spectacular. Witness when tennis is played with a twist (oh, and by a bizarre quirk of fate – or planning – they always seems to involve Roger Federer).

Tennis on a boat

In 2015, Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt decided to have a hit while riding on speedboats around Sydney Harbour.

Tennis in the water

Why use a speedboat when you can walk on water? Rafa and Roger showed off their nigh on biblical powers when they went for a hit on Doha bay.

Tennis on a helipad

From the sea to the sky, Andre Agassi and Roger Federer enjoyed perhaps the most famous hit in history on the helipad of the Burj-Al-Arab in Dubai.

Night tennis

What happens when you put Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova into a room and turn off the lights? Not that… this!

The battle of the surfaces

This is not only the most ingenious exhibition match ever attempted, it was also one of the most expensive. In 2010 Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal went head to head on a court that was half clay and half grass. Nadal beat Federer 7-5 4-6 7-6(10) in a titanic tussle.