This tournament marks the start of a new era of teqball events on the continent, with FITEQ in the process of revising its competition calendar for 2022 and beyond.

The ambition of the new competition structure is to bring increased prize money to and greater global interest in the sport's elite-level events.

The beach tournament at the Fantini Club in the Emilia-Romagna region features men's doubles and mixed doubles categories.

"This is a very exciting time for everyone in the teqball family," said a statement on behalf of teqball co-founders Gábor Borsányi, Viktor Huszár and György Gattyán.

"Our sport is continuing to grow rapidly around the world at a grassroots level, so at FITEQ we need to keep pace with that and have an elite level, professional competition structure that reflects the global nature of teqball.

"The event in Cervia is certainly a sign of what the future may hold, and importantly it will give us valuable insights as we finalise the calendar for 2022 and beyond."

The prize money for the event is $30,000 (£21,900/€25,500), which is the third-highest in teqball’s history for a single event, behind the past two World Championships.

FITEQ says European Teqball Tour opener is a sign of its future ambitions.

The governing body is seeking to increase the number of full-time professional players, while also attempting to develop the sport at the grassroots level through club and regional tournaments, with the long-term goal of being included at the Olympic Games.