( CNN ) -- Sylvin Barnett makes a living driving a forklift for a beer company , but his real passion is on the road . The 41-year-old is a leading exponent of a little-known offshoot of tennis that has made him a celebrity in his native Barbados , and he hopes that its appeal will go global . Road Tennis is a fast and furious scaled-down version of the sport which can be played almost anywhere , and has attracted the interest of stars such as Andy Murray and Venus Williams . It 's a bit like table tennis , but without the table . `` I would love to see us grow not only in the Caribbean but in Europe , '' Barnett says . `` It would be great to see our guys working in schools all over the world , spreading the word . '' The recipe is simple . Find a hard flat surface , indoors or outside . Mark out a court 20 x 10 feet ( 6 x 3 meters ) using chalk or preferably tape . Erect a `` net '' -- usually made of plywood -- standing eight inches ( 20 centimeters ) high . The bats are similar to those used in table tennis , but without the rubber . The balls are of the tennis variety but without the fur , and deflated to reduce bounce . The first player to score 21 points wins , with each taking five serves in turn . `` We have a vision to get it in as many countries as possible , '' says Dale Clarke , chief executive of the Professional Road Tennis Association . `` The game is addictive , once you start you always want to play , '' the 35-year-old told CNN . `` We 've had requests from Germany , Sweden and America for more information . '' When Barnett was asked to go to London to take part in a promotional video with world No . 4 Murray , former world heavyweight boxing champion David Haye and other Bajan Road Tennis stars , he jumped at the chance . Murray beat Haye after a quick run-through of the basics , but went down 21-16 to his Barbadian opponent . `` I took it easy on him ! '' Barnett told CNN . `` But seriously , Andy was a great guy and showed a genuine interest in our sport . '' Murray , for his part , enjoyed the challenge . `` It 's very , very different to tennis , and I quite like that , '' the Briton told CNN . `` The guys are some of the best at that game , so were a whole lot better than me , that 's for sure . '' According to the official Professional Road Tennis website , the sport was first played in the 1930s in the parish of St Michael . It earned the label `` poor man 's tennis '' because pieces of wood , or even even hard-cover books , were used as rackets . In essence , little has changed since , but plywood soon became the popular choice for the bats and the `` skinning '' of the tennis balls became widespread . West Indian cricket legend Brian Lara , who hails from Trinidad , is a notable fan of the sport , while France 's Gael Monfils is among the top tennis players who have tried it on visits to Barbados -- which is best known as a tropical paradise for holidaymakers . Barnett has been playing since he was 12 , and says he can still compete with the likes of current world champion Julian White because `` experience counts for a lot . '' There is prize money at stake for the Caribbean island 's 150 active players , but Road Tennis remains semi-professional . Barnett spends a lot of time coaching and spreading the gospel about his sport , but believes its promotion has been lacking . `` Our main challenge is our governing bodies in Barbados take sport too lightly , it 's one of the reasons it has n't reached other Caribbean countries . We have to do better , `` he says .
Road Tennis is seeking to spread the sport 's appeal beyond Barbados . Game can be played on any flat surface , using both balls and bats . Tennis star Andy Murray tried his hand at the sport and was impressed . It is a semi - professional past - time in Barbados , with about 30 players .