I love paddle tennis
Alright, most of you have probably never heard of it, or know it as platform tennis, but I grew up playing this sport in Rye, NY. As far as I know, it is mostly an east coast phenomena, although the map on this pdf file says otherwise.
Even in Rye, the sport wasn't very widespread, but interestingly enough, the only courts I ever saw were at the various country clubs around the area, Coveleigh, Shenorock, the American Yacht Club (AYC, to which my parents belonged, yeah, silver spoon). We actually had leagues that were played against other country clubs. I assume that it there were municipal courts somewhere, but I never saw them.
Let me tell you, this sport is a BLAST. For more specific details, check out this link. It is played on a court about 1/4 the size of a real tennis court with those paddles you saw back in elementary (or high) school when you played paddle ball in gym. The ones out of solid wood with a matrix of holes to allow them to be swung faster. The balls were these furry, solid rubber balls that sort of bounced. The lines were the same as in tennis, but the biggest feature was that the screens were in play, ie., the ball could be played off the screens, although before it bounced again. So, the ball had to land within the lines, then bounce off the screen and be returned before it hit the ground again. And this included corner shots where you played it off both screens. Finally, you only got one serve which was sort of a pain in the ass. So serves are a lot softer relatively than they are in tennis, especially because the serve is almost as much of an advantage as in tennis because of the net play.
This is me serving. Note the proximity of the chicken wire fence.
And the net (note the narrowness of the doubles lane).
Paddle, while it can be played as singles, unlike tennis it is primarily (and the most fun as) a doubles game. It is also usually played during the off season months, ie., late fall through early spring, but all winter, and then giving way to tennis once the weather gets nice, at least for the cross-trainers who weren't professional paddle players. Interestingly enough, at AYC they took the nets down during the summer because the various summer camps used them for games. That brings to mind playing dodgeball in those courts with a tennis ball when I was 8-10 years old (another AWESOME game). There was nothing like catching a pointblank shot (1 foot away) from a huge windup. I can't imagine anyone playing/allowing that anymore. Sigh...
I had the opportunity to play 4 times while I was down in Rye this Xmas with my brother, his 14-yr-old son and my 74 yr old dad. We played for the usual bragging rights, and that usually came down to who could win with the most teams. I was fortunate that while I lost a set here and there, I always won the match with whichever team, which was either me and my dad or me and my nephew. A few times other people were playing on the courts next to us (3 courts in all). The first thing I noticed was that everyone else's rackets were oversize compared to ours, which I guess wasn't surprising since our rackets were the original rackets my parents got, so they were at LEAST 25 years old. But it looks like paddle went the same direction that tennis did with the oversize sweet spot. So I'm thinking this could be a good Xmas present for the parents next year to replace the rackets... somewhat selfishly also...
So net play is the big thing in this game. Points, games and sets are usually very quick but some points are very long as both sides continually move up to the net, are lobbed over, retreat while the other side moves up in unison, and then back as the first team plays it off the wall and lobs it back, or powers a low shot. It is a very fast and exciting sport, and if you have the opportunity to play some time, you should.
I guess one of the reasons that I was posting this was to cathartically get myself out of my rut and try and find a game in the area. I have no idea what, how, or where it is played in the Boston area, but if you know, shoot me a line because I want to get back into it. Goaltimate is great during the winter, but that is at best one day a week, while paddle tennis can be played at any time (and is).
Coming soon... the further adventures of the frisbee tournament bucket list.
Even in Rye, the sport wasn't very widespread, but interestingly enough, the only courts I ever saw were at the various country clubs around the area, Coveleigh, Shenorock, the American Yacht Club (AYC, to which my parents belonged, yeah, silver spoon). We actually had leagues that were played against other country clubs. I assume that it there were municipal courts somewhere, but I never saw them.
Let me tell you, this sport is a BLAST. For more specific details, check out this link. It is played on a court about 1/4 the size of a real tennis court with those paddles you saw back in elementary (or high) school when you played paddle ball in gym. The ones out of solid wood with a matrix of holes to allow them to be swung faster. The balls were these furry, solid rubber balls that sort of bounced. The lines were the same as in tennis, but the biggest feature was that the screens were in play, ie., the ball could be played off the screens, although before it bounced again. So, the ball had to land within the lines, then bounce off the screen and be returned before it hit the ground again. And this included corner shots where you played it off both screens. Finally, you only got one serve which was sort of a pain in the ass. So serves are a lot softer relatively than they are in tennis, especially because the serve is almost as much of an advantage as in tennis because of the net play.
This is me serving. Note the proximity of the chicken wire fence.
And the net (note the narrowness of the doubles lane).
Paddle, while it can be played as singles, unlike tennis it is primarily (and the most fun as) a doubles game. It is also usually played during the off season months, ie., late fall through early spring, but all winter, and then giving way to tennis once the weather gets nice, at least for the cross-trainers who weren't professional paddle players. Interestingly enough, at AYC they took the nets down during the summer because the various summer camps used them for games. That brings to mind playing dodgeball in those courts with a tennis ball when I was 8-10 years old (another AWESOME game). There was nothing like catching a pointblank shot (1 foot away) from a huge windup. I can't imagine anyone playing/allowing that anymore. Sigh...
I had the opportunity to play 4 times while I was down in Rye this Xmas with my brother, his 14-yr-old son and my 74 yr old dad. We played for the usual bragging rights, and that usually came down to who could win with the most teams. I was fortunate that while I lost a set here and there, I always won the match with whichever team, which was either me and my dad or me and my nephew. A few times other people were playing on the courts next to us (3 courts in all). The first thing I noticed was that everyone else's rackets were oversize compared to ours, which I guess wasn't surprising since our rackets were the original rackets my parents got, so they were at LEAST 25 years old. But it looks like paddle went the same direction that tennis did with the oversize sweet spot. So I'm thinking this could be a good Xmas present for the parents next year to replace the rackets... somewhat selfishly also...
So net play is the big thing in this game. Points, games and sets are usually very quick but some points are very long as both sides continually move up to the net, are lobbed over, retreat while the other side moves up in unison, and then back as the first team plays it off the wall and lobs it back, or powers a low shot. It is a very fast and exciting sport, and if you have the opportunity to play some time, you should.
I guess one of the reasons that I was posting this was to cathartically get myself out of my rut and try and find a game in the area. I have no idea what, how, or where it is played in the Boston area, but if you know, shoot me a line because I want to get back into it. Goaltimate is great during the winter, but that is at best one day a week, while paddle tennis can be played at any time (and is).
Coming soon... the further adventures of the frisbee tournament bucket list.
posted by Alex de Frondeville at 5:20 PM
7 Comments:
In New Jersey it's also near exclusively confined to country clubs (there's probably an interesting little sociological article in there somewhere).
Metro boston is full of country clubs. As i remember from around here, the paddle players are a small, dedicated subset of the memberships, so i'm betting if you were a decent player, some private club or other would let you in. Or, i just googled. http://www.paddlepro.com/gbptl/directions.shtml Someone here is going to help you find a game.
one better. List of locations in Mass.
http://www.paddlepro.com/locations/usa-ma.shtml
Interestingly enough, I found that site and researched some of the locations. The one that was least country club like (and I expect would be the most affordable) had a wait list. I think I'm doomed.
I should have written "let you play" rather than "let you in." I bet you could finagle the ability to play for far less than real membership (i could be wrong). Worth a shot.
Alex, rules question... If a player's shot hits the opposing player while he is outside the "in-bounds" playing area, without first bouncing in-bounds, whose point is it? I guess that since the player hit is out of bounds, then even though he was hit, the player hitting the ball loses the point.
Thanks.
Gregg
I want to start playing this game.
Is there a tennis robot which can use the paddle tennis balls for good practice ?
Has anyone tried www.paddlegirl.net for clothing?
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