Does anyone here play platform/paddle tennis.

[bluetrain4]

A lot of the tennis players where I live play platform/paddle tennis in the winter and this year I was talked into giving it a try.

Very different from regular tennis and very, very fun. Really a nice diversion for me. I don't love playing tennis indoors, so I'll play a little less indoor tennis this winter and play a bit of platform. I've enjoyed the learning process. Hard to let my tennis tendencies go. Like, in some instances, smacking a ball instead of letting it go off the back fence and then playing it (I've gotten a lot better though in determining what balls to take off the fence). Or, thinking that even if I catch a volley late near my body, I can still get it over the net. In tennis, the spring of the strings will often still take the ball over the net if you're not out in front, but in platform it will just die immediately and not go over the net.

LOL. I had never really heard of platform tennis until a few years ago. I remember seeing platform/paddle courts when I was younger and always figured they were just small tennis courts used in teaching young kids tennis.

 

[goran_ace]

I played paddle. Really nice sensation when you hit with the ball. Fast paced game that rewards placement and finesse more than it does power. It is a great way to work on your volleys for tennis because you learn to stay light on your feet and keep quick hands to get that ball out in front. I wish I could play more often these days but where I live now paddle isn't very big so its hard to find people to paly with unless you have the money to join one of the elite country clubs, and even then it is more social than competitive.

 

[bluetrain4]

I live in Springfield, Illinois (1.5 hrs from St. Louis, 3 hrs and 15 minutes from Chicago), and for some reason, we have 4 very nice public paddle tennis courts and a fairly large paddle tennis community, both social, and competitive. We actually host an official tournament in December. From what I've been told, the sport is very big in Chicago, and also in St. Louis. So, my exposure to paddle tennis is completely a stroke of luck that I happened to move to a place where the sport has a foothold and where membership at a country club is not a prerequisite to playing.

 

[FuriousYellow]

I just started playing a few months ago. It's a lot of fun and I think there are some benefits that can be derived that relate to tennis.

First of all is staying down in the athletic stance. You can't play this game standing upright because the ball stays so low. Second it's tough to win extended rallies, so you have to learn to close the net and volley. Third is footwork. Because the court is so much smaller you have use a lot more adjustment steps rather than long strides.

I'm still learning the game, but so far I've found all the same strokes I use in regular tennis I can use in the paddle tennis so there's no worries about messin with the muscle memory.

 

[siata94]

done it once in a club and it was a lot of fun, too bad there aren't any public courts nearby, prob good for kids to get started on that before they move up to tennis

 

[bluetrain4]

I've come a long way in a few months. A very fun and exciting sport. Really doesn't screw up your tennis game. I play tennis and platform and don't have any problems adjusting back and forth.

BUT, playing a lot of platform tennis this season has made me want a heavier racquet. My platform paddle is around 13.8 oz (paddles are on average considerably heavier than tennis racquets). I know that the game is different, the racquet is shorter, and the strokes used are generally shorter as well, but still, going back to the tennis court, where I use a fairly heavy racquet (a Diablo mid at 12.2 oz), it feels flimsy and too headlight. I want a little bit more weight and slightly less headlight feel (maybe 6 pts instead of 9 pts headlight). Platform has subtley made me deal with more weight and now I want that in tennis.