We play on a tennis court, use tennis balls, and keep score like tennis. We play singles and doubles. We use depressurized tennis balls (new ball with needle to take air out). The capital for Paddle Tennis is Venice Beach, California where the boardwalk is the second largest California attraction after Disneyland. They have about 12 courts right next to the bike path and the beach. There is also a large paddle tennis tournament in St. Augustine Florida every Labor Day weekend and they play right on the hard sand at low tide. Paddle Tennis is popular in Los Angeles at the exclusive beach clubs. It is also popular in South Carolina, Florida, and New York.
Paddle Tennis is similar to ordinary tennis, but is played on a court about one third the size of a tennis court, with a lower net, a de-pressurized tennis ball and a solid paddle.
Paddle Tennis is a fast paced, rapidly growing game that the whole family can enjoy. It is easily picked up by athletes of other sports, children and adults of all ages, sizes and shapes.
Paddle Tennis is popular at all levels of competition, and some say contagious. Even at the lowerlevels, play is exciting due to the small court and depressurized ball permitting longer rallies. While doubles play is predominant, singles is also played and is a favorite of many tennis players.
What are the dimensions of a Paddle Court?
The playing area is 20 ft. by 50 ft. There is a service
line extending across the width of the court 3 ft. in
from each end line. The center line extends from
service line to service line down the middle of the
court. West of the Mississippi, there is a restraint
line which extends the width of the court 12 ft. from
the net.
Paddle Tennis net posts are 31" high. The net is strung
taught so that it is a constant 31" across the width of
the court. The post are set 18" outside of each sideline.
The United States Paddle Tennis Association recommends
15 ft. of backspace behind each baseline plus 10 ft.
of clearance on each side.
Paddle Tennis can be played either as singles or doubles. Unlike tennis, both singles and doubles are played on the same size court, a twenty by fifty foot rectangular court. Ideally, fences are placed 15 feet behind the baselines and ten feet from the sidelines. Below is a diagram of a typical Paddle Tennis court for playing the West Coast versions of the game. Courts for the East Coast version are identical, except that they do not have the restraint lines.
The net is 31 inches high over its entire length and extends 18 inches beyond each side line.
The
ball used in Paddle Tennis is a regulation tennis ball which has been punctured with a needle or pin so that when dropped from a height of six feet the ball will bounce back to a height between 31 and 33 inches.
The paddle is made of a solid material or materials, such as, hard woods, plywood, fiberglass or graphite. The paddle may be textured or perforated and may have a metal rim or not but it cannot have strings. The size of the paddles cannot exceed 18 1/2 inches by nine and a half inches.
I hope that this introduction to the game of Paddle Tennis will arouse your curiosity and your desire to try the game. It is a wonderful sport for young and old and everyone in between. See you on the courts.
I was born in Detroit Michigan in 1961 but grew up in Los Angeles near Santa Monica. In the 1970�s I worked at the Sand and Sea Beach Club in Santa Monica and they had many paddle tennis courts.
My friend Ben Sperber introduced me to paddle tennis at Venice Beach in the 1980�s. I fell in love with the sport and played there for many years.
When I moved to North Carolina, I had to step down and start playing regular tennis. I tell everyone I meet about paddle tennis and have started a growing group that now plays every week in Morrisville.
I have enjoyed playing ping pong, tennis, racquet ball, squash (better exercise than PT, but not as fun), and badminton, and I find Paddle Tennis the most fun.
