Platform Tennis
Platform Tennis is a racquet and ball sport that was derived from lawn tennis. The sport was developed in New York in 1928 with the intention to allow people to enjoy the game of tennis all year long.
The game play and scoring is exactly the same as what is used for lawn tennis. The primary differences are in the equipment used, the court, and minor rule changes based on the court.
The court measures 44 X 22 ft, which is about a third of the size of a lawn tennis court. The court is surrounded on all sides by a fence. The racquet and the ball used are significantly different. The racquet is a paddle that is about 18 inches long with small holes that reduces drag during swings. The ball used is a small sponge ball 2.5in in diameter.
Games can be played in singles or doubles format. The only major difference in game play is that, in platform tennis the fence is considered as a part of the court, and balls can be bounced off of it back into the court and is still considered in play.
Platform tennis is not a very popular sport, and competitions conducted for the sport are only at a club level.
Similar Sports
- Tennis (Lawn) - players use a racket to hit a ball over a net
- Padel — a mix of tennis and squash, played on a much smaller court with walls and a solid paddle racket.
- Stické Tennis — an indoor racquet and ball based sport derived from lawn tennis in the late 19th century, using a smaller court surrounded by 4 walls.
- Squash Tennis — derived from both squash and lawn tennis, played on a squash court with tennis rackets and balls.
- Squash — a racquet sport played by two or four players in a four-walled court with a small hollow rubber ball.
Related Pages
- List of Racket Sports
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports
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