Living in colder climates of North America can certainly impede your ability to play tennis during the winter months. Unless you have the option to play under the cover of a bubble, then ice, snow, or just downright cold conditions can prevent you from playing traditional tennis. However, tennis players way back in the late 1920s felt that same frustration and came up with a solution: Platform Tennis.

Well, at that time, they actually called the sport “Paddle Tennis.” It wasn’t re-named Platform Tennis until the rules and requirements of the sport were solidified, separating it from other paddle sports. Because Platform Tennis is also colloquially referred to as Paddle Tennis, for this article, we will call it Platform Tennis in order to eliminate confusion.

In an effort to avoid the pitfalls of playing directly on the frozen earth, Platform Tennis is engineered to be played year-round on a raised platform of aluminum planks. Modern Platform Tennis courts can have propane heaters underneath that will melt snow and ice if needed.

There are a few peculiar rules when it comes to Platform Tennis (such as the fact that the ball can be played off of the surrounding wire fence, similar to racquetball), but—generally speaking—if you are comfortable playing traditional Tennis, then you will have no problem understanding this game as well.

The scoring is the same as it is in a regular Tennis match and it can be played doubles or singles. Although the court is about ⅓ the size of a traditional Tennis court, serves are still overhand—which makes Platform Tennis unique when compared to other paddle sports played on such a small court.

Although the rules are similar in many ways, the strategy for Platform Tennis can be quite unique, so don’t be surprised if it takes some time before you hit your stride with this game. An experienced Tennis player will deal with a learning curve as they adjust their style to better suit the intricacies of Platform Tennis.

The obvious answer is that you will need to find a raised platform court to play on, but outside of that, Platform Tennis does require some unique equipment.

Platform Tennis paddles are not made with strung nylon but with a solid, composite material. They look similar to a Pickleball paddle but with holes (a maximum of 78 total) throughout the head to reduce wind resistance. The rules also allow for slight variations to the shape of the head, including more rounded or more triangular shapes as well as various lengths and densities.

Additionally, instead of a fuzzy tennis ball, a rubber, sponge-like ball is used for Platform Tennis. However, you can still expect the typical fluorescent yellow color of a traditional tennis ball to be very popular for its eye catching look.

If you haven’t already given Platform Tennis a try, we certainly recommend you take a whack at it this winter!

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