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Paddle tennis
First played	1898 in Albion, Michigan, United States
Characteristics
Contact	No
Team members	Singles or doubles
Mixed-sex	Yes, separate singles, doubles, & mixed doubles
Type	racket sport
Equipment	Reduced-pressure tennis ball, paddle, net
Venue	Outdoor or indoor
Presence
Olympic	No
Paralympic	No
World Games	No

Paddle tennis (sometimes branded as POP Tennis since 2015)^[1] is a racket sport adapted from tennis and played for over a century. Compared to tennis, the court is smaller, has no doubles lanes, and the net is lower. Paddle tennis is played with a solid perforated paddle, as opposed to a strung racquet, and a lower pressure tennis ball.

The same court is used for both singles and doubles, with doubles being the dominant form of play. The smaller court size adds a strong emphasis and advantage to net play and creates a fast and reaction-based game.

History

During year 1898, paddle tennis was invented by Episcopal minister Frank Peter Beal in Albion, Michigan. Afterwards, the sport spread in lower Manhattan where Beal wanted to create recreational activities for neighborhood children. In 1915, Beal got the Manhattan parks and recreation department to lay courts in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The first tournament was held in 1922, and the United States Paddle Tennis Association (USPTA) was formed the following year. (The United States Paddle Tennis Association is not to be confused with the United States Professional Tennis Association founded in 1970.) By 1941, paddle tennis was being played in almost 500 American cities.^[2]

Although Frank Peer Beal is known as the game's inventor, Murray Geller, a player in the 1940s and 1950s, was instrumental in creating the modern game. Elected chairman of the USPTA rules committee, he wanted to make the game more appealing to adults, and instituted features including an enlarged court and an underhanded serve.^[2]^[3]

Scott Freedman won the World's Men's Singles Paddle Tennis Championships 19 times, the World Men's Doubles Championships 16 times, and the World Mixed Doubles 14 times.^[4] He wrote a book titled Paddle Tennis and Tennis: Anyone Can Play.^[4]

In 2015 and 2016, the USPTA tried to rebrand the sport as "POP Tennis", began producing logo-branded gear, and changed its name to the International POP Tennis Association (IPTA).^[5] The name was chosen in reference to the "pop" sound made when the paddle hits the ball.^[5]

Rules

Paddle tennis courts are constructed of the same materials as tennis courts, or can also be placed on hard beach sand.^[6] The court measures 50 feet (15.2 4m) baseline-to-baseline and 20 feet (6.09 m) across, with the service line 3 feet (0.91 m) in from the baseline. This creates a service box of 10 × 22 feet (3.04 × 6.70 m). The net is placed at a height of 31 inches (0.78 m). On the west coast, a restraint line is drawn 12 feet (3.66 m) back parallel to the net.

During play, all players must keep both feet behind the restraint line until after the player receiving the serve has struck the ball.

All paddle rules are similar to tennis. Paddle tennis second serves also have to be bounced at least once in the other opponents side.^{[citation needed]}

Summary

Players: Four, played in a doubles format.
Serves: Serves must be underhand. A second serve is allowed only in the event of a net ball that lands in bounds, as in tennis.
Score: Scoring method is the same as in tennis. Matches are best of five sets.
Ball: Tennis ball with reduced pressure.
Paddle: Solid with no strings. May be perforated.
Court: There are two styles of courts. East and West coast styles.
Walls: Walls or fences play the same role as in tennis, once the ball comes in contact with either the point is over.

Similar sports

Padel is a similar sport typically played in doubles on an enclosed court about half the size of a tennis court. It is popular in Spain and Hispanic America.

Pickleball is a similar sport invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington. It is played on a similar court and with a similar paddle but uses a plastic wiffle ball.

Platform tennis is a similar sport invented in 1928 in Scarsdale, New York by James Cogswell and Fessenden Blanchard. The primary difference from paddle tennis is that the platform tennis court is 6 feet shorter, fenced by taut chicken wire off which the ball can be played. Platform tennis uses a solid sponge rubber ball and overhead serving is permitted. Platform tennis is popular in the Northeastern and Midwestern U.S., since the raised court (the platform) can be heated for winter play.