HISTORY OF XTREME PADDLE TENNIS / POP TENNIS

Xtreme Tennis (now being called POP TENNIS) is a game adapted from tennis and played for over a century. Compared to tennis, the court is smaller and has no doubles lanes, and the net is lower. Xtreme Tennis is played with a solid paddle as opposed to a strung racquet, and a depressurized tennis ball is used along with an underhand serve. 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.

Xtreme Tennis / Pop Tennis traces its roots back over a hundred years to its development by an Episcopal minister, Frank Peer Beal, in lower Manhattan. Wanting to create recreational activities for neighborhood children, he got the city’s parks and recreation department to lay courts in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village in 1915. The first tournament was held in 1922, and the United States Paddle Tennis Association was formed the following year. By 1941, paddle tennis was being played in almost 500 American cities.

Although Frank 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.

For the past three decades, the game has been dominated by world champion Scott Freedman who founded the XTP Pro Tour in 2010.

XTP is the official governing and administrative body of the sport of Xtreme Tennis and is dedicated to providing the sport and all of its players both young and old, women and men, amateur and professional the protection and interpretation of all of the official rules and regulations of the game.

XTP is also in charge of all official Xtreme Tennis/Pop Tennis Tournaments, Exhibitions, Events, Leagues and Instructional Clinics and will comprise all of the official Xtreme Tennis/Pop Tennis Rankings.

We are simply “Players working for other Players.” If you are an Xtreme Tennis/Pop Tennis player on any level, we work for you!

RULES OF XTREME PADDLE TENNIS/POP TENNIS

The Court
Paddle tennis courts are constructed of the same materials as tennis courts, or can also be placed on hard beach sand. The court measures 50 feet baseline-to-baseline and 20 feet across, with the service line 3 feet in from the baseline. This creates a service box of 10’x22′. The net is placed at 31 inches. The National Xtreme Tennis Center is located in the heart of Venice Beach. Fully equipped with 10 recently renovated courts, you’re sure to find top XTP Pro’s practicing on a daily basis.

The Ball
The ball used is a standard tennis ball with its internal pressure reduced so that when dropped from a height of 6 feet, it bounces to between 31 and 33 inches.

The Paddle
The paddle is made of solid material such as wood or a composite of a rubberized or titanium core covered with graphite, and contains no strings. It is usually textured or perforated and may have a metal rim around the head. Its dimensions are limited to 18″ in length and 9.5″ in width.

Summary
— Players: Played in both singles or doubles.
— Serves: Serve must be underhand. Only one serve is allowed, no second serves as in tennis.
— Score: Scoring method is the same as in tennis. Matches are best of three sets.
— Ball: Tennis ball with reduced pressure.
— Paddle: Solid with no strings. May be perforated.
— Walls: Walls or fences are not part of the game.

SPEC TENNIS Rules and History.