Battle of the Paddles: Platform Tennis Stars Open the Pro Flight Tour Aug. 16-17 in Stone Harbor
Chris Humphreys is a skilled platform tennis star.
It’s never been easier to see top athletes in a particular sport.
Just head to the heart of Stone Harbor.
The public has free admission to watch eight of the nation’s top-ranked platform tennis (paddle) players at the 97th Street courts Aug. 16 (6pm) and 17 (roughly 10 am).
A veritable who’s who from the American Platform Tennis Association invade midtown Stone Harbor for the fourth annual Pro Flight Tournament, the opening event of the Pro Flight Tour.
The number two is magic in the established lineup, with two-man teams trying to win two sets in the Friday semifinal and two more in the Saturday championship. Pro Flight is also trying to secure four top female players for a showcase match.
This year’s star-studded roster features four-time national champion Drew Broderick, three-time national semifinalist Tyler Fraser, current national champion Guillermo Nunez, and the nation’s top-ranked doubles team in Alvi Salazar and Jose Regalado.
Four of the tournament players are ranked in the top 10 and all of them are in the APTA’s top 22.
Contestants will vie for undisclosed prize money, a total that will be determined by sponsorship.
Some of the sponsors in recent years include Mack’s Pizza of Stone Harbor, RJ Soens Group of Compass RE, 23K Studios Inc., Silver Linings Embroidery and Screen Printing, the ICONA Resort, Craig Worton of Compass RE, the Mottola group of Compass RE, and BounceBack Physical Therapy. This is an ongoing process and it is possible that more sponsors will be added before the event.
Crowds have increased here every year as the public sees a transformation in this sport.
“Paddle is a very fast-growing sport for all age groups,” says event organizer Tom King, who runs an advertising agency in Wayne, Pa., and owns a second home in Avalon. “Tennis players are making the conversion to paddle. All of their skills shift easily to this game. Tennis is kind of a dying sport right now. It is growing at a negative rate. That negative growth rate is converting to platform tennis.
“All the players here have backgrounds in college tennis. And they are saying they can’t get enough of this.”
What is platform tennis?
Platform tennis was launched in 1928 in Scarsdale, N.Y., by neighbors seeking a winter racquet sport close to home, according to the APTA.
This unique sport combines the rules of tennis, the precision of table tennis, the back and side walls of racquetball, and the patience of chess.
These elements are already enough to entice fans. They can also draw amateur players of all ages to the local courts. Older participants, for example, might no longer wish to run down shots on a tennis court but can get a slice of that gamesmanship in paddle.
The paddle venue is roughly 35% the size of a tennis court. Wires serve as borders, enhancing volleys and creating new variables.
Take a hop off the back “wall,” let it bounce, lob a shot to the opposite back wall, slam a shot down the line, or take a carom off the side and drill a cross-court winner.
The ideal shot dies in the corner of the back wall.
A slam will often carom too hard off the back wire and come back into play. Winning points are a combination of finesse, guile, and athleticism.
Some volleys can go 50 rallies.
“You have to be willing to play the long game,” King says. “These players are willing to hit lobs 30 or 40 times just to make their opponents scramble. And then these guys will go for a winner. The natural inclination from tennis is to go for the slam right away. But you have to be far more patient here.”
Rules in the Pro Flight tournament are similar to tennis rules, with some exceptions. It still takes six games to win a set and there are tiebreaks.
What’s different is the “let” ball, a serve that hits the net and topples over. That shot is not in play on the tennis circuit, but it is here, provided the serve still lands in the box. There is also no second serve, emphasizing the importance of placing the first one in play. A fault on the first serve turns the serve over to one’s opponents.
Although King has seen 100 mph serves in this game, platform tennis boils down to volleying. King estimates an 80-20 ratio of lobs to drives (hard shots).
The Competitors
Every participant played college tennis and has adapted easily to platform tennis. King believes a wave of players with tennis background will ultimately grow this sport.
Here are the four teams the public will get to know during the tournament and their American Platform Tennis Association rankings in mid-July:
Drew Broderick (22) and Tomas Christian (19); Tyler Fraser (9) and Eric West (13); Jose Salazar (4) and Alvi Regalado (5); Guillermo Nunez (3) and Filip Rams (15).
Salazar and Regalado were ranked as the No. 1 team in the country.
King said tournament officials will make an event-week decision on whether to stage the semifinals back-to-back on one court or simultaneously on adjoining courts. Part of the Friday night matchups will finish under the lights.
Because the courts are raised, the public has a good view from any vantage point.
Bleachers provided by the Stone Harbor Recreation Center will offer seating. There will also be tables and chairs, along with food for sale.
New Strategies Emerge
King believes the age gap between the players provides an exciting stylistic backdrop. Broderick is 47. Regalado is 25. They represent different eras and philosophies on approaching the game.
Traditional platform tennis lineups involved one player guarding the net and his teammate further back. The front man took lower shots and the back player angled himself to play caroms and try to lob the ball deep into the opponents’ territory. Front players did not play the overhead shots too often.
Recent formations show players lining up side by side, each responsible for a front and back game. One must be able to deliver double the number of shots while guarding only half the terrain.
How Paddle Ball Arrived Here
King coaxed Stone Harbor Borough Council to build these courts in 2021. He was joined by advocates like Stone Harbor resident Laura Owens and platform-tennis superstar Bobo Delaney.
Delaney, like King an Avalon homeowner, also is a 2016 Platform Tennis Hall of Fame inductee. She won 19 national titles in a distinguished four-decade career. Delaney endorsed platform tennis in the discussions leading up to the court construction here and remains an ambassador for the sport.
The advocates persuaded the borough to build one of the rare courts found outside of central New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Area residents can rent it to play all year long. The facility not only brings some revenue back into the borough but creates a wave of excitement during tournament time.
During the fall, pros from the Philadelphia area often rent the courts and conduct clinics. Some of the players plan to do that during tournament week, too. To get more information on their clinics or updates on the tournament, contact King at 610-587-1153.
