PLATFORM TENNIS

also called Platform Paddle Tennis, or Paddle Tennis, sport that is a combination of tennis and squash, devised in 1928 by American sports enthusiasts Fessenden Blanchard and James Cogswell at Scarsdale, N.Y. It is played on specially constructed platforms, 60 by 30 feet (18 by 9 m), surrounded by back and side walls of tightly strung wire netting 12 feet (3.7 m) high. The actual court measures 44 by 20 feet (13.4 by 6 m), and the net is 2 feet 10 inches (86 cm) high at its centre. The paddles, or bats, used instead of rackets, are made of oval plywood, metal-bound and perforated, and have short handles. Balls are made of sponge rubber. The rules are the same as for tennis, except that balls may be taken off the back or side walls after first striking inside the court proper, and only one serve is allowed. The sport has gained some popularity in the United States. The American Platform Tennis Association, founded in 1934, regulates the game.