The league's mission is to grow platform tennis participation in Cincinnati. Exposing non-country club tennis players to the game is the focal point of our execution strategy. So, if you are a current league member and you know a 4.0+ tennis player who would like to play platform tennis, please contact me.

Brian Brockhoff started the season with a perfect 4-0 record on a court featuring two former city champs (Brockhoff, Brad Pierce), an age group national champ (Vince Prop, 55s) and two ex-college tennis players (Evan Webeler - DePauw & Dale Dobnicker - Eastern Kentucky). The 5-man court had several close sets and two tiebreakers - with play lasting over two hours. The other flight one match was played at Losantiville - click results to see how that turned out.

Matt Allare - a former 4x Ohio HS champ (2 singles, 2 doubles) and one of Ohio State's all-time winningest players - made his Platform Tennis League debut this week. The 6'5"-ish Allare (I don't believe there is an instrument that accurately measures people that tall) is an intimidating presence on the tiny PT court. But 60+-year-old Jim Heldman (again - no truly accurate process for measuring PT players that old) was unfazed & somehow found enough hiding places to take the first set against him. As Allare was getting a feel for paddle tennis he said, "I feel like I should just kill it." Curious to see what would happen I said, "Yeah ... Do that!" Of course I figured he'd smack something crosscourt at Jim, and since Jim only comes in about 2-steps, I figured "What's the worst that can happen?" Wrong - he laid into one of Heldman's 30-mph meatball serves and took it straight down the line. Jim & I agreed that it was the hardest hit ball we'd ever seen on a paddle court - and that's a combined 50+ years of paddling (is that what we're doing called?) Newcomer Anthony Palmenter, a former Xavier University tennis player, participated as well - each went 1-2 on the court. 

The later session included the debut of local tennis pro & former Cincinnati Met tennis champ Tony Teufel. Teufel played college tennis at U. of Louisville and Wright State. In a similar setup, Teufel also went 1-2. John Fovel & newcomer Kyle Wilkens assisted in the initiation process, each going 1-2.

Brett Decurtins went 3-0 on a court filled with upper-tier flight 2 players and Kevin McClorey made a successful jump to flight 2 also going 3-0. Click results to see what happened on all seven flight 2 courts. 

Steve Spray and Dan Izenson made their league debuts in matches played at Losantiville CC. Each went 2-1. Click results for more.

Jeremy Kanter appears to be headed for a higher finish in the standings this year. He dominated week one, going 3-0 on what initially appeared to be a pretty balanced court ... The Platform Tennis League welcomed Brett Decurtins to the league. Brett, a former Met tennis champ & #1 player at UC, went 3-1 in his debut ... Pete Robinson & John Fovel made strong cases for promotion, each going 3-0 ... A good turnout from this flight saw a total of 40 sets get played. Results.

Our new flight three is made up entirely of newcomers. Eight of the twenty started week one. Greg Carr and Kevin McClorey went 3-0 while the others all went 1-2. Results.

With the late addition of Losantiville CC as a site, the league opened 24 additional spots - 4 have since been filled. Good fits with our current group are experienced Men's D-2 & upper court D-3 players, upper tier women's D-1, and inexperienced 4.5+ men's tennis players or 5.5+ women's tennis players. Players experiencing organized PT for the first time, do not pay at the beginning. I will make sure they get some informal sessions in before league play as well. Contact me if you or someone you know would like to get involved.

This was the first night for play at multiple sites. For the most part, things went smoothly. But, one of the groups at Losantiville somehow figured out a way to botch the format. When there are five players on the court - always follow the exact order of play listed on the sheet. Do not modify it. It is designed so that everybody will play exactly one set with each of the other players. You will not play every possible combination when there are 5 players. No player will sit out twice. Also, have the location admin assign the numbers - not one of the players - there are advantageous spots to choose on the sheet & the process is meant to be random.

2014-15 will be an exciting  season for The Platform Tennis League - Cincinnati. We are expanding from 31 regulars at one facility to 100 participants at three. We
will be using the Glendale Lyceum, Wyoming Golf Club and Losantiville Country Club.

What started two years ago as an upper tier "division 1" men's league will involve a wider range of players this season. Players will be divided into three flights and will include players equivalent to upper tier "division 3" and higher. Female participants will also be included this
year - upper tier "division 1."

The league's mission is to grow platform tennis (paddle tennis) participation. To succeed, the league needs to expose experienced adult tennis players to the sport. Currently we offer experienced male 4.5+ tennis players and 5.5+ female tennis players the opportunity to "sample" the league for one season. Included are informal play & lesson sessions as well as participation in the competitive league. Get involved.

Opening night: Thursday, September 18.