Paddle Tennis Resurging

For many of us in Fairfield County, the term "outdoor sports" during the winter signals colder versions of summer activities — cycling or running in full-body suits, for example — or perhaps ice skating and ice hockey.

But for residents such as Georgia Davala of Wilton, a Manhattan transplant these 20 years, the sport that's really in full "swing" is a New York City invention that historians say is close to marking its 100^th birthday: paddle tennis.

"When I moved to Wilton I had never heard of it, but I got involved in the local Y and started taking lessons," Davala said Wednesday afternoon as she took a break during the Jane Fleming Memorial Tournament in Greenwich — a two-day event organized by the Pittsburgh-based American Platform Tennis Association that drew 40 teams from Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

She's now teaching paddle tennis at the and counts herself among the resurging sport's advocates.

Clearly, Davala is not alone.

After an initial rise in popularity in the 1970s, paddle tennis is seeing more new players and leagues — organized mainly through country, riding and racquet clubs — who play for the competition, exercise and camaraderie.

Davala plays at the with her partner Leslie Ganby, and is captain of the Wilton Riding Club League, Division 1. In Wilton alone, there are six teams in five divisions with 14 people to a team.

"I love it in the winter; it's a fun competitive sport to do in the winter. It's a very social game, and it's also fun to play with couples at night. It's easy to get addicted to it," Davala said with a laugh.

One reason for the rising popularity of paddle tennis is that doesn't discriminate based on age.

The Wilton Y, for example, has developed a kids' paddle tennis program for 3^rd- through 12^th-graders. "And then we get the high school kids to start teaching the younger ones," Davala said.

The game can be played in singles or doubles, as in tennis, however, the serve must be underhand and only one serve is allowed (there is no second serve as in tennis.) The scoring method is the same as in tennis – matches are best of three sets. Adapted from traditional tennis, paddle tennis is similar in concept but the court is smaller and has no doubles lanes, and the net is lower. The sports is also played with a solid paddle as opposed to a strung racquet, and a depressurized tennis ball is used along with an underhand serve.

Davala and her husband play together, she said, adding that paddle tennis is for anyone, but it can become more physically intense the more skilled a player becomes.

"We just played at the mix tournament this past weekend," she said. "If you're a good racquets player, this is a game for you, but paddle is more forgiving. You do have to be in shape because sometimes matches can go on for two-and-a-half hours."

Rick Swift of Stamford, who has been playing since 1974, said he enjoys the sport because it allows him to compete, spend time with friends and get outside in the winter.

Swift, who recently underwent elbow surgery, hopes to return late this season.

"But definitely next season," he told Patch.

Paddle tennis runs from October through March, he said, because colder temperatures are required "so the ball won't be so bouncy." The ball used in paddle tennis is a standard tennis ball with its internal pressure reduced so that when dropped from a height of six feet, it bounces to between 31 and 33 inches.

Like Davala, Swift said the level of paddle tennis played goes a long way toward determining how physically fit a player must be.

"The top players have to be in great shape. The rest of us should be in decent shape but not like tennis. With the small court and constant lobbing, you don't have to run as much as tennis or cover as much ground," he said.

It's too cold for outdoor tennis and it allows most working guys and gals to get outside after work in the evening or weekends and get some exercise, Swift said. Paddle is generally more social and a little less competitive than tennis with more "other athletes" able to pick up the game fairly easily. "Mixed paddle is popular because of the social nature of the game."

Invented in lower Manhattan, according to some historians, the game took root in Westchester County and quickly spread to the Fairfield County clubs, "so there's a lot of history in the game for this area," Swift said.

Both Swift and Davala belong to the Fairfield County Platform Tennis League.

Gail Keegan, whose parents played at Fairfield's in the 1970s, first stepped out onto the court at age 10 — and got back into the sport after college.

"This is so great because you can play outside during the winter," she said, calling paddle a "very seasonal sport."

"There was a big surge in the 1970s, but it's all coming back and it's getting bigger than it certainly has been in a while," Keegan said.

Keegan currently plays at Patterson Country Club, and is part of two leagues – the Fairfield Paddle Tennis League and the Fairfield County Platform Tennis League. Most Saturday mornings, they play each other at least once during the season.

"It's great because you are outside in the winter, fun to play in a competitive league, playing against people you knew at other clubs, so it was very social as well," Keegan said. "It's great exercise, too. You actually get more exercise playing doubles on the paddle court than singles on the tennis court."

Many area residents grow up playing tennis — and for them, paddle tennis grows out of that, she added.

"You can get better at it very quickly, but you still have that fun of having a competitive game, but it's very social," she told Patch. "There is always a party around the whole thing. Tennis has certain etiquette to it, paddle is a lot looser."

For Keegan and her husband Terry, who is also an avid player, the game is a family sport for their three kids. Their oldest son, Terry Jr., 20, won three national titles at ages 12, 13 and 14.

Keegan speculated that the sport's revival in recent years may owe itself, in part, to the down economy.

"As money has gotten tight over the last few years, a lot of people have had to change their spending. Indoor tennis time is very expensive," she said. "All these people are already playing country club dues, so I think that the economy may have something to do with it. But also, a lot of people get hooked on this game, it can be more fun than tennis."

Scott Hapgood, 35, of Darien, a self-described "country club kid" grew up playing tennis as a youngster playing in father-son matches, which is when he also picked up his love for the paddle.

"At the time my Dad played a lot seasonally, and for me, part of it was seeing how much my father enjoyed it," Hapgood said. He continued the sport, playing with friends in high school, and after college took a lull in playing and got back into it about 10 years ago.

Hapgood said he plays pickup matches during the week, and his wife Kallie, recently became hooked on the sport as well. "She is from Kansas so it is a new sport to her. Paddle tennis is a New England sport. We play some mixed tournaments together, but she has gotten pretty into it."

And the reason why the sport is a true cold weather sport is simple: physics. "It doesn't work playing in warm weather. Even in 50-degree weather, it's not as fun or true to the sport," Hapgood explained. "The ball is halfway between a lacrosse ball and a tennis ball, the cooler it is, the less malleable the ball is – if it's too hot the ball bounces too much."

The Fairfield Country Paddle Tennis League covers several country clubs in the county, encompassing 12 men's teams per division made up of seven divisions.

Hapgood said that about 12 men per roster play, which if you do the math, means that there are approximately 1,000 adult men playing in this one league alone. "That's a pretty strong following for a concentrated piece of geography," he said. "It's highly competitive, people take it pretty seriously."

For a listing of local paddle tennis courts, click here.