Alright folks, so I finally got around to trying this western PA platform tennis thing everyone kept talking about near me. Total beginner here, zero clue. Saw folks playing on these weird, elevated courts surrounded by fences, heard this plink plonk sound, and thought “Okay, what is this?” Decided my next “figure it out” project was gonna be figuring this out.
First Stop: Gear Gathering Chaos
Went online searching like a madman trying to find beginner gear without breaking the bank. Realized pretty quick:
- The Paddle is Weird: It’s like a big ping pong paddle got mixed with an oval tennis racket. Grabbed a cheap composite one because “what the heck is perforated?” and “why is it fuzzy?” seemed like questions for after I knew if I liked playing.
- Balls Are Different: Grabbed two cans of the official balls. Orange dots? Apparently matters for bounce? Honestly, they felt like super dead tennis balls right out of the can. Squishy.
- Shoes Matter (A Lot): My old running shoes were a disaster waiting to happen. Slipped all over a friend’s driveway just pretending. Found some cheap court shoes on clearance – definite upgrade for traction.
Court Confusion & Rule Skimming
Found a public court near me. First impression? Way smaller than a tennis court! Fenced in, chicken wire all around. Rules seemed… kinda like tennis? Mostly?
- Underhand serve only? Okay, weird, but I can manage that.
- Balls can hit the fences? And it’s still in play?? That blew my mind. Whole game changes right there.
- Only one serve attempt? Eek, pressure’s on.
Basically skimmed the beginner rules section online like five minutes before heading out. Figured I’d learn faster by just playing and messing up.
First Awkward Swings
Dragged a buddy along who also had no idea. We walk up feeling kinda stupid. Started just volleying over the net super close. That plink sound is satisfying, gotta say.
First serves? Absolute comedy. More balls went sideways over the fence than actually over the net. Getting the underhand motion right without looking like I was bowling took way longer than expected. When we finally got a rally going using the fences as extra players? Mind. Blown. Hit it hard into the corner fence? It pops back out at a crazy angle. We spent a good 10 minutes just hitting into the screens laughing.
Learned real fast:
- Footwork is KEY. That little court feels huge when you’re scrambling. Slipped once even in the new shoes!
- Touch over Power. Cranking it like tennis just sends it flying out or into the net. Soft hands for the win near the net.
- Screens are Your Friend (and Enemy). Ball dies or does something weird off them constantly. Gotta watch it all the way.
The “Aha!” Moment
Took maybe 45 minutes of clumsy hacking and giggling. Then suddenly, we had this point. Served it underhand (finally!), buddy volleyed it back soft, I barely got it off the back screen, he angled it into the side screen… we scrambled, got it back over, like 5 shots using the screens! Ended when I completely missed an overhead volley (still working on those). We just stood there grinning like idiots. That point? That was the hook.
So yeah, western PA platform tennis. Weird name, weird gear, weird courts with magic fences. But it’s stupidly fun, even when you’re terrible at it. My advice? Grab the cheapest decent paddle you can find, some orange-dot balls, decent shoes, find a court, drag a friend who doesn’t mind looking dumb, and just start swinging. Hit the screens. Laugh a lot. The rest kinda figures itself out through epic fails and the occasional awesome point. Now I just gotta get back out there before I forget how to underhand serve again!