Over 40 Cook County residents played POP Tennis last spring and summer. That does not include another 20 Cook County visitors who were interested in trying and enjoyed playing POP Tennis at our local tennis courts. POP Tennis is very popular on the east and west coast, but Cook County may have the most POP Tennis players in the Midwest.
What is POP Tennis? POP Tennis is a sport that everyone can play and enjoy immediately, no lessons or superior athletic ability needed! POP Tennis is the rebranding of 100-year-old paddle tennis, now made “POPular” and played on shorter tennis courts (60 x 21 feet), with short rackets/paddles (18.5 – 19 inches), lower compression (green dot or orange) tennis balls, the same scoring and rules as tennis, except players serve underhand and get one serve. The net for POP Tennis is generally lower but it can also be played with a regular three-foot-high tennis net. The Cook County Public Tennis Courts, located in Grand Marais, already have the blended (light blue) lines which can be used for POP Tennis painted on all five courts.
POP Tennis is an excellent way for kids, adults, seniors and beginners of all ages to learn how to play tennis. It teaches them to hit consistent groundstrokes, to volley, to move to the ball, to use strategies, and to compete. With a less lively ball, smaller court and shorter racket, it is easy to master the strokes and the sport and engage in a fun, social activity with friends and family.
There are many benefits of playing POP Tennis. Rallies are generally longer, there is fun and exciting net play, there is less court to cover, there are no overhead serves to learn, and as a result, there is far less running and wear and tear on the back, legs, feet, and shoulders. The sport is easy to play and easy on the body. All ages and ability levels can play together.
POP Tennis also has all the right ingredients for a great fitness workout: long rallies, and a speed of play that can be very quick relative to skill level. Because of its unique attributes, POP Tennis can be played at a high level for a lifetime, with less practice, and despite previous player injuries and/or diminished skills. Best of all, it’s fun! It can add years to your life and life to your years.
Additionally, POP Tennis, due to the shorter distance between you and the player(s) on the other side of the net, leads to increased hand speed/ quickness and the development of faster hand/eye coordination.
One benefit of this increased speed and quickness is that when you do play tennis, your reflexes and reaction time will be quicker, so you will feel as if you have far more time to react to, move toward, and hit the ball. So playing POP Tennis should improve your tennis game. In fact, current and former pro tennis players, Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, Steve Johnson, Gael Monfils, Alison Riske, Sam Querrey, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Mardy Fish, and others play POP Tennis in their spare time. Why? Because it’s so much fun and it complements their tennis.
John Muus, with the help of the Cook County Tennis Association (CCTA) and some of its members, the USTA Northern and United States POP Tennis Association, launched POP Tennis in Cook County (MN), in May 2017.
The CCTA received a 2017 Community Tennis Grant ($800) from the USTA Northern to purchase 16 quality POP Tennis rackets from the U.S. POP Tennis Association for this purpose.
John Muus, Paul Muus and Mike DeBevec taught a two-week POP Tennis unit for physical education classes in grades 6-12 at the Cook County Public Schools in Grand Marais, this spring and last spring. John Muus and the CCTA will also be offering free POP Tennis sessions for the general public, May 19 – May 22, 2018 (see ad). POP Tennis rackets and balls will be provided for the sessions and some will be available to purchase, if interested.
For more information and videos of POP Tennis, visit www.poptennis.com.
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