Four youths selected to demonstrate POP tennis at last weekend’s US Nationals in Flushing Meadows. Olivia Gravagna, 6, is on the right.
Olivia Gravagna, a 6-year-old Suffern resident, was one of four youths toย take part in a POP Tennis exhibition Dec. 31 atย the US tennis nationals held in Flushing Meadows.ย Olivia, daughter of RCC tennis coach Joe Gravagna, impressed the crowdย byย keeping paceย with exhibitioners twice her age.
POP Tennis VP Mitch Kutner told the Rockland County Times that with the backing of the USTA, POP is growing fast. The number of POP courts in the United States has increasedย from 500 to over 10,000ย in recent years.
Kutner and a half dozen or so other executives are leading theย push to grow the sport.ย Keep your eye out and you’re bound to seeย POP “pop” up. It has been making the rounds on media. Big time pro tennis players such as Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, John McEnroe, Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey, Alison Riske, Derrick Rostagno, Stevie Johnson, Vinnie Van Patten and others have all been seen playing POP for fun recently.
Still from Youtube
So how did young Olivia of Suffern do during the exhibition?
“She was fantastic,” Kutner said.
Her dad the tennis coach is high on Olivia’s prospects. “She’s exceptional for her age,” Joe Gravagna said.
Most tennis players who go on to do big things get started before they’re 5-years-old, Kutner confirmed, so if Olivia does have that potential sheย is on the right timeline.ย If not, she isn’t complaining. Olivia told the Rockland County Timesย “I love tennis.” She said herย favorite player is Serena Williams.
There are no POP courts in Rockland County at this time, but if POP’sย expansionย planย succeedsย they will eventually be in every county in the country.
Kutner
POP shares the same scoring rules asย traditional tennis, but is played on a smaller court (60′ x 21′ vs. 78′ x 27′) and usesย a paddle-style racket and “lower compression” tennis ball with a big green dot on it. Players are also required to use anย underhand serve.
While 60′ is the standard length of a pop court, there are versions of the game with courts as short as 36.’
Traditionally known as paddle-tennis, the 100-year-old sport was rebranded POP in 2014 with the backing of the USTA. The major association sees POP as an excellent feeder game for traditional tennis,ย potentially attracting youthsย to the sportย at an earlier age, while alsoย giving older players a chance to engage inย a lower stress version of the game.
It’s a fun sport in its own right for people of all ages, said Kutner, himself a longtime enthusiast and winner ofย many POP tournaments.
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