US Open POP Tennis Championships

When Mitch Kutner posted about the US Open POP Tennis Championships in Venice Beach on Social Media, I became excited. POP Tennis, the re-branded Paddle Tennis, is just a great sport imho. Much closer to tennis and really close to Padel, it is more fun for serious tennis players than Pickleball. I don’t want to slam Pickleball, but POP Tennis is the way to go, folks. Forget Red Ball Tennis! Put some POP in your game!

POP Tennis Overview

POP Tennis is the new POPular type of Tennis with a twist on traditional Paddle Tennis and is currently being played in 34 US states and 14 other countries around the world. POP is the ORIGINAL Paddle Tennis, created & developed in Michigan & New York City, respectively, and dates back to 1898. Icon Althea Gibson played POP as a child on the streets of NYC, which led her directly into a legendary Tennis career. POP is Tennis, just played on shorter courts with short, solid(no strings) paddles, lower compression tennis balls(green dot for advanced players, orange for intermediate, beginners & children) with the same rules/scoring as tennis, except players get one underhand serve.

POP Tennis is for all ages, can be played all year round, indoor or outdoor, and is typically played on both traditional 50-foot courts & 60-foot courts. The 60-foot courts are sanctioned and certified by the ITF. But POP can be played anywhere with a portable net, even in locations without lines or permanent courts. There are currently over 30,000 POP courts around the US at over 2,600 locations. POP can be played on all surfaces, including hard court, grass/turf, clay/Har-Tru, modular tile, and hard sand.

POP is primarily a doubles sport with a short learning curve and can be played easily by all levels of speed, talent, and athleticism. A great sport on its own, but also a perfect feeder for children into tennis, and a keeper for those who may not be able to play tennis anymore. If permanent courts aren’t available in your area, temporary courts can quickly & easily be set up anywhere with portable nets and temp lines (chalk, tape, drop down hashmark lines etc).

International POP Tennis Assoc

Meet Mitch Kutner

Below is a short welcome video by International POP Tennis Association President Mitch Kutner.

Mitch writes about the International POP Tennis Association:

The International POP Tennis Association, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit 501(c)(3)organization devoted to creatively and aggressively growing the sport of POP Tennis nationally & internationally. POP is a rebranding of traditional, classic Paddle Tennis, which is the “original” Paddle Tennis created in the US in 1898.

Since its inception, I've been working directly with POP Founder Ken Lindner. National focus has been marketing, promotion, organizing event socials, clinics & pro demos, social media, sponsorships, partnerships, and attending industry trade events. Local focus has been driving programs & initiatives at locations including the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Relationships with the U.S. Tennis Association & the Tennis Industry Association have created over 30,000 new courts around the country. POP is now being played actively in 29 different states around the U.S and in 14 other countries. Recent global partnerships with Tennis Australia and European Sports Group(ESG) in an eleven-country licensing deal have further expanded our reach and growth potential. Our partners & supporters include Adidas, Babolat, Wilson, Dunlop, Drop Shot, Tecnifibre, Reflex, XTP, Tiga, Axe, Powerpaddle, and Sport Court.

Major media coverage, including a 4-minute feature story on NBC’s “The Today Show”, a Tennis Channel Feature story, and an Associated Press story that ran on over 250 networks worldwide, has helped build our momentum.

Our main priority is to continue growing POP Tennis & its player base exponentially by creating sport awareness, creating business opportunities for our supporters, and developing/constructing new courts in schools, camps, public parks, country clubs, gated & retirement communities, residential locations, and recreational facilities.

The photo below shows Mitch Kutner with Christine Lee, tournament volunteer and Co-Founder of Pop Paddle Venice.

The video below shows Ocean Front Walk around famous outdoor gym “Muscle Beach.”

POP Tennis Vendor Molly Bakes

The photo below shows Molly promoting her delicious bakery products. Molly is also a member of the California Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey. The club has 4 courts lined for POP Tennis and Pickleball. “Coach Edwin” comes in every week to teach both racquet sports.

Ladies’ Doubles was very competitive at the US Open in Venice Beach. I enjoyed watching them fight for every point.

POP Tennis Vendor LOST iN

LOST iN prides itself on “Creating & Curating Travel Culture for a New Generation of Travel Enthusiasts.” Their travel guidebooks “offer an elegant, design-forward reading experience designed to give you insight into the cultural beating heart of each destination.” Tori showed me the books from Venice Beach and Tokyo. Nice!

POP Tennis Men’s Doubles is fast-paced and reminds me of Padel a lot.

The tournament had over 100 players on 10 courts. Players were waiting to get on the court for their next match.

The Venice Beach courts are very close to the beach. This video gives us almost a 360-degree angle from the beach to the courts.

POP Tennis Vendor Volée

Volée is known for very fashionable bags, apparel, and accessories. Kelly gave me a demo and presented a paddle brand new to me: Tangerine. Known for their Pickleball paddles, Tangerine also makes a small line of Padel rackets.

This short clip shows some of the vendors at the POP Tennis US Open.

Congratulations to Men’s Open Champions Daniel Wulff and Luis Estrada.

I had a blast at the POP Tennis US Open in Venice Beach. I wish there were courts near me so I could play POP regularly. Congratulations, Mitch, for organizing an exciting event at an amazing place.