Should the court have singles line?

Bob Brown, chair of the APTA Rules and Equipment Committee, on a proposal to eliminate the singles lines:

Why do we have white lines defining a singles court when the game of platform tennis is rarely, if ever, played by just two people? That is the question that was raised by the APTA Rules and Equipment Committee in a recent proposal to the Board of Directors to eliminate the unnecessary singles lines.

If this were done, the lateral service line would be extended (by two feet per side) to the outside service line. The concern would then be whether the wider service box would have any effect on the play of the game. The committee has conducted some play tests and preliminary results have concluded that the wider service box does not have any noticeable effect on the game.

However, the Board decided that it would be appropriate to advise the membership of this proposed change and encourage them to experiment. This can be done simply by extending the lateral service lines with a two-inch wide piece of masking tape and play the service line that lands in the alley as ‘good.’

The reasoning behind this proposal, as explained by the Committee, is that the court would then reflect the true nature of the game as intended for doubles play. The layout is simpler and has an attractive, uniform appearance. There is a 29% reduction in white lines on the court, which would be a benefit for maintenance and construction. The incidence of foot-slipping on wet lines would also be reduced.

The Board understands that if this proposal is adopted, there will be some minor costs incurred by court owners in order to revise the lines. Consideration is being given to an implementation program that would minimize this expense.

The Rules and Equipment Committee presented this proposal for a vote at the annual meeting in May of 2001 but based upon a number of negative letters received in response to the proposal, the proposal was voted down and discarded from future consideration.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 3, January, 2001 and Vol. 3 Issue 1, September, 2001