Congratulations to Bill O’Brien who has been elected into the American Platform Tennis Association (APTA) 2023 Hall of Fame.  This honor is bestowed on those individuals who have made a major impact on the growth and development of the sport.

For 32 years O’Brien has dedicated his time and expertise to the Chicago area paddle community. He continues to offer free paddle lessons every week from September to March to interested players in the Hinsdale community.  

To read more about his accomplishments, click here.

Congrats to the C Draw winners Michael Golichowski and Wally Fikri for outlasting the field to capture the elusive 2022 Hinsdale Open C Draw Championship which took place March 19-20. Playing at times in the rain, they were able to beat five different opponents, taking the finals 6-1, 6-1 again Scott Silberberg and Brett Padgett.

Thanks to all the participates and a very special thanks to our sponsors, Concklin Insurance and Bulkmatic for their support. Without them we’d be dining on pixie sticks and coke.

Ribbon cutting ceremony held Dec. 3

The official dedication of the Bill O’Brien Platform Tennis Center and the grand reopening of the newly design paddle hut took place on December 3, 2021 at KLM. The Board, along with many HPTA members and friends turned out to publicly dedicate the facility to our great friend and paddle ambassador to our area for the past 30+ years, Bill O’Brien.  

The dedication was followed by an open house with food and beverages.

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Congrats to Rob and Rachel Young for out tangoing everyone at the Hinsdale Southwest Suburban Mixed Doubles Tournament, A Draw. The tournament, held May 1, featured two draws with mix doubles teams from the various SW suburban clubs.

Taking top spot in B Draw were Rich and Allie Neme.

The Men’s 2021 Hinsdale Open Paddle Tournament took place March 20-21 and include four main draws. Congrats to all who participated and provided some exciting competitive matches.

Winners include:

Men’s A Draw: Rob Foster/Paul Rose
Men’s B Draw: Matt Allison/Rob Young
Men’s C Draw: Eric Price/Scott Wisniewski
Men’s D Draw: Neil Dalal/Nathan Hurst

Courts to remain open during construction

You should have received a recent email annoucing the long awaited expansion and renovation of the Billy O Platform Tennis Hut. The project is set to begin Monday, May 3 with an estimated completion date sometime in September of this year (in time for the 2021-22 paddle season).

During the construction, the paddle hut will not be available for use so please plan accordingly. The courts will remain open during the entirety of the process. Should this change, members will be notified immediately.

For more detailed information, click here. To view the renovation, click here.

Sign up now for the spring session of beginner/advanced lessons, April 5-May 16. The basic skills of platform tennis will be taught; including grips, backhand volley, lobs, drives, serve and volley, and screens. Point play will conclude each drill. Courts will be divided by ability level. Class Size: minimum 3 students, maximum 4 students.

Contact Mary Doten to form a private group of 3-4 students at a mutually convenient time. To sign up for lessons, click here.

Junior program
A great junior program is also available on Monday and Tuesday afternoons at 4 or 5 pm.  Ben Ashford, formerly head pro at Tennaqua CC runs the kids around and teaches them the fun of paddle.  

To register for the junior program, visit the events page on Court Reserve.

24 Teams Participated in 2021 Hinsdale Women’s Challenge

Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 Hinsdale Women’s NRT Challenge, Heather Prop (Cincinnati) and Wendy Shpiz (Winnetka) who out lasted Spencer Caravaggio and Sandy Cvetkovic, 7-6, 7-5.

With frigid temperatures, it was coldest conditions at a Grand Prix this season. All top four seeds all made it into the quarterfinals, with Caravaggio and Cvetkovic (3) battling in a three-setter against Svetlana Schroeder and Shawna Zsinko to progress on to the semifinals. Alison Morgan and Alice Tunaru (2) weren’t able to hold off the strong team of Hallie Bodman and Marina Ohlmuller, who won 6-1, 6-2. Fourth seeds Chris Maglocci and Denise Murphy defeated Sean Barth and Sydney Berens, 6-2, 6-2.

In the semifinals Prop/Shpiz won versus Maglocci/Murphy, 6-2, 6-2, and Caravaggio/Cvetkovic won against Bodman/Ohlmuller 6-2, 6-1.

A big thank you to Tournament Director Mary Doten, host Hinsdale Park District (Katherine Legge Park), Chicago Highlands Country Club, the volunteers, and all the participants.

2021 Hinsdale Challenge Women’s NRT Final Results 

Current Standings

The second half of CPTC Southwest Men’s Winter Paddle League season will resume shortly after a long holiday break. It has been a great season so far. Good luck to all the Hinsdale Paddle Club (PC) teams. Be sure to continue to adhere to the COVID guidelines, be safe, have fun and lets bring home some championships.

For all the latest standings and score, visit https://aptachicago.tenniscores.com/.

Current standings as of 1/16/21.

Series 3
Hinsdale PC II – 1st with 108 pts
Hinsdale PC I – 3rd with 86 pts

Series 7
Hinsdale PC II – 1st with 120 pts
Hinsdale PC I – 4th with 83 pts

Series 9
Hinsdale PC II – 4th with 86 pts
Hinsdale PC I – 5th with 85 pts

Series 11
Hinsdale PC II – 3rd with 87 pts
Hinsdale PC I – 5th with 80 pts

Series 13
Hinsdale PC II – 2nd with 90 pts
Hinsdale PC I – 4th with 66 pts

Series 15
Hinsdale PC in 4th with 85 pts

Series 17
Hinsdale PC I – 4th with 74 pts
Hinsdale PC II – 8th with 55 pts

Series 19
Hinsdale PC – 11th with 60 pts

Series 21
Hinsdale PC – 6th with 59 pts

Series 23
Hinsdale PC I- 7th with 67 pts
Hinsdale PC II – 10th with 60 pts