The River Forest Park District sells annual passes for use of the four platform tennis courts in Keystone Park. Annual passes run from September 1 to August 31. The courts are open to pass holders 7 days a week from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm. Pass holders have access to the Keystone Center Warming Hut the day after Labor Day until April 30, the opportunity to schedule court time via the online reservation system, and the opportunity to participate in the Park District's Travel and House Platform Tennis Leagues.
2024/2025 River Forest Platform Tennis Season
Platform Tennis Annual Passes for the 2024/2025 season can be purchased beginning Monday, July 29 at 8:30 AM
Pass Holder Types/Rates (New Fee As Of 7/29/24)
New:
- Resident: $210 (3435.2511)
- Non-Resident: $250 (3435.2511)
Returning:
- Resident: $200 (3435.2512)
- Non-Resident: $240 (3435.2512)
Junior:
- Resident: $100 (3435.2513)
- Non-Resident: $150 (3435.2513)
A Platform Tennis Pass provides the following benefits:
- Access to the platform tennis courts and the platform tennis court reservation system.
- Participation in platform tennis socials and events.
- Access to register for the Park District Platform Tennis Travel and House Leagues, Clinics, and Drills.
- A FOB key allowing access to the Keystone Center & bathrooms the day after Labor Day to April 30.
Platform Tennis Pass Holder Guidelines
In-house Fall, Winter and Spring Men's and Women's Platform Tennis Leagues are available to platform tennis passholders who register. There are additional fees for each league. Please note that you must be a River Forest Platform Passholder to register for the Platform Tennis League.
For Platform Tennis House League Information, please view the Fun Guide.
League Information
Women's House Leagues
Monday House League Schedule
Wednesday or Thursday House League Schedule
MEN'S HOUSE LEAGUES
Platform Tennis Game Rules
Group Lessons:
The Park District offers group platform tennis lessons throughout the year. A platform tennis annual pass is NOT required to register for lessons.
Registration will be available online. Please note that use of the platform tennis courts by non-passholders is limited to the registered lesson day and time.
Register Online for Fall Lessons
Check the season's Fun Guide for more information.
Private Lessons:
Online Court Reservations
Please note our Reservation Guidelines when making a platform tennis court reservation:
- When making an online reservation, all pass holders must be included on the reservation.
- Each Pass Holder is allowed to play in (1) prime time reservation per day. The prime time hours are: Saturday & Sunday: 7:00am to 5:30pm.
- Each pass holder is allowed to make non-prime time reservations for other times not listed above; however, is not allowed to make/or be part of more than one reservation per day. The Park District will be monitoring the online reservation system daily. If a pass holder's name is seen in duplicate time slots on the same day, those duplicate reservations will be deleted from the system.
- Guests: If a reservation includes the use of the "Guest 1 $5.00", the pass holder is required to email Jennifer Snow at jsnow@rfparks.com to notify her of the name of the guest and a contact phone number to arrange the $5.00 credit card guest payment. This email must be sent at the time of making the reservation. If an email is not sent notifying the Park District of a guest, the reservation will be deleted from the system.
Platform Tennis Committee
The River Forest Park District Platform Tennis Program Committee is a group of River Forest Platform Tennis pass holders who support the River Forest Park District platform tennis program. The Committee was created to enhance the quality of platform tennis through volunteerism and contributions.
The 2024 Platform Tennis Program Committee Members Are:
- Matt Schuler: Men's Travel League
- Karen Gianfransisco: Women's Travel League
- Randy Keller: Men's House League
- Carrie Horwitz: Women's House League
Platform Tennis Program Committee Information
Women's House League Representative
Women's Travel League Representative
Men's House League Representative
Men's Travel League Representative
For more information or to apply to be on the platform tennis committee, please contact Toni Giovenco, Athletic Manager at tgiovenco@rfparks.com or 708-366-6660 x104.
The Game of Platform Tennis
Platform Tennis, also called paddle, is a racquet sport derived from tennis. The sport was developed as an opportunity for sport enthusiast to play outdoors during the winter months. The court dimensions of 60'x30' are one quarter of a tennis court, with 12' of fencing around the court that is part of the play.
The court surface is specifically designed for winter play, consisting of a highly gritty surface to provide better traction in winter weather, and a heater system under the courts to assist with the drying of the courts during a winter snow.
The rules to platform tennis are similar to tennis, however there are distinctive differences. Because of the smaller playing area, and a one serve rule, play is far more continuous than tennis. As a result, even in subfreezing temperatures, players work up a sweat fairly quickly and maintain it until play is stopped.
The growth of platform tennis in the Chicago area has been steady over the past decade, with over 250 public and private courts in the area and thousands of participants.
Here is a Self-assessment tool provided by the American Platform Tennis Association that provides insight into what higher-level skills look like, as well as where you currently stand. It's great for developing your skills.
Click here to try it out.
Here is a good description to help you interpret the skill levels. Click here to view the description.
Platform Tennis Finances
The financial management of the platform tennis facility is unique from other Park District programs as it's a membership based program, and the program required construction of the courts that was financed through the Park District's Capital Improvement Funds.
Since its inception, the platform tennis facility has been designed to be self-sustaining and have no financial impact on the taxpayers. All debt incurred to construct the four platform tennis courts and all annual operating expenses are financed or recovered through user charges. The user charges include the annual pass holder fees, league fees, lessons, clinics, programs, and merchandise sales. The operating expenses include a portion of staff time of staff that directly manage and maintain the facility, program contractor expenses, maintenance contractor expenses, utility costs, and facility repair & replacement costs.
The cost to construct the four platform tennis courts was $671,795 and repayment of this debt is amortized over a 20-year period. An annual payment of $33,600 through 2032, then reduced to $19,600 through 2037 is made to debt service from the revenues generated from the facility. The facility has met its debt repayment obligations every year.
In 2021, the overall finances of the platform tennis program/courts operated in a net surplus. As a result:
- An additional $20,000 was made to the debt payment out of the 2021-2022 budget.
- An additional $20,000 was made to the debt payment out of the 2022-2023 budget.
Field Status
