Innovative Surface to Feature Multiple Racquet, Paddle Sports
January 10, 2019
NORWALK, Conn. (Jan. 10, 2019) – The inaugural Racquet & Paddle Sports Show Preview, held Jan. 23-25 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., and co-located with the PGA Merchandise Show, will feature an innovative NEXT-Court surface that will host a variety of racquet and paddle sport demonstrations and events. Attendees at the show will be able to watch professional players on the court, and get out and play themselves with the newest equipment from leading manufacturers.
NEXT-Court by Mateflex is a 30- by 60-foot court surface that can showcase the sports of tennis, youth tennis, pickleball, POP Tennis, platform tennis, badminton, Cardio Tennis and more. The surface is the creation of David Meharg, NEXT-Court founder and CEO, together with the Mateflex modular sports flooring company.
“The NEXT-Court surface is a versatile, innovative product that gives sports facilities flexibility in their programming and gives consumers a variety of sports to play,” Meharg says.
“For the first time, these different sports will come together for one major event, promoting tennis and each of the related racquet and paddle sports, and the overall importance of participation and business growth as a whole,” says Jolyn de Boer, the executive director of the Tennis Industry Association, which partnered with Reed Exhibitions to produce the Racquet & Paddle Sports Conference.
“Providers of these different sports will find common ground that will resonate with sports facilities and consumers—and help to get more Americans active and healthy,” adds de Boer. More than 30 million Americans play racquet and paddle sports, according to research by the Physical Activity Council.
The Racquet & Paddle Sports Show Preview also will include a full-size court for the sport of padel, a fast-moving paddle sport played in a glass-enclosed court that is popular in Europe and South America, with about 12 million players worldwide. The padel court installed at the OCCC, for both pro exhibitions and demonstrations, was shipped from Spain for the event.
The Racquet & Paddle Sports Conference, a multi-faceted tennis, racquet and paddle sports industry event, also will have a curated ONE2ONE buying summit, the sixth annual Tennis Industry Association’s Tennis Owners & Managers (TOM) Conference and a pavilion of racquet, paddle and tennis vendors and organizations, Jan. 23-25, at the OCCC.
Industry professionals representing racquet sports companies, organizations and facilities can attend, free of charge, the Demo Day and Industry Welcome Party at the USTA National Campus on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at Lake Nona in Orlando. Complimentary registration is required to attend and available at RacquetPaddleSportsShow.com.
To view the full NEXT-Court schedule at, visit www.racquetshow2019.com/next-court.