Winnetka’s platform tennis community got its start in 1978 when Winnetka residents partnered with the Winnetka Park District to build the nation's first public platform tennis courts.  Local residents raised money to fund the construction of two platform tennis courts and donated the courts to the Winnetka Park District for public use.

The Winnetka Platform Tennis Club was created as an independent entity, donating the two courts as well as agreeing to pay an annual rental fee that covers the annual operating expenses of the facility.

By 2000, the original hut, described by one member as “nailed together one weekend by a couple of guys,” became crowded and obsolete and the WPTC approached the Park District about building a new hut. With free architectural services from club member Gary Frank, a new $450,000 paddle hut was built in the summer of 2004, funded with WPTC reserves and a $200,000 loan from the Park District that WPTC repaid over eight years. In 2006 two additional courts were funded by WPTC and donated to the Park District, for a total of six courts.

The beautiful and practical new hut — which Town & Country profiled as one of the seven most impressive in 2014 — created even more momentum in the program.

To meet increasing demand from the community, WPTC funded $450,000 for the construction of two additional courts in 2023, bringing the total number of courts to eight, again making WPTC the largest public platform tennis facility in the country.

WPTC is now embarking on its largest project to date, the expansion of the platform tennis hut, doubling its' size and creating covered outdoor space with a grill for players to congregate. Our plans also call for a significant expansion of the decking surrounding the hut, connecting all courts and the hut on the same level.