Known for his unique "windmill" overhead, Northsider Matt Harkey is one of this session's King of the Court money winners. It's called a windmill overhead because Matt's arm makes a huge rotation like the arm of a windmill before making contact with the ball at which point the point is over (pardon the pun.)
Matt, along with Northsider Nelson Creath, is one of two "commissioners" of the River Hills Men's Tennis Association, which host the weekly King of the Court. Their volunteer work is much appreciated by their fellow members.
King of the Court has been wildly popular at River Hills Tennis Club for over 12 years. Started by club member Miles Marcus, King of the Court brings over 50 Northside men to River Hills every Monday night at 7:30 for doubles competition.
Players play one set a piece with each of the three other players. Whoever wins the most games moves up a court. Whoever wins the fewest games moves down a court. And the other two players stay on the same court. After six rounds, the top eight players out of 50 who win the most games earn prize money.
After the play is over, the men of the Northside kRiver Hills Men's Tennis Association (RHMTA) hang out, eat complimentary food, enjoy various libations, complain about the performance of their partners, wax eloquent about the joys of family life and solve the problems of the world.
Not to be outdone, the River Hills women, seeing how much fun their husbands were having, formed their own Queen of the Court, which follows the same format and is equally popular.
