Tennis Court Surfaces Explained – What surface suits your game?

The ATP World Tour Finals have recently come under fire from Rafael Nadal, the men’s current number 1, for not rotating their tennis court surfaces every year to give all players the chance to play on their preferred surface. Nadal is renowned for his exceptional performances on clay surfaces, with this being his court of choice, but the ATP has for the last 9 years favoured hard indoor courts, despite the fact that the players qualify on all surfaces to gain a place in the finals. Each of the four major tennis tournaments are played on different surfaces – Wimbledon has always used 100% rye grass, which despite being tradition, is considered slower than other grass surfaces. The French Open however uses crushed shale, stone or brick while the US open is played on hard acrylic surfaces and the Australian Open on synthetic hard courts. But what exactly are the differences, how do they affect play and performance and which surface is best?

Traditional Hard Court Surface

Traditional hard court surfaces, such as the painted porous macadam surface or non-porous acrylic courts installed by Charles Lawrence, are the most common. You can find examples at leisure centres, schools and tennis clubs all over the country and are usually made of concrete or asphalt. It is often favoured as a middle ground – being faster than clay courts, but slower than grass and is often described as offering a true bounce for the benefit of hard-serving players who prefer a fast-paced match.

Artificial Grass Carpet

Artificial grass carpets used to be hugely popular up to and throughout the 1970s, but it is now quite rare. This might be because the surface is thought to differ substantially between courts, with some mimicking the character of a real grass court and others offering play similar to hard courts. Although it is not often used by professional players, it is used in local tennis clubs and sports centres as it creates a tennis court that can be used in winter and summer, as the optimal drainage allows longer outdoor seasons.

Artificial Clay Courts

Clay tennis courts – such as the ones favoured by Nadal – are thought to be best for limiting impact on ankle, knee and hip joints because they have has less traction. They also allow ‘slide’, which divides players as some think it enhances performance, whereas players less used to the surface may find it frustrating. It’s renowned as a slower surface, so ideal for players with heavy topspin as the ball moves slower making points and rallies last longer and the game more exciting to watch –although the reduced speed and higher bounce sometimes results in long, drawn-out, defensive matches.

Porous polymeric surfaces

Polymeric surfaces are usually installed as multi-use games areas, ideal for any impact sport from tennis and basketball to athletic tracks. They also offer a high degree of slip resistance, and are resilient enough to be used year round, offering high performance and maximum comfort for players. The court is constructed from a rubber shock pad and has a polyurethane coating applied over the top. This make-up is designed to lower impact on the joints and lower limbs so is perfect for fast paced tennis matches. These four popular types of tennis court surfaces offer particular benefits for different types of players – traditional hard courts are quite neutral, but faster paced, whereas a clay court is ideal for defensive players thanks to the slower ball movements. Then there’s the joint-friendly, slip-resistant polymeric courts and the hugely versatile artificial carpet courts that allow year round play! Charles Lawrence can design, install and maintain all of the above types of tennis court surfaces, ensuring a quality court, no matter what you choose – for more information about the benefits or each, simply give us a call.