Tennis Court Surfaces
In standard competition, there are four different types of surfaces on which tennis is played.
These surfaces vary hugely in the effect they have on players, with some players only ever managing to be successful on one surface. Roger Federer is often lauded as one of the best tennis players there has ever been due to an ability to play fabulous tennis on all four surfaces, but he is a rarity.
The three main surfaces used are grass, clay and hard court. These three are used in the four major Grand Slam tournaments; Wimbledon is played on grass, the French Open is on clay and the US Open and Australian Open are on hard court. To win all four is to display a complete tennis game that is applicable to all surfaces – but it doesn't happen often. Many tennis players have a favourite surface (current world number one Rafael Nadal is a clay court specialist, though is also devastating on grass) and one they dislike.
It is easy to think that tennis is just tennis, and therefore the surface is largely irrelevant. However, the surfaces vary so hugely that the type of game needed to master them constantly changes; to master all the surfaces, a player must be truly adaptable.
Perhaps the most recognisable surface is grass, used at Wimbledon and other minor tournaments. Grass is the fastest surface in regular use, meaning points are shorter and the surface is preferred by big-serving players such as Andy Roddick. The ball bounces low and fast.
On the other side, clay is the slowest surface. Clay courts are made from crushed shale, stone or brick and are typically bright orange in appearance. Balls bounce high and slow down on clay, making it a difficult surface for players who rely on a big serve. Some players are wildly successful on clay but never truly adapt to another surface. The French Open Grand Slam is played on clay.
Two Grand Slam events use hard court, the Australian Open and the US Open. The hardness of the court tends to be determined by the individual event. Hard court is considered the least specialist surface, with all types of styles being at least somewhat effective. The ball bounces faster on hard court than on clay, but slower than on grass. Away from the Grand Slams, artificial grass is also used on courts, though mainly for personal use. It is faster than grass, with the ball bouncing low and fast.
Mastering each surface is difficult; one must go back to the glory days of now-retired Andre Agassi to find a player who last won all four Grand Slam tournaments in one year. Those who do manage to become competent on whatever surface tend to have the most all round game, which relies on more than a big serve or powerful hitting. Begin by learning to play the game on hard court, as it is a good medium between the more difficult surfaces of grass and clay.
