Types of Tennis court surfaces
What type of tennis court surface do you prefer? Is it the slow red clay or a crisp, green grass tennis court? The types of tennis courts vary all over the world depending on climate, community preference, history and other factors.
Traditionally, the sport has been celebrated on all surfaces. The “Grand Slam” of major tournaments has undergone a lot of changes in past decades. For instance, the U.S. Open in New York City - now played on a hard, Decoturf surface - used to be played at Forest Hills in Queens, New York on grass and then later on Har-Tru (a green clay-like surface). Same goes with the Australian Open which also used to be played on grass.
Today, the four grand slams are played on red clay (French Open in Paris), grass (Wimbledon), and a cushioned cement-like surface called decoturf (U.S. Open and Australian Open). The game is exceedingly popular on Har-Tru, other types of hard courts, indoors, and artificial grass surfaces too. Below, let’s examine the popular tennis court surfaces and how they impact the ball and other factors you should know.
Red Clay: The slowest of the surfaces because the ball "grabs” due to the texture of the clay. It is slippery, which is also beneficial for sliding on the court to retrieve shots. Points tend to be longer because the ball speed is slower on this surface, and it is tougher to put shots away or to hit aces on serve. Favors a baseliner who likes to defend, retrieve shots and keep points going. Because the ball “grabs” when it hits the court, the ball also tends to bounce higher favoring players who like to hit shoulder-high shots with Western or Topspin grips.
Secret weapon shot for red clay: short, angled shot with heavy topspin (movement to retrieve this shot can be tricky)
Grass: The surface which keeps the ball lowest due to the dampening effect the grass has on the ball. Have you ever walked out into your backyard and tried to bounce a tennis ball? The ball tends not to bounce very high. The same thing happens on a court. Also, given the slippery nature of grass, the ball tends to “skid” favoring players who like to slice the ball low and are comfortable playing against a low-spinning slice. It also favors players who like to hit with Eastern grips who are able to play low or knee-high shots effectively. Because of how quickly the ball moves through the court, grass favors good servers, baseliners who hit the ball flat or with a lot of power, and it also assists with net play. Heavy topspin is not as effective on grass as it is on clay.
Secret weapon shot for grass: drop shot (a softly-hit ball basically falls dead on the grass when it lands)
Decoturf/Hard Courts: One of the more popular surfaces for ATP/WTA tour players, as much of the summer circuit of tournaments in the United States is played on this surface. The ball bounces very true on this surface, much like if you were to walk out on a cement driveway and bounce a ball. The difference between pure concrete and the hard surfaces tennis courts are made out of is that there is a slight cushion or “give” to them. There are also ways to vary the speed of the hard surface; sometimes, it could be a “fast” hard court or a “slow” hard court. It depends on a few variables and the way the court was constructed. Because the ball bounces true, it doesn’t favor any particular type of player. If the court is considered “slow”, it will be more like clay in terms of ball speed; if “fast”, it will be more like grass in terms of ball speed.
Secret weapon shot on hard courts: into-the-body shots (on serve and for an opponent at net)
Har-Tru (Green Clay): One would think this surface would be just like red clay only green. That is not the case. Har-Tru tends to be more slippery than red clay, and tougher to change directions when moving. It is slower than hard courts or grass courts, but quicker than red clay. The same benefits apply on Har-Tru in terms of ball bounce - because of the texture of the clay, it will tend to “grab” the ball making the ball jump higher than usual. It, too, favors players who like to hit shoulder-high shots with Western or Semi-Western grips.
Secret weapon shot on har-tru: hitting behind someone during a rally (because of how difficult it is for someone to change direction quickly)