Grass / Lawn Tennis court – “The Fastest Court”

This court was once the commonest tennis court type from the early stages of tennis development. Due to technological advancement and tennis game development, the discovery of other court surface types has made this court a bit rare.

The lawn tennis court which is now grass tennis court have been used among three of the Grand Slams but currently, it’s a symbolic court of Wimbledon. Hitherto, US Open and Australian Open used these courts from 1881 to 1974 and from 1905 to 1987 respectively. The oldest Grand Slam, Wimbledon has been using these courts since 1887 till date.

Court Construction

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Grass courts require special skill to be built to specification. As done in other courts where the ground is prepared before the surface material is applied, the grass courts are no exception. In the construction of grass courts, the following factors are considered; the type of topsoil, topography of the land, drainage, weather and several other factors. These are necessary to construct high quality court of good tolerance to tennis wears with manageable maintenance cost.

This court like the clay court is also a packed one skilfully constructed with irrigation priority. The court has about four layers categorized into drainage layer, binding layer, top soil and finally the grass frosting. The drainage layer is composed of hard stones uniformly packed to about six inches with some drain pipes.

The second layer above it, is a coarse sand layer free of lime for pH control and also serves as a barrier to hinder the top soil from seeping into the drainage layer. On top of this layer is the topsoil rich in nutrient to support the growth of the grass. This layer is a sensitive part of the court and thus consumes time in its construction. This layer is made up of clay or sand with a good measure of organic matter to support the growth of the grass.
Grass Courts looks more complex to construct and thus specialized constructors are employed to do that.

Types of Grass Used – The Type Matters!

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These courts characterised by lower bounce of balls is as a result of the type of grass used for the surface. The grass types currently used for the court are;

• Bentgrasses (Agrostis spp.): A. castellana, A. tennuis, and A. stolonifera are the main types of this grass that can be used for grass tennis court. The A. stolonifera bentgrass type is referred to as creeping bent whiles the other two as browntop bent.‘Highland’ browntop bent, popular name for A. castellana is the most common bentgrass used in for tennis court which can grow during winter with its colour maintained. However, these grasses cannot withstand continuous use and thus cannot make a good field for major tennis tournament.

• Red Fescues (Festuca rubra L.): There are three varieties of them namely Chewings, Slender and Strong creeping. They have shiny, needle-like leaves and are able to withstand drought compared to other grass species. Among these three types, the slender red fescues have better performance for tennis court use in terms of maintenance and ability to tolerate abrasion.

• Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.): This type of grass has a rapid growth with high fertilizer requirement. Due to its growth nature it requires fairly high maintenance and can be used for tennis courts where tournaments are played regularly.

• Smooth-Stalked Meadow Grass (Poa pratensis L.): This grass upon its initial test for tennis court use was found to have tolerance to wears close to perennial Ryegrass. But upon further test failed to produce good result although is seen to be a promising one for tennis use.

Sometimes two or three of these grass types are blended for a grass tennis court. This is very necessary in cases where a balance is needed for both performance and maintenance.

Challenges About the Court – Adapt a Play Style

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This court is known to be the fastest court because the ball bounces with very low friction losing just a small fraction of its speed. Also, the ball exits at lower angle compared to the other courts. This lower angle may seem like the ball doesn’t bounce at all.

The fast-moving ball requires quick reaction by players and those with speed and power perform very well on this court. Also, the serve and volley type of players get upper hand in games on this court.

The grass court is known of its beautiful display of arrayed lawn but comes with high maintenance cost as compared with the rest. It also become slippery when in contact with water and balls skid very fast making it difficult to play at times.
Also, the small exit angles of ball forces players to bend most often to return shots. The regular bending may cause joint injuries sometimes.

Famous Players of this court – “Title Winners”

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The challenges posed by the different court types make it difficult for one be a champion of all. So, it is either you are specialist at one or you are Jack of all trade but master of none.

Among these great players, Roger Federer is the most astounding grass court player with 65 consecutive wins on grass court from 2003 to 2008 in the Open Era. And He continues to win major championships held on these courts.

Other players who have won at least five major tournament single titles on this court are Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, John Newcombe, Björn Borg, Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Billie Jean King and Chris Evert.

Final Words – Do You Have the Skills for Grass Court?

It is a great adventure to try something new. Playing on different types of tennis court surfaces might require transfer of knowledge but believe you me, the feeling is different. You can’t really play as they way you do. You might have to adjust to that new surface court’s play style.

If you want to enjoy fast game, this is the court for you. Try it and do well to share your experience in the comment below. You can always come around and share with folks through the comment what you have discovered personally about this court surface too.