Tennis Court Types – Knowing the Field

Tennis court, a field where tennis game is played, is a rectangular grid somewhat like the table tennis platform. This field from history has undergone series of modifications from dimensions through material of construction to other factors determined by the governing bodies. However, the tennis of today has four main court types based on the surface material used to construct.

Overview of the Court Types

As stated earlier, the tennis game enjoyed by professionals and the public has the following court types:

• Clay Courts
• Grass/Lawn Courts
• Hard Courts
• Carpet Courts

Each court comes with its skill set requirements to overcome the challenges it poses to players. Tactics such as speed, agility, coordination and level of endurance of a player may vary from one court to the other. It is quite rare to find a professional player who is a master of all the tennis court types. Let delve briefly into this court types.

Clay Tennis Courts

Clay courts are the kind of courts that require much endurance and demands more strength. The clay used on the surface of the court is derived from brick, shale, stone or other aggregate of minerals loosely bound together. These source materials are crushed into smaller particles which are combined with other additives to meet standard specifications.

Under this type, comes two sub types due to the colour of the clay material namely red and green clay court. Among the grand slams, the French open is the only tournament that uses the clay court. It has been the only tournament which has maintained this court from its inception despite the modifications on the other grand slams. This makes its tournament unique. For full content of this click here.

Grass/Lawn Tennis Courts – From the Origin!

These courts are the fastest types which have come a long way with the history of tennis game. In the early stages of tennis development, it was commonly called lawn tennis court. It seems to be fading out of the system but people sometimes use it to distinguish the tennis game from table tennis.

These courts are made of grass lined in different designs which make an awesome display. It comes in different colours and types of grass used which give them unique characteristics. They are predominant in Wimbledon Championship.

Hard Tennis Courts

The name of this court type got me into thinking on the first time I heard of it. Is it a court based on difficulty level or the field on which it is played is very hard? Don’t be carried away too, it is a court classified according to the type of surface material used.

These courts come in many colours and are suitable for several styles of spin demanding less physique as compared to the clay type of courts. They are mostly constructed from synthetic materials layered on concrete. These courts are mostly used on the professional tour among the US Open and Australian Open.

Carpet Tennis Courts

What comes to mind when you hear of carpet court? Can you guess? It is a court which is similar to the normal carpet concept that you and I know. The surface material of this court is nylon, rubber or polymer which can be folded in rolls. It is sometimes referred to as indoor court by people. This can be folded into sheets and spread on any suitable surface which can be inside a room or outside on suitable ground.

One can regard it as a carry-on court because you can carry it anywhere. It also has two main types which are indoor and outdoor versions. This court has the highest injury record because of its nature and thus its use in major professional tournaments retarded in 2009 to reduce injury cases.

Indoor and Outdoor Courts – Are they types?

These terms are commonly used but are not considered as court types. They are used as a qualification to the setting of that court. Any of the main types of the court described above can either be termed as an indoor one or outdoor based on the confinement.

Tennis games played indoors are void of any environmental interruptions such as wind which can be very disturbing sometimes as compared to the outdoor ones. The court types briefly explained above can be adapted for indoor or outdoor use in any tournament depending on individual’s choice. But the most common type of the courts normally used is the hard court.

Historically, there are number of championships played in an enclosed area with different court surfaces. The Davis cup mostly use a clay court type for its matches played indoors. These courts normally have underground watering systems used for the maintenance of the court. Also, with good lighting system, the 2012 Wimbledon Championships were completed on a lawn court played indoors. Beside these, other court types have been used indoors for the following tennis games: Halle Open on grass court, London Indoor Professional Championships and World Covered Court Championships.

One of the most important tennis tournament played indoors currently is the ATP World Tour Finals. Most of the major tennis championships are played outdoors which are common to find.

What’s Your Experience on These Courts – In Conclusion

If you are a fun of tennis game, I believe you have had some experience on one or two of these types. Was the feeling the same? I remember my experience when I first played on a hard court after several training on clay tennis court. I was kind of disappointed in myself because I couldn’t really flow well for the few hours. It took me some time to get accustomed to it before I could play a smooth game. So the feeling is not the same in my opinion.

I guess you have your experience too. Do well to share yours in the comment box below and I will be glad to get back to you. If you haven’t got that experience, then I will recommend you to acquaint yourself with these posts (clay, grass, hard, carpet) to see if the feeling is the same when playing on these courts.