beneath the surface

The Tennis department serves up a primer on the different types of tennis court surfaces and how each will keep you on your toes.

Those that follow tennis know that Rafael Nadal is the "king of clay courts." Roger Federer is known as one of the best grass-court player of all-time. But, why is that? Why are two of the all-time greatest tennis legends capable of performing so differently on distinct surfaces? Basically, tennis court surfaces are constructed in contrasting ways and use different materials. Their dissimiliar construction and composition affect several aspects of a tennis match, including the velocity of the shots, the ball bounce, and the players’ capacity for moving around. Some players, like Federer, adapt better to courts with faster surfaces, while others like Nadal perform better on slower and bouncier courts.

Most of us may have played on one or maybe two surfaces before, but what you may not know is that there are many more court surfaces out there, each one affecting the player’s game in a different way.

Types of COURT SURFACES

⊲ Hard Courts

The majority of the biggest professional tournaments, along with most courts at clubs throughout North America, are played on acrylic/polyurethane courts (hard courts). This includes two Grand Slams (Australian Open and US Open), the ATP Finals, and 6 ATP 1000s (Indian Wells, Miami, Canadian Open, Cincinnati, Shanghai, and Paris).

Skating

⊲ Clay Courts

There are two main types of clay courts: red clay and green clay (also known as claytech or har-tru). Green clay courts are faster and more popular in the United States, while red clay courts are slower and more popular in South America and Europe. Red clay is the second most popular surface on the professional tour, as it is the surface of one Grand Slam (French Open/Roland Garros) and 3 ATP 1000s (Madrid, Monte Carlo, and Rome).

⊲ Grass Courts

Considered the most elegant of all surfaces, grass courts are somewhat difficult to find nowadays. Grass courts used to be a lot more popular in the past. Between 1905 and 1974 3 Grand Slams were played on grass (Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open). With the decline in popularity of grass courts, only one Grand Slam is currently played on grass (Wimbledon). Unsurprisingly, no ATP 1000s are played on grass.

⊲ Indoor Courts

Finally, while indoor tennis courts are not necessarily a different surface, they are worth mentioning. An indoor tennis court may have any of the surfaces mentioned above, but the roof makes the overall experience feel a little different.

Currently, only one ATP 1000 is played exclusively indoors (Paris). Several other ATP 500 & 250, and Challengers are also played indoors. As of 2020, the main courts of all Grand Slams have a retractable roof, which means that players may end up playing indoors in the case of bad weather.