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THE SUPREME COURTS OF TENNIS
Differences have narrowed over the years, but the Grand Slam surfaces still offer a study in contrasts
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founded
Location
Surface
court pace rating
characteristics
did you know?
historic
changes
masters
of the medium
insight
by Harry Fauquier,
Tennex Systems Inc.
michael traikos and
guy spurrier / National Post
.
AUSTRALIAN FRENCH
OPEN OPEN
1905
Melbourne
Hard court (Plexicushion)
Medium-fast
The blue hard court, which
replaced the green rubberized
Rebound Ace (polyurethane
rubber, fibreglass) in 2008, is a
blend of latex, rubber and plas-
tic particles. Made by the same
company as DecoTurf, the ball
tends to bounce lower and is
slower than the US Open. It
also is not affected as much by
the extreme heat the way that
Rebound Ace was.
Plexicushion actually has a
four-millimetre cushion an
underlayer of liquid rubber
that causes the court to slightly
give and slows down the ball a
bit when it gets hot. However,
compared to Rebound Ace,
which had a 15-millimetre
cushion, it is minuscule.
The Australian Open was ori-
ginally played on grass, but
switched to Rebound Ace in
1988. The tournament changed
to Plexicushion in 2008, be-
cause of complaints that the
court became too sticky when
it got hot, causing ankle injur-
ies and for the ball to bounce
slower and more erratic.
Novak Serena
Djokovic Williams
(four titles) (five titles)
Hard courts are hard courts.
You can make them slow,
medium or fast, based on how
much silica sand you add in the
final application and how you
apply the application. Whether
you broom the last application
or how much sand and not
only how much sand, but the
size of the particles. Whether
theyre angular or small or
larger.
1891
16th arrondissement, Paris
Red clay
Slow
Clay, which is actually com-
posed of pulverized clay bricks,
is the slowest of all surfaces.
Balls bounce higher, thus
diminishing the advantages of
a hard serve, while allowing
quicker players to retrieve
more balls. Strong baseline
players, who put heavy topspin
on their shots, have more op-
portunities to set up winners.
Because the rallies tend to be
longer, it is considered one of
the more physically demand-
ing surfaces.
Clay is a malleable
material, but any
dents can be rolled
out fairly easily. For
players, the trickiest
part is learning how
to slide into shots on
a surface that is like
playing on ice.
The French Open was original-
ly played on sand that was laid
on a bed of rubble. Most North
American green clay courts use
Har-Tru, which is made from
crushed basalt rather than
brick, and is slightly harder
and faster.
Rafael Steffi
Nadal Graf
(nine) (six)
In the old days, they really
used to be made of potters
clay. Thats why its called clay.
When it rained, it would take
three to four days to dry out.
I can remember playing a big
tournament and they put gaso-
line on the court and lit them
so that they could burn off
most of the moisture. One time,
they brought in a helicopter to
blast the water off.
WIMBLEDON U.S.
OPEN
1877
Wimbledon, London
Perennial rye grass, cut to
height of 10 millimetres
Medium
Grass courts are the slickest
and fastest of the surfaces.
Balls bounce lower, rarely ris-
ing above knee height, and
often skid while still retain-
ing most of the speed. Rallies
tend to be shorter compared
to other surfaces, because
players have to reach the ball
quickly. As a result, powerful
servers who can play a serve-
and-volley game have a distinct
advantage.
Subject to weather; ball seems
heavier and slower on cold
damp days; lighter and faster
on warm dry days.
Since 2001, the courts have
been sown with 100% rye grass.
Previously, the courts used a
combination of 70% rye grass
and 30% creeping red fescue.
In 2009, Centre Court was fit-
ted with a retractable roof.
Roger Martina
Federer Navratilova
(seven) (nine)
I was told that they sprinkle a
very fine dusting of clay on the
court to help the grass fibres
stand up. But in actual fact,
they have added a clay element.
And clay means slower. In my
day, if you rifled a ball on the
baseline, it was over. Now, it
comes up and you can hit it
back.
1881
Queens, New York
Hard court (DecoTurf )
Fast
Hard courts are made by apply-
ing a thick acrylic paint on top
of concrete or asphalt. Deco-
Turf also features a thin layer of
rubber that provides cushion-
ing, but is still faster than the
Plexicushion that is used at the
Australian Open.
Every hard court has a sprink-
ling of silica sand on top, which
allows players to slide into
shots while also putting fric-
tion on the ball so that it boun-
ces higher and spins more.
The U.S. Open actual-
ly started as a grass
court tournament
when it was played
in Rhode Island, but
then changed to clay
from 1975 to 1977.
Since 1978, it has been
played at Flushing
Meadows in Queens.
Pete Chris
Sampras Evert
(five) (six)
Instead of it bouncing flat like
on linoleum and skipping like a
stone, the fur on the ball grabs
the sandpapery texture and
bounces up. It slows it down. If
you hit with topspin, it bounds
up. And if youre hitting with
backspin, it dies down con-
siderably.