Surface
There are five types of court surface used in professional play. Each surface is different in the speed and height of the bounce of the ball. The same surface plays faster indoors than outdoors.
- Clay
- Examples are red clay, used at the French Open, and green clay (an example of which is Har-Tru and used mainly in the U.S.). Almost all red clay courts are made not of natural clay but of crushed brick that is packed to make the court. The crushed brick is then covered with a topping of other crushed particles. This type of surface does not absorb water easily and is the most common in Europe and Latin America. Clay courts normally have a slower paced ball and a fairly true bounce with more spin.
- Hard
- Examples of hardcourts are acrylic (e.g. Plexicushion used at the Australian Open, DecoTurf used at the US Open, GreenSet used at the ATP World Tour Finals), asphalt, and concrete. Hardcourts typically have a faster-paced ball with a very true bounce and it is the predominant surface type used on the professional tour.
- Grass
- Grass courts usually have a faster-paced ball, and a more erratic bounce. Grass is used at Wimbledon and until 1974 three of the four Grand Slams (Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open) were played on grass. In 2001 Wimbledon changed the type of grass to make the courts more durable and thus better able to withstand the wear of the modern game. The new grass causes the ball to bounce higher and slows it down compared to the previous grass type.
- Carpet
- Any form of removable court covering, including carpeting and artificial turf. The bounce can be higher or lower than a hard court. Carpet surface has not been used on the ATP and WTA tour since 2009.
- Wood
- Popular from the 1880s through the first half of the 20th century, wooden surface provides a very low bounce and plays very fast. There are no longer any professional tournaments held on a wooden surface although some tournaments (e.g. Rotterdam Open and Open Sud de France), are played on a wood-based court with an acrylic layer on top.
Read more about this topic: Tennis
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