Hard tennis. Covering for tennis courts. Types of tennis surfaces

12.05.2016

Grass courts (grass courts)

A fast type of court with low ball bounce. Grass is the oldest type of surface and has been used since the advent of the game of tennis. Currently, this is the least common type of court due to the difficulty of maintaining it, high operating costs, dependence on climatic conditions and high demands on the professionalism of players. The quality of a grass court depends on the height and density of the grass, as well as the type, hardness and moisture content of the soil.

Clay courts

A slow type of court with a high, perhaps unpredictable ball bounce, although depending on the quality of the surface materials and its maintenance, a smooth and predictable bounce can be achieved.
Soil is the most common type of coating tennis courts, due to its relative cheapness and minimal risk of injury.
The top covering of clay courts consists of a mixture of clay, sand and brick or stone chips, rubber or plastic chips may be added. Most often, a mixture of “tennisite” is used to construct the top layer of a clay court. During maintenance, clay courts require periodic watering, leveling, cleaning of marking lines, and, if necessary, refilling and compaction (rolling). Clay courts require the installation of a high-quality watering and drainage system, thanks to which the court will absorb excess moisture and at the same time not dry out too much in the heat.

Hard courts

They are characterized by a very fast and stable rebound of the ball; depending on the structure of the surface, they can be slightly faster or slower. Hard surface courts are less comfortable than clay (hard surface increases the load on the spine, legs and joints) and are more dangerous (high grip of shoes on the surface and lack of slippage can cause injury). Self-leveling hard court coatings are several acrylic layers of various compositions that are applied to an asphalt, concrete or wooden base. The most common acrylic coating for hard courts is Regupol. This is a five-layer coating, when applied it is possible to obtain different characteristics in terms of speed and comfort. HARD coverings, unlike ground and grass coverings, are all-weather, can be used both outside and indoors, are fairly easy to repair, and require virtually no regular maintenance.

Synthetic carpet courts

The slowest, although depending on the type of material, thickness, and number of layers, the ball’s rebound characteristics can vary significantly. Carpets come in roll or tile type and can be laid on any hard and even base. This type of coating is used mainly indoors, for the construction of indoor courts. The most popular coatings of this type are Taraflex and Supreme. Teraflex and Supreme coatings are multilayer synthetic coatings characterized by high strength and low risk of injury due to the presence of shock-absorbing layers. Another type of carpet is artificial grass, which is characterized by softness, good gliding, all-weather, and low stress on the spine, legs and joints of players. Synthetic carpeting is recognized by both professional players and amateurs.

There are other types of surfaces and coverings for tennis courts, such as wood. Such surfaces can be used for training purposes, for initial tennis training for children and adults. Training and competitions professional level are not held on courts with such coverage.

Today, the Russian market offers a fairly wide range of coatings for tennis courts.

Let's look at the four most common types in our country tennis surfaces from the point of view of direct consumers, i.e. tennis players (of any level) and coaches. Let us immediately make a reservation that we consider only genuine coatings that were laid in compliance with all standards and technologies and were well maintained during operation.

COATING "HARD"

Behind last years“Hard” coating has taken the first position in our country in its use in the construction of new and reconstruction of old tennis courts. This was facilitated by: relative affordability, durability, excellent performance properties when installed both indoors and outdoors, ease of maintenance and maintainability of this type of coating.

Advantages of “Hard” coverage for players and coaches:

medium or slow speed, medium or high ball bounce;
the ability to conduct longer draws when playing on an account;
facilitates the task of “setting up” and improving footwork and movement around the court, especially in the mode of sudden acceleration and braking, as well as sudden changes in directions of movement;
facilitates the task of practicing ball rotation, “entering the ball/strike”, developing endurance and stability in the game;
an open court dries out fairly quickly after rain, especially with properly sloped and drained surfaces;
allows athletes to qualitatively prepare for a large number tournaments. Since approximately 40% tennis tournaments in the world are played on courts of this type, and their number is growing thanks to the policy of the ATP and WTA to increase the entertainment value of tennis matches by reducing the speed of the ball's rebound.

In the first months of operation of the new court, increased wear of balls and sneakers is possible, which is due to the adhesion properties of the surface. During further use (usually after 2-4 months with intensive use), wear decreases, and is subsequently compared with the wear of balls and sneakers on clay courts.

Features and “myths” about this type of coating:

To play on hard, you need specialized tennis shoes that do not leave strong marks and protect the athlete’s foot well. It would also be a good idea to use specialized tennis socks with good softening (some athletes wear two pairs at once);
In our country, there is an established opinion that “Hard” surfaces are the most traumatic and cause increased stress on the joints, ligaments and muscles of athletes. But as a result of analyzing the work of tennis schools and clubs in which courts of this type were laid, with proper organization training process, an increase in injuries among those involved was not detected. o It should also be noted that the use of a hard coating with softening does not seriously affect the reduction in the risk of injury compared to a conventional hard surface laid on concrete or asphalt, and is determined by the wishes of the customer or the characteristics of the court base. Poorly executed hard softening, in addition to deteriorating the uniformity of the ball's rebound, increases the likelihood of injury to the athlete due to zones on the court that are not uniform in terms of shock absorption and grip. In some cases, when “Hard” was laid on chipboard slabs, athletes noted an increased load on ankle joints, knees and spine and back muscles, due to the constant “sprung” effect of the coating.

GROUND COATING

Clay courts began to be used at the dawn of tennis, as an alternative to the first tennis surface - natural grass. Today, clay courts can be found in every corner of the world, especially in Europe and South America. In our country, ground covering has long been widely used both for the construction of tennis courts in the open air and under the roof (for example, in the oldest Moscow tennis halls “Dynamo” and “Shakhtar” the ground was initially laid). But it’s still worth noting that clay courts are the most efficient, high-quality and durable outdoors. The ideal combination for a tennis club or academy is a combination of indoor hard court and outdoor clay court.

facilitates the task of “setting up” and improving footwork and movement around the court (especially in the mode of sharp acceleration, braking and changing directions of movement, sliding towards the ball);
facilitates the task of practicing ball rotation, shortened strokes, “entering the ball/shot”, developing endurance and stability in the game;
the value of the serve and the difference in the height of the players are leveled out;
allows athletes to qualitatively prepare for a large number of tournaments. Approximately 40-45% of tennis tournaments in the world take place on courts of this type, and their number is growing thanks to the ATP and WTA policies to increase the entertainment of tennis matches by reducing the speed of the ball's bounce.

Disadvantages of this type of coverage for players and coaches:

the material of the courts - tennisite - intensively contaminates the clothes and shoes of players and coaches;
in sunny weather, it is necessary to regularly water the court to improve grip and prevent dry tennisite from being blown away by the wind;
Depending on the quality and drainage system of the court, the coating may take a long time to dry after heavy rainfall

Features of this type of coating:

it is necessary to use specialized tennis shoes for ground (usually with a herringbone sole pattern).

SYNTHETIC ROLL COVERINGS

Synthetic roll surfaces for tennis (Greflor Taraflex, MondoTen, Limonta Sportgame, Supreme Court, Green Set Trophy, etc.) became widely known around the world in the mid-70s. The 90s and early 2000s can be called the “golden” era of this type of surface: they were used in many ATP and WTA tournaments held in the halls; tennis clubs and academies striving to be innovative also opted for them.

Today, the popularity of this type of coating has decreased, mainly due to high cost, average durability and low maintainability. This was also facilitated by the policy of the ATP and WTA to increase the entertainment value of tennis matches by reducing the speed of the ball’s rebound, which led to the replacement of roll-type synthetic surfaces with acrylic ones (with medium or slow ball rebound).

The advantages of this type of coverage for players and coaches:

fast and low ball bounce;
makes it easier to practice serving, receiving, volleying, and cutting;
low wear rate of tennis shoes and balls;
does not stain the shoes and clothes of tennis players and coaches.

Disadvantages of this type of coverage for players and coaches:

low durability and performance properties when installed outdoors;
as the surface of the court wears out (usually after three to four years of intensive use), in places of the greatest gaming activity on the back line and half-court, zones with a reduced coefficient of adhesion appear, in which “slippage” of the tennis players’ feet occurs, and increasing the speed at which the ball bounces compared to the rest of the court surface.

ARTIFICIAL GRASS

Tennis covering “Artificial grass” is used in our country mainly for installation in holiday homes, hotels, boarding houses and private tennis courts. There is an opinion about the fragility and “unprofessionalism” of this type of coating. Nevertheless, if the conditions of installation and operation are observed, artificial grass can “work” for a long time and conscientiously in tennis clubs and specialized schools, both in halls and in the open air.

The advantages of this type of coverage for players and coaches:

practically harmless in case of falls. This factor is especially important when organizing tennis lessons for beginners and children;
medium or slow speed, medium or high bounce of the ball, which allows for longer rallies when playing for a count;
when properly laid and filled with sand, it allows you to practice movements around the court and approaches to the ball, almost like on a clay court;
does not stain the shoes and clothes of tennis players and coaches;
dries quickly after precipitation, and with proper organization of the drainage system, outdoor training is possible even in the rain;
low wear rate of tennis shoes and balls.

Disadvantages of this type of coverage for players and coaches:

low prevalence at professional and junior tournaments.

Dmitry Dudko, coach, specialist in the implementation of the construction of tennis centers

SportBuild magazine, September 2013

Let's try to figure it out

Types of tennis court surfaces. How do they affect winnings?

With this article I open a series of theoretical foundations of a tennis match. This information does not directly apply to betting. But only taking into account the information presented in this and all subsequent articles can one really successfully predict tennis.

Most of each article will be freely available. And only conclusions that directly affect forecasting will be available only to subscribers of the Academy of Sports Betting.

But let's return to the type of coating. Wikipedia authors counted more than a dozen of them. But I won’t describe all this exoticism. I will focus on the three main ones used in professional sports. Grass, Ground, Hard. Well, to complete the picture, I’ll also add that hard can be outdoors and indoors (Indoor). This is a significant addition. Playing under a roof brings its own nuances.

Let's start with "Grass". In fact, a rather rare coating. Requires careful care. There are not many grass courts outside the UK.

Competitions on grass courts are rarely held. And they all fit into a short time interval of 1.5-2 months at the beginning of summer.

The physical properties of the coating are very important to us. The ball bounces on grass the fastest of all surfaces. And besides, it is also the lowest. And at the beginning of the tournament the grass is also slippery. Especially after the rain.

Athletes with a high serve speed (more than 170 km/h) and a high percentage of first serve hits are in an advantageous situation on this surface. But active reception is not so important here.

Conclusions to all of the above in conclusion, and now let’s talk about “Grunt”

Ground coatings more common on different continents. Tournaments on this surface are held throughout most of the tennis season. At first glance, “soil” looks the same everywhere, but in fact there are quite a lot of their varieties.

So ground coverings North America somewhat “faster” than European ones precisely due to the different basis.

Unlike grass, clay has a very slow and high rebound of the ball. Therefore, serving on this surface is not so important. An aggressive approach comes first here. The physical endurance of an athlete is very important.

Hard coatingone of the most popular and versatile tennis surfaces in the world. Comparative simplicity, and most importantly the cost of creating such a coating. Durability and low maintenance. Allows tournament organizers to short term organize it even on universal platforms.

It is worth distinguishing hard in the hall (Indoor) and playing on open courts. Controlled microclimate, absence of interference in the form of sun, wind or rain creates almost ideal conditions for playing in the hall. Serving comes first in the room. This is precisely why the “submitted” perform so successfully in the halls. Speed of movement and reaction speed are also important in the gym. Playing technique is much more important than strength in the gym.

What makes it different open hard from playing on clay, grass and indoors, it is constantly changing external conditions. Temperature conditions vary greatly depending on the continent. Air humidity. Wind loads.

This is the most demanding coating for athlete preparation. Weaknesses in even one aspect of the game will not allow you to get good results. “Universal fighters” have an advantage on open hard courts.

It is also necessary to mention the calendar schedule of games on various surfaces. The tennis season begins in January on hard court. Open in warm regions and closed in cool regions. At the end of March and April, games on clay are added, culminating at the end of May with the Roland Garros tournament. Then the athletes devote about a month to playing on the grass. The grass season ends with Wimbledon. After which most tournaments return to hard. By autumn it is mostly closed.

Briefly, perhaps, everything about the properties and capabilities of various coatings. Let's move on to the conclusions. To how we can use all this information to play profitably.

12.05.2016

Grass courts (grass courts)

Clay courts

A slow type of court with a high, perhaps unpredictable ball bounce, although depending on the quality of the surface materials and its maintenance, a smooth and predictable bounce can be achieved.
Soil is the most common type of tennis court surface due to its relative cheapness and minimal risk of injury.
The top covering of clay courts consists of a mixture of clay, sand and brick or stone chips, rubber or plastic chips may be added. Most often, a mixture of “tennisite” is used to construct the top layer of a clay court. During maintenance, clay courts require periodic watering, leveling, cleaning of marking lines, and, if necessary, refilling and compaction (rolling). Clay courts require the installation of a high-quality watering and drainage system, thanks to which the court will absorb excess moisture and at the same time not dry out too much in the heat.

Hard courts

Synthetic carpet courts

There are other types of surfaces and coverings for tennis courts, such as wood. Such surfaces can be used for training purposes, for initial tennis training for children and adults. Professional-level training and competitions are not held on courts with such coverage.