Understanding the Different Tennis Court Surfaces

Officially, there are three types of tennis courts: hard, grass, and clay courts. Each boasts different qualities, benefits, and downsides. The surface of the court significantly impacts the players' performance. Each professional player has a preferred type of surface, which depends on their play style.

Even though the same tennis rules apply to all three surfaces, they are vastly different.

Hardcourts

Hardcourts are prevalent in the United States. For the most part, this is the surface type for most professional tennis matches in the US. Hardcourts are made of concrete or asphalt, then coated in various materials.

Concrete and asphalt courts are known as "fast" surfaces. Given the fact that the surface is hard, high bounces are common. Hardcourts offer the best traction out of the three court surfaces.

They are preferred by topspin players thanks to their high-bounce properties. There are also lower bounce hardcourts.

Since they are easy to maintain and cheap to install, many homeowners opt for hardcourt backyard installation services.      

Grass courts

Although hardcourts are the typical professional option in the US, grass is the original tennis surface. There aren't too many grass courts these days because they are expensive and require a lot of maintenance.

However, big grass tournaments still exist. Wimbledon is the most popular and prestigious grass-court tournament in the world.

Grass courts boast low bounce, which requires the player to stay as low as possible while playing. Although serve-and-volley is still a playstyle of many pros on grass courts, most play from the baseline, which requires thinking a few shots in advance. For this reason, grass courts are widely respected.

Clay courts

Red clay courts are popular in South America and all over Europe. Although grass would seem like the logical option for surface softness, it's red clay that takes this title. For one, clay courts are physically the easiest on the body, thanks to their softness. But they are slippery, which can cause ankle twists and tendon and joint damage.

Clay courts are also tough to play. Due to the slowness of the surface, scoring a winner is quite a challenge. Another downside of clay courts is that they're complicated to maintain.

Which court type to build in the backyard

The simplest court type for maintenance and construction would be the hardcourt. However, clay and grass courts each boast distinctive playing surfaces. Still, most people opt for hardcourts in their backyards for the sake of simplicity.

Apex Court Builders specializes in construction, resurfacing and repair of tennis courts, pickleball courts, basketball courts, and more. We do business in Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, Prescott and more! Call us today! (480) 384-9141.