The Tennis Court

The game of tennis is played in a tennis court. A tennis court is a rectangular plane with a low net standing across the center and have lines that mark the outside boundaries of the court, which are called the sidelines and the baselines. The tennis court dimensions vary for a game played as singles or doubles. The court is 78 ft long, and width is 27 ft for singles matches and 36 ft for doubles matches. Additional clear space around the court is needed for players to reach overrun balls. A net is 3 ft six 6 inches high at the posts and 3 ft high in the center that divides the court into two equal ends which is stretched full width of the court, parallel with the baselines. The court on the right side of each player is called the deuce court, and the one on their left is called the advantage court or ad court.

Even though the dimensions of all tennis courts are the same, the surfaces vary considerably. One of the bizarre things about professional tennis is that major competitions and other professional tournaments are played on different surfaces that make the ball bounce very differently. There are four major types of tennis court or surfaces; clay courts, hard courts, grass courts, and indoor courts. The clay courts, are made of crushed brick that is packed to make the court, and then covered with of additional crushed particle. Clay courts are considered “slow” because the ball bounces moderately high and more slowly, making it more complicated to hit an un-returnable shot. This type of court is most common in Europe and South America, and is the type of court used in the French Open in Paris. The hard court is made of asphalt, plastic or sometimes concrete which are considered to be medium to fast surfaces.

They are faster than clay courts and slower than grass courts, and are considered to be the most equal for all playing styles. The US Open is played on a hard court, and the Australian Open is played on a rebound ace which is a synthetic hard court. The grass court is quite rare because of their high cost maintenance, existing only at a few private clubs, and is similar to a golf greens. However, grass courts are a very important surface to professional levels of tennis, they are the fastest tennis courts consisting of grass grown on very hard packed soil, and the surface is less firm than the hard court so it causes the ball to bounce less high and players reach the ball faster. The Wimbledon is played on a grass court. The indoor court can be made of wood, cement or carpet.

The different surfaces on tennis courts can affect each player. Some players do better on one surface than another. Players who have the “full western grip” for more topspin may play better on clay courts, while serve-and-volley players will much likely favor grass courts. Whatever surface type of tennis court a player plays on, the tennis court will remain a major component of a tennis sport.