postheadericon An Overview Of Hard Tennis Courts


by Bobby Griffith


I've been fortunate enough to have played on every surface of tennis court during my life, and I appreciate them all. Each of the types of courts has its differences, some of which are good and some of which may work against you as a player.

More tennis courts these days have a hard surface than any other kind. This wasn't always the case, as the origins of the sport trace back to grass and clay courts. Still, there are many reasons that many choose to build hard courts, most notably the fact that they're low maintenance.

What are some of the unique attributes of hard courts, and how should the game be played on them? Here are a few things you'll want to keep in mind.

The first thing you should know before you learn the hard way is that hard courts cause the ball to bounce really quickly off the surface. The ball almost even skids. As a result, hard hit shots, most notably serves, will be difficult to handle.

If you prefer to focus on ground strokes and play from the baseline, there's not much to be said about whether playing on this material will help or hurt you. It's relatively neutral as compared to the other surfaces. Still, anyone who has a good amount of power behind their shots will definitely benefit from the speed that comes with playing on hard surfaces.

If you're a fast runner, this never hurts in the sport of tennis, but it won't be something you can exploit, so to speak. Your speed will be a bigger asset on hard courts than it is on grass, but it won't let you get to as many balls as you can on clay courts.

If you're fast, you should use your speed to your advantage by keeping your opponent on the defensive end of things when you hit running shots. This way, the burden of speed gets passed along to your opponent.

As far as net play goes, this is another asset too. If you rush to the net, the fast surface will enable you to put balls away with volleys if they're well placed with a fair amount of power behind them. Many people do well with a serve and volley strategy when playing on these courts.

These are the basics about hard courts. Hopefully you'll know what to do from here!




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