"Show me the mark"
"But we're on a hard court, there are no marks"
"No, if you hit it hard enough, there will be a mark, and I hit it hard enough"
"But we're on a hard court."
"On clay you would have showed me the mark"
"But we're on a hard court."
Daily life as a coach has it's funny moments; I should write a blog on "What tennis kids say" and I bet you'd be laughing the whole time. But in all seriousness, let's chat about court surfaces. I could probably write a whole novel on the court surface. You may ask-- what, will there be four chapters? Grass, hard, clay, and carpet (yes, there is such thing as a carpet court)? While I could technically write four chapters, I could also write four chapters just on the hard court. Hard courts, while all faster than clay, bouncier than grass, and slower than carpet, vary greatly from one to the other, probably more so than any other surface. There are hard courts that have just recently been resurfaced, which is a conversation I've had recently with one of my players, that are slower than courts that haven't been resurfaced in a while. A lot of times, players shift from courts that are public to country club courts that are better taken care of and notice a big difference in how the ball bounces and the quickness of the court. This is why I always tell players to head to a tournament a day early to get used to the court. Courts change, the atmosphere and weather change the way the ball bounces as well as it's speed (don't believe me? Go play in Costa Rica, where high altitude makes the ball speed so fast that you'll whiff the first few balls hitting completely). Notice right away the height of the ball when it bounces as well as the speed with which it bounces, and you'll be able to adjust your timing accordingly.
Clay varies less than hard court, but still varies. Similar to how the hard courts need to be resurfaced every once in a while, clay courts need to be watered. Yes, watered. They don't sprout growth, but the clay needs to remain fairly moist or else the wind will dry out the clay and a.) make it resemble ice and b.) blow it away, leaving a court that is essentially a hard court with sand on it. The wetter the clay, the slower the bounce. Red clay is usually slower than green clay, but very seldom will a junior player compete on red clay in the states. Unlike hard, contrary to some players I see, sliding is meant for clay, not hard. Our tennis shoes, unlike basketball shoes that cover the ankle, make it very easy to twist and sprain an ankle if we are not careful sliding on hard court. Clay court, on the contrary, works well with sliding. Growing up on clay, I would practice sliding when I would sprint to ensure I was able to coordinate my slide. Not playing on clay? Don't practice sliding. :)
Grass court is another surface very seldom played on by junior tennis players, but when or if you do have a chance to do so, grass is really fun to play on, and roll around in. But seriously, grass is a surface that you need to play smart on. Because the ball doesn't bounce high, hitting slices or softer shots actually works better than hitting through the shot sometimes on grass, because the ball digs into the grass and stops completely, forcing either an uncomfortable bounce or a very low ball that is hard to get back without hitting high, an easy put away volley. Net players thrive on grass. Grass also wears down throughout a tournament, hence the more "hard courty" feel of the court once Wimbledon gets down to the last matches of the tournament.
Carpet I've played on once in my life. It's an interesting experience. The carpet typically is placed over a wooden surface, making the court very slick without the carpet on top. Regardless, the ball skids like crazy, and with a large backswing, it's impossible to not catch the ball late. The chance that you hit on carpet? Not likely. Play a tournament on carpet? I haven't even heard of carpet tournaments in the US. If you end up traveling, then perhaps, but otherwise you'll stick with the green clay and hard court that you are familiar with.
Adjust accordingly! Be smart and play with the court surface, not against it.
