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Tennis surfaces noddy guide?

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    Tennis surfaces noddy guide?

    Is there a good noddy guide somewhere, for those like myself with zero knowledge of the topic, to how the different tennis surfaces affect the bounce of the ball, and what the implications of that are for the relative importance of different playing strengths? I've got a vague impression from things commentators have said in the last week that clay somehow favours a more muscular approach requiring greater stamina on the strength front than other surfaces, but I expect I've got that wrong. Does clay absorb more of the ball's energy on a bounce than hard or grass?

    #2
    Tennis surfaces noddy guide?

    Yes, I think. It's (perhaps counterintuitively) a softer surface than grass.

    So you get far fewer aces, and hence many more rallies, and rallies last a lot longer because from the baseline players almost always get a chance to return the ball.

    So the guys who win on clay after four or five sets, like Nadal, are endurance athletes like marathon runners.

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      #3
      Tennis surfaces noddy guide?

      Not sure where a proper technical analysis is available, but the implication is that the ball sticks in the surface somewhat as it bounces on clay. This takes energy away from it, which makes it slower after the bounce. So a player needs to hit harder to get it past their opponent. There is also a tendancy to stand deeper, as the slower moving ball won't shoot away from the player. Playing from deeper positions means shots have to travel a greater distance, again advantaging stronger individuals. Clay is also more receptive to spin, as a more abrassive surface (see cricket), so giving extra benefit to those with lots of top-spin or kick serves, making the ball bounce extra high as the spin reacts with the ground.

      Grass, by contrast, is thought of as a slick surface, low on friction. The ball skids rather more through its bounce, shooting through lower and faster. This has implications for both the reaction time for players, and the height they will be taking the ball at. Spinning the ball ought to be more difficult, but grass advantages sliced balls as they tend to bounce lower on every surface. Add an already low bounce to a skiddy bounce and the ball may not creep much off the ground at all.

      You can also factor in uneven bounces on both surfaces, partiuarly clay which has a loose top dressing. That can shift about as players move on the court and build itself up into little hills and pits, which make the ball die or leap if it lands on them. Bad bounces on grass are rarer, but obviously can still happen if the soil under the court becomes uneven. You can get dead spots that the ball will almost never bounce from as they are a bit wet underneath. Another source of trouble on grass and clay is that the lines are made from a different material to the rest of the court, so the ball bounces pretty differently off them. In both cases it skids, which is a surprise on clay and just compounds the pre-existing difficulties on grass.

      Hard courts were invented by Americans as a way of generating fairness between the two contrasting European surfaces. It bounces to a mid-range height, plus bad bounces are almost completely eliminated as the court is flat and even and the lines are the same as the rest of the court surface, meaning players can set up for their shot much earlier. But even here there can be problems. The old rebound ace surface that was installed for a while in Melbourne could begin to soften in high heat, which made it sticky and play a bit like a clay court.

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        #4
        Tennis surfaces noddy guide?

        Thanks guys, interesting.

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          #5
          Tennis surfaces noddy guide?

          Just following on from my mention of them in the other thread, carpet falls under the 'hard' court heading, but isn't quite the same as yer US Open or Aussie Open style courts. Carpet is probably slightly skewed more toward grass style (lower bounce, and a faster ball) than, say, the Aussie courts.

          Another point re: clay and topspin, is that balls with a lot of topspin can take a bit more strength to bring under control (hence favouring strength).

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            #6
            Tennis surfaces noddy guide?

            In old useage, clay courts also fall under the 'hard court' category.

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