Generally speaking there are four different tennis court surfaces; clay, grass, hard and carpet. Carpet is rarely used and when it is employed it is usually indoors where it is roiled out, used and rolled back up in a multi-purpose facility. Tennis court construction and repair Tampa FL find that most courts they work on are clay and hard.
All court surfaces have their upside and downside, clay is no different. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of clay courts are as follows:
Disadvantages:
The primary disadvantage is the remarkable speed differential between the ball hitting the court and the ball hitting the lines. The court is known to be a slow surface, but the lines are made from plastic or a coated material and when the ball hits them, the ball reacts like a bullet. There are clay court specialists who can take advantage of this but these players are few and far between Hitting a ball which has skidded off the line can induce a shock into the players forearm which eventually can lead to injury.
Clay surfaces are slippery and can cause leg injuries. When a player attempts to reverse direction it is difficult so clay court players learn to slide as they approach the ball impact point, in this way they are at a stop when it is time to reverse direction. Sliding is also dangerous as it is easy to roll the ankle over.
Clay courts take a great deal of maintenance; they must be watered and dragged daily. Clay can easily be displaced by wind and rain. New clay must be regularly spread as it not only disappears with the effects of weather; it leaves the court on the soles of the player’s shoes.
Advantages:
Clay is a premium playing surface; it is soft underfoot which reduces a lot of the repetitive stress injuries caused by harder surfaces. Clay courts play slower, giving the player more time to get to where the ball is expected to land. Because of the slowness, the impact on the racket face is less which has a positive impact on the tendons in the forearm.
Those that do tennis court construction and repair in Tampa FL will tell you that clay courts are the safest courts when there is a little dampness caused by a drizzle. This is not the case for hard courts, they are notoriously dangerous with and amount of water and grass is even worse.
Clay tennis court resurfacing must be done periodically; this is a specialty job and is best done by professionals. You are invited to call Stewart Tennis Courts & Fencing, Inc. for consultation on tennis court construction and repair in Tampa FL. Click here to know more.
