Roger Federer playing on the grass court (centre court) at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships

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A grass court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Grass courts are made of rye grass in different compositions depending on the tournament. Wimbledon, with 100 percent rye grass, is considered to be slower than other grass courts such as Queen's in London, and 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.

Although more traditional than other types of tennis courts, maintenance costs of grass courts are higher than those of hard courts and clay courts. Grass courts need to be reseeded every year, and (in the absence of suitable covers) must be left for the day if rain appears, as the grass becomes very slippery when wet.

Grass courts are most common in England, although there are still a few others remaining elsewhere in the world.

[edit] Play

Because the court is often slippery, the ball often skids and bounces low, rarely rising above knee height, while retaining most of its speed, and, in addition, there are often bad bounces. Therefore, players must reach the ball faster, and, as a result, the fast, low bounces keep the rallies short; therefore, speed is rewarded on grass. As a result, on grass, the serve and return play a huge part in determining the outcome of the point, so it is very important to hold serve. Since points tend to be short, it is important to keep good focus, because any lapse of concentration can lead to a service break.

Consequently, most grass courts heavily favour serve and volleyers who are more aggressive and willing to sacrifice points in order for more winners overall. Serve and volleyers make it a target to finish the points off quickly, and allow the ball to bounce as little as possible on their side of the net. Serve and volley players take advantage of the surface by serving the ball (usually a slice serve because of its effectiveness on grass), and then running to the net to cut off the return of serve, leaving their opponent with little time to reach the low-bouncing, fast-moving ball. Therefore, it is important to move in after the serve or the short/mid-court ball, and win the point with a volley or overhead. In addition, players often hit flatter shots to increase power, and allow the ball to travel faster after and before the ball hits the ground. However, Wimbledon, the most prestigious grass tournament, has slowed down its grass courts as early as 2001, with players stating that the courts of Wimbledon have become slower, heavier, and high bouncing.^[1] In 2001, organizers at Wimbledon had changed the grass to 100% perrenial rye, in addition to changing to a harder and denser soil, which resulted in a higher bounce to the ball. Grass specialist, Tim Henman, voiced out against this change in 2002, by stating, "What on earth is going on here? I'm on a grass court and it's the slowest court I've played on this year."^[2] As a result, baseline play has become a preferred approach at Wimbledon, as opposed to the serve and volley of the past.

Movement on grass courts is somewhat different from movement on any other surface. Even the way a foot lands on the grass is rather different from the full-weight of landing and sliding on clay. Also, the slipperiness demands using a lot of small adjustment steps to get in to the correct position. Players will probably need to lower their centre of gravity to get down to the low or bad bounce. However, playing on grass is easier on the knees due to it being a natural surface, but cannot be slid upon, à la clay. Quick adjustments in the swing pattern and footwork are constantly needed, so any movement or co-ordination weaknesses will show up immediately. In addition, most grass court players also succeed on hardcourts, although there are some exceptions.

[edit] Players

Historically, there have been seven outstanding grass players in the open era: Venus Williams, Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Björn Borg, and Billie Jean King. All have won at least 5 Wimbledon singles championships; Navratilova won 9, Sampras and Graf each won 7. Other players who have been relatively successful at Wimbledon are Boris Becker, John McEnroe, Chris Evert, and Serena Williams.

The most successful male player currently is Roger Federer, a six-time Wimbledon singles champion. His variety in the shots, speed, footwork, and slices, are his biggest weapons. Before being beaten in 2008 at Wimbledon by Rafael Nadal, Federer had a 65-match winning streak on Grass, and 40 consecutive wins at Wimbledon alone. The most successful female player currently is Venus Williams, winning five out of her eight Wimbledon finals appearances (losing the remaining three to her sister Serena Williams) and achieving 3 titles in the ladies' doubles.

[edit] Professional tournaments played on grass

[edit] Grand Slam

• Wimbledon (London, UK)

[edit] ATP

• AEGON Championship (London, Queen's Club, UK)

• Gerry Weber Open (Halle, Germany)

• AEGON International (Eastbourne, England, UK)

• Ordina Open ('s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands)

• Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (Newport, Rhode Island, USA)

[edit] WTA

• AEGON Classic (Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK)

• AEGON International (Eastbourne, England, UK)

• Ordina Open ('s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands)

[edit] See also

Tennis portal

• Tennis court

[edit] References