bring back harTru to the US Pro Tour

[NoBadMojo]

In watching the finals of the Bermuda Open and playing most of my tennis on harTru these days, I sure wish they would bring back a harTru season to the US like they had in the 'old days'. The surface really does lend itself to all types of play and interesting points and is much kinder to the body and perhaps we wouldnt lose so many players to injury.
The finals was Vincente vs Muller and there was a good conflict of styles and a variety of shots and it was an exciting match. Muller had no problem getting to net on the stuff.
I think a Hartru season would be great for American tennis and tennis in general

 

[tonysk83]

I love playing on hartru, we got a couple of places with it. I saw the bermuda final, even though it was impossible to see the ball half the time.

 

[Rabbit]

I agree wholeheartedly. The Grand Slams should be contested on natural surfaces. That should be a rule. The old clay court season in the US was really sweet. Back then, the Grand Slams went grass, clay, grass, clay.

 

[theace21]

Great idea. It is a great equalizer and would make the points much more interesting...

 

[NoBadMojo]

What it would take would be for the USTA to go back to HarTru for the USOpen then all of the usual events leading up to the Open would switch to HarTru and we would have a summer hartru season culminating with the USOpen. The American hardcourt season could be short a bit like grass season and culminate with the Nasdaq?
On a secondary note, while it would obviously increase costs it would save the costs of Hawkeye and all of the players on all of the courts would have the benefit of having line call marks checked. I bet you could set up the HarTru to play faster than the grass at Wimby.
On a sidenote, I think they should speed up the clay for the FrenchOpen so that fewer one trick ponies would win that event.

 

[Rob_C]

In watching the finals of the Bermuda Open and playing most of my tennis on harTru these days, I sure wish they would bring back a harTru season to the US like they had in the 'old days'. The surface really does lend itself to all types of play and interesting points and is much kinder to the body and perhaps we wouldnt lose so many players to injury.
The finals was Vincente vs Muller and there was a good conflict of styles and a variety of shots and it was an exciting match. Muller had no problem getting to net on the stuff.
I think a Hartru season would be great for American tennis and tennis in general

What channel did you watch that on??

 

[NoBadMojo]

What channel did you watch that on??

I dunno....I have my Tivo set to record everything tennis. I think it was on a regional sports channel I get here in Florida..maybe Sunshine Network or something.

 

[arosen]

HarTru rocks. It can play relatively fast, so getting to the net is still possible. Love that stuff.

 

[Markus Kaila]

I agree wholeheartedly. The Grand Slams should be contested on natural surfaces. That should be a rule. The old clay court season in the US was really sweet. Back then, the Grand Slams went grass, clay, grass, clay.

And at least tens (or even hundreds) of pro players' ankles and knees would agree "wholeheartedly". Hard courts are perhaps suitable only for pushing hobbyists!

 

[goober]

I watched that match on replay Fox sports. My only problem with the surface as a TV spectator is that is hard to see the ball.

 

[VGP]

I agree.....more HarTru....

....less injuries.

Maybe in the long run, there'd be more of a US force in the european clay court season.

 

[SC in MA]

In watching the finals of the Bermuda Open and playing most of my tennis on harTru these days, I sure wish they would bring back a harTru season to the US like they had in the 'old days'. The surface really does lend itself to all types of play and interesting points and is much kinder to the body and perhaps we wouldnt lose so many players to injury.
The finals was Vincente vs Muller and there was a good conflict of styles and a variety of shots and it was an exciting match. Muller had no problem getting to net on the stuff.
I think a Hartru season would be great for American tennis and tennis in general

I vaguely remember the US HarTru season back in the days. I was living overseas and was back in the US on vacation. I recall that the finals were televised live by PBS every Monday night. I believe Mary Carrillo got her start on those telecasts. Anyway, I thought those HarTru matches were fantastic. Vilas was a force. I recall seeing him in a couple of televised finals, one of which was in Washington DC, I believe. Does anyone recall when the US HarTru season started and ended (at the US Open?). And where the events were played ?

 

[North]

I bet you could set up the HarTru to play faster than the grass at Wimby.

Now, that is intriguing. I've never like HarTru because it is so slow. How would they make the HarTru play even as fast as a hard court?

 

[SliceServe]

I remember when one of the stops on the US Clay Court season was at the Longwood Cricket Club just outside of Boston MA. The place was steeped in tradition. The club was established in 1877 with many historic matches taking place on those courts over the years. It was set up like the old Australian Open stadium at Kooyong. Three courts across with the championship match played on the middle court.

 

[baseliner]

I too remember those PBS broadcasts (but I thought they were Sunday PM). Great tennis. HarTru is a good surface that is much easier on the joints than hard courts.

 

[Galactus]

How does Har-Tru favor midsize and midplus racquet users?

 

[NoBadMojo]

Now, that is intriguing. I've never like HarTru because it is so slow. How would they make the HarTru play even as fast as a hard court?

Hi..HarTru is inherently a bit faster than traditional clay and i dont know what your definiton of slow is, but I dont get where you think HarTru is so slow. Also, the grass courts at Wimby are much slower and higher bounding than days of old. You can speed up the hartru by rolling the courts and then rolling them some more and by controlling the moisture content

 

[North]

Hi..HarTru is inherently a bit faster than traditional clay and i dont know what your definiton of slow is, but I dont get where you think HarTru is so slow. Also, the grass courts at Wimby are much slower and higher bounding than days of old. You can speed up the hartru by rolling the courts and then rolling them some more and by controlling the moisture content

Thanks. I just notice HarTru is clearly (though not by a huge margin) slower than the hard courts I usually play on. The moisture content you mention may be a factor here in the Mid-Atlantic where I live - the humidity is usually pretty high. Sounds like more maintenance to keep HarTru faster.

 

[Z-Man]

HarTru can get pretty fast if you let it dry out. A lot of times this happens when a tournament director thinks the courts might freeze overnight, which can make them slushy when they thaw. So they don't water them. It can make a real difference in how the ball bounces. The courts I usually play on are watered from underneath, so they stay pretty moist and the ball really sits up.

Ironically, you can crank up on a ball better on a slow court because the ball sits up so you can flatten out your stroke. It's just that the same thing happens on the other side, which gives your opponent more time.

I agree that it's an ideal surface. You can slide into shots and stopping doesn't require nearly as much stress on your joints. It's fast enough to put the ball away, and slices really stay down, allowing for approaches and effective angle volleys. The only real issue I see is that it makes it harder to serve aces, especially if the clay is wet enough to make the balls heavier.

 

[Eviscerator]

No way, hard courts all the way.

You would not have an American in the top 20 if we went back to the dirt. Heck if you don't like hard courts then suggest all grass instead.:mrgreen:

 

[Markus Kaila]

Perhaps this can be a too commercial advertisement here but anyhow I am not getting any use because of it...

Can that "Har-Tru®Surfacing" really be so good? What are ATP, WTA and ITF waiting for? Still more ankle and knee injuries!
http://www.easternconstruction.org/surfacing.htm#top