Hard courts to be banned? Hard court injuries depleting tennis ranks

Hard courts, not the long tennis season, is the main reason for all the injuries that are decimating the ATP and WTA tours.

Before 1978, none of the four Grand Slam tournaments were played on hard courts. The Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open (except for three years) were on grass while the French Open was contested on clay.

Unlike today’s players who only play 12-14 tournaments on average (fed played 14 this year), it was very common for players during McEnroe and Navratilova’s heyday to play 18+ tournaments a year. Navratilova, for example, would play 80+ matches a year in singles alone, plus a full schedule of doubles and mixed doubles, plus Fed Cup (often over 200 matches per year cumulatively). Same for McEnroe. So obviously the often cited long tennis season isn't the culprit.

Since the massive switch to hard courts (which historically favor American players) by the ATP and WTA (two American-based companies), tennis has increasingly become an injury-riddled sport.

I think that tennis needs to address the scheduling issues and the long season, but the real cure to tennis’ injury ills is, addressing the issue of all the hard court tournaments.

See below, former player john alexander’s viewpoint on the subject:

John Alexander slams hard surfaces
By Margie McDonald - November 16, 2005

"THE key to reducing the sport's increasing injury toll lies in reducing the number of tournaments on hard courts, rather than shortening the season."


That is the view of (Australian) Fed Cup captain John Alexander, a former top-10 Australian player, who said hard courts could be directly blamed for turning the men's glamorous end-of-year tournament, the Masters Cup in Shanghai, into a farce.

Only one of the top five men in the world, Roger Federer, is left in the eight-man event in China after just two days of competition following the withdrawal early yesterday through injury of Spain's world No.2 Rafael Nadal and No.5 Andre Agassi.

Before the tournament began American Andy Roddick and Russia's Marat Safin withdrew from the ATP-ITF's $US3.7 nmillion ($5.07m) event with injuries, while Lleyton Hewitt pulled out because of the impending birth of his first child.

There have been growing calls for the season, which extends from the first week of January to mid-November (or early December for players involved in the Davis Cup final), to be shortened.

But Alexander said the number of matches played had little bearing on injuries and more to do with the courts, as well as the intensity of the physical contest and pace of the game with vastly improved racquets and balls.

"I have absolutely no doubt I played more events in 1975 than anyone on the circuit today," Alexander said. "I played between 30 to 35 events plus I played Davis Cup, World Cup and Challenge Cup matches."

Federer has played 14 tournaments and one Davis Cup tie for 80 singles matches so far in 2005. Nadal has played 21 events and two cup ties for 89 matches.

But they are the only two in the top five with 80-plus matches.

American John McEnroe played 85 matches for 82 wins and three losses in his record-breaking year of 1984.

"One thing in particular is the surface they are playing on now," Alexander said.

"Agassi's lower back condition and now his ankle is certainly because he's playing too much on hard courts.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg. It's just the elite.

"You've got Lleyton Hewitt with a toe operation, that's hard courts; you've got Agassi; Martina Hingis couldn't play past 21 because of her ankle; Darren Cahill, Agassi's coach, injured his knee on hard courts and had his career stopped at 25.

"There is no concerted effort to get rid of hard courts and that's what needs to happen."

Shanghai tournament director and former Australia Davis Cup player Brad Drewett called for "vigorous debate" on scheduling, although he denied the ATP Tour's crowded calendar was solely to blame.

Before 1978, none of the four Grand Slam tournaments was played on hard courts. The Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open (except for three years) were on grass while the French Open was contested on clay.

But the US Open moved to hard courts in 1978 and the Australian Open followed in 1988, which meant all their lead-up tournaments also converted to hard surfaces.

"If you go back to '74-75 when three Grand Slams were still on grass, knee injuries were virtually non-existent," Alexander said.

"Neale Fraser had knee surgery in 1961 or '62 and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone else who had a knee operation. It just didn't happen. Or find someone who stopped playing at the age of 25 or 21."

A spokesman for Tennis Australia said future player development programs were incorporating more sports science and fitness elements to recognise the increasing demands placed on the body.

Source: The Australian
 

VGP

Legend
Something's got to be done with the tour.

Couple the beating taken on hard courts with the slower, rally conducive conditions, mixed with today's racket technologies and modern athleticism, and that's a big recipe for injury.
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
I say cut the hard court season in half..make the remaining half a US HarTru season coming after the clay court season and leading into the hard court season. Also, up to the players to schedule their play better (fewer events) so maybe they should be less greedy and can keep their bodies more in one piece. This would add more variety, preserve their bodies and pacify the whiney ass claycourters. The Hartru would be a great surface for the modern game I think.
 

bertrevert

Legend
Tell us non-USA peeps about "US HarTru" - and why would it be good for pro players? (Obviously me no understandy kemosabe.)
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
Thought i just explained why in my post..oh...you arent familiar w. HarTru? If not, HarTru is a granular surface which plays a lot like red clay except firmer and faster. It's MUCH easier on the body than hardcourts and also cooler in the summer heat, and can support all styles of play depending upon how the surface is prepared..thought the transition from Red clay --> harTru --> Harcourts would make sense. Back in the 80's there was a long harTru pro season played in the US and at one time the US Open was even played on the stuff. The WTA plays some events on the stuff over here. It's a great surface I think.
 

bertrevert

Legend
Wow ok now I understand that surely would be a great surface - granular with a bit of give to ease pressure on knees (and everything else). Never played on it. Rebound Ace, acrylic hard court is still real hard on the body. So Har-Tu sounds much better indeed.

At the Masters Federer looks exhausted. And with the withdrawals this is no season-end finale - rather what comes to mind is that firecracker that doesn't go off (there's always one).

The surfaces and schedule are obviously to blame. No player on tour wanting to earn their way would be doing anything else but playing their guts out for a place and it's taking a toll. They're dropping like flies.

Reckon what's needed is a big look at structuring the season - instead of making it a marathon race, let's make this season a true test of speed and athleticism (not endurance). Will make for a feisty better sport!

The Pro Players who make the Masters Final all look physically stuffed. Ljubicic sompletely tanked hismatch due to exhaustion.
 

FiveO

Hall of Fame
I posted this in the "Is Slowing Tennis Ruining Tennis?" thread. Seems to fit here:

Looking back at the year long schedules after the Aussie Open switched from grass to Rebound Ace in 1988 the next major shift in the schedule seemed to occur in 1997 when the year end Singles Championship, now The Master's Cup switched from carpet to hard courts when held in Germany. When that occurred it created a mega-hard court season.

In '96 during the 12 weeks following the US Open to the year end championships there were 9 events played on carpet. One of those weeks players had a choice of the carpet or events held on hards and clay. During another week there was a choice between carpet or clay. The one of the two remaining weeks there were a choices between clay or hard and the last week only clay court events. A player did not have to play on hardcourts after the US Open for the 12 weeks through the end of the year.

In '97 there was that change in surface at the year end championship from carpet to hardcourt, which seems to be the catalyst for a big shift in the last quarter of the year we see today.

In 2005 after the US Open there are now 9 weeks of hardcourt events and 3 weeks on carpet. 1 week of hardcourts has a smaller event on carpet run at the same time. 2 additional hardcourt weeks have simultaneous smaller clay court events running. Add the 4 weeks leading up to and including the AO and 21 of the 28 weeks from the beginning of the summer "hard court" season in mid July through January of the next year 'til the end of the AO are now spent on hardcourts.
Wow. I never looked at it that way before.

Yeah something really should be done to fix this. Personally I would hate to see a shift to more clay court events, there are plenty. I don't see grass making any kind of comeback anywhere. I would say a shift back to carpet, after the US Open through the end of the calendar year would be the way to go. I don't recall an inordinate amount of injuries when the schedule ran that way. But I can just hear the Spanish and South American contingents already opening their bottles of "whines".
 
NoBadMojo said:
Thought i just explained why in my post..oh...you arent familiar w. HarTru? If not, HarTru is a granular surface which plays a lot like red clay except firmer and faster. It's MUCH easier on the body than hardcourts and also cooler in the summer heat, and can support all styles of play depending upon how the surface is prepared..thought the transition from Red clay --> harTru --> Harcourts would make sense. Back in the 80's there was a long harTru pro season played in the US and at one time the US Open was even played on the stuff. The WTA plays some events on the stuff over here. It's a great surface I think.

sounds like a great surface and it seems to have a versatility too. at this point, something needs to be done.
 

ctbmar

Semi-Pro
It's really unfair that Muster in the 90s and all the clay court players keep just playing on one clay surface which is dominating the sport right now. I don't know whether it is possible for the ATP to reward clay court players in terms of points earned who choose to play on grass and grass court players who choose to play on clay.

Nadal : preferred surface (clay)
-----
clay court tournament : winner gets 50 points.
grass/carpet court tournament : winner gets 50 * 2 coefficent = 100 points.
hard court tournament : winner gets 50 * 1.5 coefficent = 75 points.

Ljubicic : preferred surface (grass / carpet)
-------
grass/carpet tournament : winner gets 50 points.
clay court tournament : winner gets 50 * 2 coefficent = 100 points.
hard court tournament : winner gets 50 * 1.5 coefficent = 75 points.

Agassi : preferred surface (hard)
-------
hard tournament : winner gets 50 points.
grass court tournament : winner gets 50 * 2 coefficent = 100 points.
clay court tournament : winner gets 50 * 1.5 coefficent = 75 points.

Players get to choose their preferred surface, their 2nd best surface and their worst surface. In this way, clay courters will at least have some incentive to give up playing a clay court tournament and instead go and play a grass tournament somewhere else, occurring at the same time because they get twice the number of points for each round, vice versa with grass court players. The coefficient element does not apply if the schedule does not show that a player gave up his preferred surfaced tournament to play in his worst surface tournament. So there must be equal number of tournaments in the whole year that caters for all 3 types of players: clay courters, hard courters and fast courters (grass/carpet combined), happening at the same time at various venues on this planet.
 

FiveO

Hall of Fame
NoBadMojo,

I like the har-tru idea, but where in the calendar? I for one would hate see the US Open change its identity again. I really wouldn't think they would, so that kind of locks up the summer warm up events on hards.

The last quarter of the year seems the logical place. In the late fall/winter season I just don't see them building har-tru courts in big arenas indoors. Southern climates? Europe is big $$$ for the tour. That's why I see carpet, even a slower carpet being the viable answer. Cost effective, easier to set up in any large indoor venue and where the money is.
 
NoBadMojo said:
Thought i just explained why in my post..oh...you arent familiar w. HarTru? If not, HarTru is a granular surface which plays a lot like red clay except firmer and faster. It's MUCH easier on the body than hardcourts and also cooler in the summer heat, and can support all styles of play depending upon how the surface is prepared..thought the transition from Red clay --> harTru --> Harcourts would make sense. Back in the 80's there was a long harTru pro season played in the US and at one time the US Open was even played on the stuff. The WTA plays some events on the stuff over here. It's a great surface I think.

Then why is this surface not used? I would think if it was this great, they should use it. But really, tennis will lose some fans, if all these pros get gone from injuries, because fans love to watch their favorite pros playing.

Hopefully, they can fix the problem.
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
I agree Bert..tennis is more of a fitness grind the way it is now and less of an athletic contest. I think that fact also contributes to all the drugs on tour. I think the only way harTru would be instituted would be if the USOpen went back to that surface..then you could have the US summer season on HarTru culminating at the USOpen on harTru..then you could go a combo of hardcourt/carpet for the rest of the year <some outdoors some indoors> and have the Masters be a culminaton of that. I think indoor carpet can also be tough on your body. Can you imagine how much worse the American football injuries would be if they were still playing on hard artificial turf?
 

FiveO

Hall of Fame
NoBadMojo said:
...I think indoor carpet can also be tough on your body. Can you imagine how much worse the American football injuries would be if they were still playing on hard artificial turf?

I could be wrong but from the 1970s through 1996 I don't remember there being a significant amount of injuries on carpet through year's end. Just throwing it out there.
 

VGP

Legend
theazneyes said:
Then why is this surface not used? I would think if it was this great, they should use it. But really, tennis will lose some fans, if all these pros get gone from injuries, because fans love to watch their favorite pros playing.

Hopefully, they can fix the problem.

It is used, at the Family Circle Cup for example. Just not at many events.
 

legolas

Banned
this is bs, i doubt this will happen, OMG LETS TAKE OUT THE NBA WOOD COURTS, CUZ ITS INJURING GREAT PLAYERS
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
Five_0 I realy dont know either, but i know the indoor carpeted places i used to play on were pretty jarring and i was much younger back then. they were essentially a very thin felt like carpet (Boltex?) layed right on top of a concrete slab..i think DecoTurf might even be more cushioned and thats a hardcourt. There was also one indoor carpet we played on and the traction was really tight...too tight...i had the worst turf toe back then and guys were blowing out their knees and rolling up achilles and such, but maybe there are good capets and bad carpets (do they even make much inddor carpet anymore?)..i do remember them being pretty fast. I think back in those days the style of play and strokes were much diff too and there really wasnt so much open stance stuff which is hard on your joints on a hard surface i think...who knows, but i really thing some changes to the sport are in order....they did changes to hockey and i think it's improved hockey quite a lot...changng the NFL to more natural surfaces has helped prevent injuries...why does tennis never have the courage to make changes? i giess we're at least getting shot spot or equiv...I think the powers that be in tennis need to get their collective heads out of ther butts..it's time for change! the players and gear have passed the game by
 

FiveO

Hall of Fame
NoBadMojo said:
Five_0 I realy dont know either, but i know the indoor carpeted places i used to play on were pretty jarring and i was much younger back then. they were essentially a very thin felt like carpet (Boltex?) layed right on top of a concrete slab..i think DecoTurf might even be more cushioned and thats a hardcourt. There was also one indoor carpet we played on and the traction was really tight...too tight...i had the worst turf toe back then and guys were blowing out their knees and rolling up achilles and such, but maybe there are good capets and bad carpets (do they even make much inddor carpet anymore?)..i do remember them being pretty fast. I think back in those days the style of play and strokes were much diff too and there really wasnt so much open stance stuff which is hard on your joints on a hard surface i think...who knows, but i really thing some changes to the sport are in order....they did changes to hockey and i think it's improved hockey quite a lot...changng the NFL to more natural surfaces has helped prevent injuries...why does tennis never have the courage to make changes? i giess we're at least getting shot spot or equiv...I think the powers that be in tennis need to get their collective heads out of ther butts..it's time for change! the players and gear have passed the game by

I agree there needs to be a change. I just hope they leave the Open as is so I'm looking (hard) for another alternative.;)
 

AAAA

Hall of Fame
NoBadMojo said:
Five_0 I realy dont know either, but i know the indoor carpeted places i used to play on were pretty jarring and i was much younger back then. they were essentially a very thin felt like carpet (Boltex?) layed right on top of a concrete slab..

Moj, I've played on carpet courts like that but they're not the same as the ones used at top ATP events. Those carpet courts are carpet layed onto a wooden surface that have stiff springs underneath to provide give in the surface.
 

urban

Legend
Hard courts are a factor, when i look at the number of players of the 90s with a very shortened career because of injury (Stich, Rafter, Kuerten, Rios, Bruguera etc.). Also the now common muscle bulk puts stress on the ligaments and tendons, and another factor is the (relative) new technique of body rotation. In yesteryears players had to run out their shots with proper footwork, nowadays they hit the ball constantly from the 'wrong' leg, and rotate their body in a violent way. I think the many injuries on the back and the hip may be a result of this. Guga was a prime example for the extreme body rotation, which requires enormous flexibility.
 

Deuce

Banned
I don't buy the 'blame the hard courts' theory.

I think that the main things responsible for the increase in player 'injuries' are A) (for the legitimate injuries, of which I believe there are far fewer than most people seem to believe) less forgiving racquets and strings than in the past; B) (for the fake 'injuries', of which I believe there to be a greater number than most people seem to believe) the highly hectic and incredibly disorganized schedule of both the ATP and WTA, in combination with the number of tournaments each player is 'required' to play, which results in players faking injuries just to get a rest; and C) (also for the fake 'injuries') the players' growing apathy and lack of respect for both the game and for the fans.
 

janipyt05

Professional
i agree that keeping it to a clay court would favour more players and it wouldn't b a fair competion im all for chaning to surface but they have to find something that suits all players and not jus a few. so maybe outdoor carpet. making a fast and slow one.
 

omigod

Rookie
The theory about hardcourts may be true but tennis today is a very different game to the 70, 80s (John Alexander is from way way back).

Most top player hit the gym nowdays and the level of competition is way higher! Look at the way Nadal swings his forehand and dashes around the court, if he aint injured, he aint human!

2005 Masters Final turnout is one off. 2004 was fine, so were 2003, 2002 etc.

Hardcourt is a fair surface, true bounce and a place where good players always suceed - clay specialist or not. I wouldn't be surprised if Nadal rules hardcourt next year!
 

pound cat

G.O.A.T.
It's the racket technology. The ball is hit so hard and the serves are so fast, players run all over the place, quick stops, quick turns, + no ability to slide on hard courts = injuries.

Wooden rackets would slow things down. Do you think Adida the the rest of the racket manufacturers would go for that??
 

Marius_Hancu

Talk Tennis Guru
wouldn't mind at all seeing a sea (!) change in terms of tournament surfaces to har-tru or whatever, but the inertia is huge, the Australians should take the initiative ...
 

joe sch

Legend
FiveO said:
NoBadMojo,

I like the har-tru idea, but where in the calendar? I for one would hate see the US Open change its identity again. I really wouldn't think they would, so that kind of locks up the summer warm up events on hards.

The last quarter of the year seems the logical place. In the late fall/winter season I just don't see them building har-tru courts in big arenas indoors. Southern climates? Europe is big $$$ for the tour. That's why I see carpet, even a slower carpet being the viable answer. Cost effective, easier to set up in any large indoor venue and where the money is.
I agree that we need more defined court seasons for todays tennis game.
It will improve the product by adding variety and reducing injuries !
A carpet/indoor Fall .. end of year season would be ideal with the current schedule and help the tired players bodies after a long year and the summer hard court events.
I would also like to see the grass court events extended. This is not easy since the Wimbledon warmups are too close to the French and many of the dirtballers do not feel the need to play the grass events. There shoud be more of a points/rankings incentive. Since we are discussing courts, there should also be some standards for balls such that they would require some of the events to use heavier/faster balls thus eliminate much of the baseline grinding that has hurt the game. I also think there should be some regulations for equipment (rackets), like done in other sports, golf(clubs), auto racing (HP), horse racing (weight) If the head size and weight ranges were limited to less than 100si and greater than 11oz, then baseline bashing would be minimized.
 

MagicMT

Rookie
joe sch said:
If the head size and weight ranges were limited to less than 100si and greater than 11oz, then baseline bashing would be minimized.

i could be wrong but i think most, if not all, pros are using racquets 100si or less and over 11oz...
 

SliceServe

New User
As much as I would like to see an increase of Grass tournaments, I would think it would be highly unlikely due to the amount of maintenance needed.

American players are not noted for their ability to slide into their shots, so I would expect the change to more Har-Tru would wreak havok on alot of top players.

How about Omnicourt? This is an artificial grass court with a sand base. It has somewhat of a quick & low bounce and I believe can handle a fair amount of rain. I have not played on this stuff but we have some forum members from the UK that have. Maybe they could comment. I would assume the sand base makes it somewhat forgiving on the lower body. Just guessing. The modern power players would like it. What do ya'll think?
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
How about Omnicourt? This is an artificial grass court with a sand base. It has somewhat of a quick & low bounce and I believe can handle a fair amount of rain. I have not played on this stuff but we have some forum members from the UK that have. Maybe they could comment. I would assume the sand base makes it somewhat forgiving on the lower body. Just guessing. The modern power players would like it. What do ya'll think?

OmniCourt has got to be about the worst possible surface ever invented IMO unless perfectly maintained, and it is virtually impossible to keep OmniCourts perfecly maintained. Not perfecty maintained and can be very dangerous. ie; the court grabs you in some places and is greasy in others. HarTru has been around for a long time now and is proven to be a very playable surface, easy on your body and can be set up to be fair to al playng styles
 

SliceServe

New User
Thanks for that feed back Ed.

Just thinking out loud. You know "necessity is the mother of invention." Perhaps someone could develop a synthetic outdoor surface that plays close to grass without the up-keep and is safe (ie. not "greasy")

Can ya' tell I'm not a fan of Har-Tru. Our MO's are the same...Mid 40's..former S&V Hardcourt player now forced to play on clay to save the body. Still hate the dirt...sorry. -Slice
 

omigod

Rookie
I am playing on an indoor court surface that is like omni except there is no sand.

so the grip is consistent. Ball speed is slower than hardcourt, don't bounce high but they bounce consistently.

the court is softer so it is less stressing on the knees than hardcourt. It looks like the one Fed and AA played on the Helipad in Dubai.
 

Capulin Zurdo

Hall of Fame
Very interesting read. Some time ago while researching the history of tennis, I was a little surprised to know that hard courts were relatively introduced to the tournaments and the massive shift towards them. I think hard courts are in some terms responsible for some injury, but not so as to be the pinpoint of it.
 
A

Attila_the_gorilla

Guest
Personally I would not play recreational tennis if I had to play on hard courts.
 
I agree there needs to be a change. I just hope they leave the Open as is so I'm looking (hard) for another alternative.;)
I like it a lot mo' when it was played on grass. As it is now, it's my least fav slam. And those rotten, obnoxious New Yawkaz have nothing to do with it! ;9)B
 

Godfather IV

New User
Very interesting read. Some time ago while researching the history of tennis, I was a little surprised to know that hard courts were relatively introduced to the tournaments and the massive shift towards them. I think hard courts are in some terms responsible for some injury, but not so as to be the pinpoint of it.

This is a great thread.
People are discussing the disadvantage of having more hard courts a decade ago.
And ATP did nothing on it.

ATP conducts WTF on single surface every year, which is wrong. They should change the venue and courts every year.

It would be nice to reduce hard court tournaments and replace with grass courts.
 
A

Attila_the_gorilla

Guest
I think it has to be all about cost. Hard courts are a lot cheaper in the long run than any other option.
 

Elektra

Professional
Hard courts is the only surface where it rewards everybody's style and game. They are cheaper to maintain and widely played around the world. The constant use of hardcourts in essence has made the game expand. It is easier to create a hard court on an already multi venue then it is putting dirt and growing grass on a tennis court. The only people who hate hardcourts are clay specialists because their games is not as effective on hard court.
 
A

Attila_the_gorilla

Guest
^^^^ That's rubbish. I grew up playing soccer on ashphalt courts and indoors, rarely on grass. It suited my game because of the speed and consistent bounce, but I became to avoid it due to it being harder and harder on my joints as I got a bit older.
Same with tennis, I avoid hard courts for the same reasons. My preference is fast, low bouncing courts that won't wreck my knees and ankles. Synthetic grass for example.
 

Mac33

Professional
Plexicushion hard courts are a little softer I think than other hard courts.

I agree the majority of injuries are caused by the lack of give on too hard a surface.

Putting a carpet on top of concrete floor would be even worse.

On top of plexicushion a little better.

The solution could be to design a hard court with a softer surface and base.

I play my tennis mostly on hardcourts. I wear walking shoes with double insoles.

Still have knee problems from time to time.
 

Minion

Hall of Fame
Yea.....I don't know eh. I've never played on grass or clay - that **** seems way too slippery to me:) Besides, we don't have any here, at all.

...this board is censoring all my swear words.....even the clever ones...damn.....
 

swizzy

Hall of Fame
i would like to see hard courts torn up and converted to har-tru everywhere in america.. obama needs to make this his final mission. they can start with all the courts here in my neck of the woods. it would create thousands and thousands of jobs.. probably a million actually.. each public court with a staff of 5-6 to sweep, water, and roll the courts.. receive the delivery of new material.. hold on..a third should be grass, and another third crushed brick.. i would be thrilled and i could play well into my 90's
 

BlueB

Legend
Grass and clay are relics of the past. Slippery, uneven, unpredictable, hard to maintain.
Hard courts are the best.
On the other hand, there are other good artificial surfaces. Astroturf is really nice when the length of the "grass" and quantity of sand are matched right. Also, I'd really like to try to play on some slightly smoother version of athletic tartan.
 

TennisCJC

Legend
I don't think getting rid of hard courts is realistic. Clay court tennis can be monotonous so I don't see converting hard courts to clay as a viable option. We have a nice spring clay court season that is about the right amount of tournaments.

I think a better way to address the injury issue is to cap the number of tournaments a player can play on the ATP at 16 in a single year.

Another option would be to look at the hard courts in Dubai and Shanghai and try to replicate their court speed at all other hard courts. These tournaments had a lot of attacking tennis that shortened the points a bit. These courts had longer points than grass but much shorter than slow hard courts lin Indian Wells and Miami. USO and Aussie O should target this court speed.

Another option would be to lengthen the European grass court season by 2 weeks so it runs through mid-July. Then summer hard court season would be mid-July through mid-September.
 

swizzy

Hall of Fame
we had a nice carpet court for decades in Avon, N.J they turned into a hard court last summer.. bummer. it was great to have something different. it had one major flaw. if you dove on it you were pretty likely to get a nasty abrasion no matter how deftly you rolled. instant infection came with it with the sand and grime. still miss it though.
 
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