HewittAlwaysDisappoints
Professional
I always found this puzzling.
Think about it, when two players are exchanging groundstrokes from the baseline, the court surface doesn't affect the ball when it's in the air because... It's in the air dur. The only time, to my knowledge, court surface plays a part is after the ball has bounced, where it will either bounce slower and higher (clay), faster and lower (grass), or at a medium pace and height (hard). So if two players were to play a bit or cat-and-mouse at the net and trying to outmanoeuvr one another, and it just so happened that the ball didn't hit the ground during it, the surface would have no effect on the speed.
Shouldn't the racquet strings and balls play a much bigger part in the speed of play than the surface? Obviously the racquets now allow the players to hit the ball harder and faster. And new balls travel much quicker in the air than old and used balls. I'm sure new balls on clay would travel faster than old balls on grass.
Think about it, when two players are exchanging groundstrokes from the baseline, the court surface doesn't affect the ball when it's in the air because... It's in the air dur. The only time, to my knowledge, court surface plays a part is after the ball has bounced, where it will either bounce slower and higher (clay), faster and lower (grass), or at a medium pace and height (hard). So if two players were to play a bit or cat-and-mouse at the net and trying to outmanoeuvr one another, and it just so happened that the ball didn't hit the ground during it, the surface would have no effect on the speed.
Shouldn't the racquet strings and balls play a much bigger part in the speed of play than the surface? Obviously the racquets now allow the players to hit the ball harder and faster. And new balls travel much quicker in the air than old and used balls. I'm sure new balls on clay would travel faster than old balls on grass.
