Night Tennis

The Green Mile

The Green Mile

Bionic Poster
So, I have been playing night tennis quite a lot recently, and am having a bit of trouble with it. Pitch black, with bright flood lights shining bright. I used to play the odd night match every now and then, but majority of my tennis is during the daytime. It's just I am having trouble timing the ball, and the lights are quite a distraction to me (because I keep looking up after a point, I can't help it :oops:). Is this relatively normal, and will my eyes adjust after a while or what? Should I just stick to daylight? Cheers.
 
My guess is age related. My eyes lost some depth perception at night as I got older at night but I am not entirely sure.
 
It took me a while to become accustomed to playing at night under artificial lights. To me it seemed that the court was larger and it was a bit more difficult to track the ball. After a while, it was not a problem at all as long as the artificial lighting was adequate.

Not all court lights are good/decent. Light quality (light color) on some courts are poor. My preference is for a balanced-spectrum white light or lighting that is bluish-white. I have a lot of problems with lighting that is yellowish or pinkish. Also, lighting might not always be even -- uneven brightness can make ball tracking rather tricky. Some lighting is too low -- it can result in too much glare when serving or on other shots.
 
I don't like it either. I can't tell if my ball toss is the right height because of depth perception problems and since the courts at my club are surrounded by greenery, I can't quite make out the ball when the server tosses it up - I very often have to wait till the ball is crossing the service line on the server's side of the court to be able to sight it properly. And the shadows distract me a little, though not as much as the bats wheeling about overhead as they feast on the insects attracted by the lights.
 
Well I play mostly at night. The court indeed seems a bit bigger, especially if you're playing indoors. I think you'll get accustomed to it eventually.
 
Almost everyone develops poor night vision as they age. I don't think it will get better either. You might want to check your eyes. I had a friend that was like 2 different players: very good in the daylight and not so good at night. He had major problems judging depth and made 2 times as many unforced errors at night.
 
Yeah it's just a normal thing. The lighting just isn't natural. I lose more overheads in the lights than I ever do in the sun.
 
It can help to wear a hat. Seriously, there's nothing wrong with shading your eyes some from the artificial lights.

Lobs are always difficult when the ball goes up and disappears into the black sky.
 
The Green Mile said:
Damn, I'm only 22.....:(
Click to expand...

Almost dead. Sorry dude.

Seriously, most people can get used to playing under lights if they do it enough and if the lights don't completely suck. I play under lights at least once a week and I'm 52. I prefer the daylight, but I can hit at night. It's easier if I start playing while it's still light out.
 
WildVolley said:
It can help to wear a hat. Seriously, there's nothing wrong with shading your eyes some from the artificial lights.

Lobs are always difficult when the ball goes up and disappears into the black sky.
Click to expand...

I'm 42 and a few years ago, I had problems seeing in the night lights. I read it here on the boards, but the solution that worked for me is this:

Wear a hat with a black underbill. I don't know why this works but I think it is the black underneath the hat contrasting with the white lights.
 
Some people have more trouble adapting to night tennis with artificial lights.
Instead of starting at the baseline, try mini tennis where you have to track the ball much shorter duration. And, gradually increase the distance and pace.

In terms of the lights distracting you, i guess you can try a hat or use your left hand to block the light for overheads.

I have a similar problem where if the ball is high, I lose the sight of it because of the lights.
 
WildVolley said:
It can help to wear a hat. Seriously, there's nothing wrong with shading your eyes some from the artificial lights.

Lobs are always difficult when the ball goes up and disappears into the black sky.
Click to expand...

mikeler said:
I'm 42 and a few years ago, I had problems seeing in the night lights. I read it here on the boards, but the solution that worked for me is this:

Wear a hat with a black underbill. I don't know why this works but I think it is the black underneath the hat contrasting with the white lights.
Click to expand...

beltsman said:
Wear a hat and make an extra, extra effort to focus on watching the ball. It's tough.
Click to expand...

A hat it is then! :) Hopefully it makes a difference.
 
Yep good advice on the hat, I find it hard to adjust too sometimes. It's now coming in to winter in NZ so I'll be be hitting under lights more often so I'll give that a try. Good thread!
 
Come on guys. It is the same for everybody unless you are playing against a Thundercat. So it is affecting your rival as well and it is not an excuse.

Almost everybody prefers daylight but we take it as it is. When you work for instance, there might not be another free time to play than night.

So do play tennis whenever wherever, as much as you can.
 
I absolutely enjoy playing during the night. The courts I play on are lit up ok, and I can adjust pretty well, even if one of the light posts is off. As others mentioned, I think you should be able to adjust after a few sessions.
 
Alien said:
Come on guys. It is the same for everybody unless you are playing against a Thundercat. So it is affecting your rival as well and it is not an excuse.

Almost everybody prefers daylight but we take it as it is. When you work for instance, there might not be another free time to play than night.

So do play tennis whenever wherever, as much as you can.
Click to expand...

I don't know about that. I have been playing for around 15 years, and win majority of my matches against the guy in the daylight. This guy seems to be having no problems with it. I might ask him what he thinks though....
 
occasionally annoyed when they replace light bulbs with new ones.

obviously i prefer courts that have high enough mounts for lights...
 
SystemicAnomaly said:
Not all court lights are good/decent. Light quality (light color) on some courts are poor. ... Also, lighting might not always be even -- uneven brightness can make ball tracking rather tricky. Some lighting is too low -- it can result in too much glare when serving or on other shots.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was gonna say this.

My town has five lit facilities for night play, and they are not all the same.
 
Night tennis is terrible. I play like Federer in the daylight, like Tomic at best at night. And I’m only 54.
 
kaleidoskope said:
Anyone tried night glasses like those cyclists use?
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Yes, I could see the ball much better but couldn't judge depth. They make the ball stand out more, but to me flattened the DOF. Timing was an issue and although you can over come somewhat by opening up grip, hitting later and flatter it was not worth the frustration.
But for stuff all you can get cheap ones to try.
 
It's terrible playing at night. Absolute worst is the time around sunset when daylight and floodlights mix, makes really hard to clearly see the ball.
 
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