Which court is hard to master? Grass vs Clay?

Which court is hard to master? Grass vs Clay?


  • Total voters
    14

MS_07

Semi-Pro
I have not played on Grass personally.
I am recreational player, playing ONLY on Clay.

IMO grass is hard to master:
- low bounce
- ball skids
- big severs have great advantage
- shorter rallies / risky game
- slippery surface, makes it to hard to reach out to every ball and time it effectively
- even if you are pro, sudden low bounce ,one/two missed balls and you suddenly find yourself a set down
- tournaments like wimbledon has full grass court on day 1 and on day 13-14 it plays like clay near base line, so need to adjust to those conditions
- any other ?

Clay:
(For)
- high bounce, top spinners have advantage
- need good stamina to grind
(against)
- big serve is neutralized
- stable bounce throughout the tournament
- even if you lose few points, it's possible to come back
- it is easy to take top spin ball early

what you guys think ??
 
Confirm your opinion on grass, I play on artificial grass now and then, it has similar characteristics to real grass and it is absolutely terrible. Why do you think the grass season for pros is so short? They don't like it as well.
 

ohiostate124

Professional
I think it depends heavily on your playing style. I play with the ps85 and hit pretty flat and have a 1hbh. Grass sounds like it would be great to play on. I'd much rather hit low balls than high balls.
 
Last edited:

esgee48

G.O.A.T.
Maintenance of grass courts is a lot harder than hard courts and clay courts. That's the reason you don't have too many grass tournaments anymore. And as the number of players chewing up the grass increases, chances the grass will wear out approaches 100%. If you ever had to or tried to maintain a grass lawn, you would understand. Even a postman walking on it 4 times a week can leave a track.

I am 99% hard courts. Game is classical with some modern elements. Grass is OK if it is dry and the grounds are not to soft. I played some softball and baseball while young and you can learn to adjust. I don't like Har Tru at all. Too slippery and you will get funny bounces when the ball hits the lines tape.
 

krisdrum

Semi-Pro
I'd take clay any day of those two. The higher/biting bounce gives you more time. It at least gives you a fighting chance to get another ball in.
 

toby55555

Hall of Fame
Grass as most courts are uneven and impossible to rally on. If you are lucky enough to play in a top quality one then it's another matter. I played on Queens court 1 and I might as well have been in a fast hard court the bounce was so reliable.
 
You should try to play on wood if you think grass is fast. When in high school a freak late snow force the boys team inside for a couple days. We used the basketball court,tied the net to volleyball standards and used masking tape for lines. When we finally got back outside the hard courts seemed like slow motion.
 

MS_07

Semi-Pro
Confirm your opinion on grass, I play on artificial grass now and then, it has similar characteristics to real grass and it is absolutely terrible. Why do you think the grass season for pros is so short? They don't like it as well.

All surfaces mentioned here are the ones which are used in Pro tour.

if someone digs the backyard, draws some lines, ties a net and says it's the hardest court to master, it does not count !!
 

mscream

Professional
I played on a a few times while studying in England. As others mentioned, grass courts are very hard to maintain and usually not even with little dents everywhere. Even worse, the slightest bit of moisture and the courts become lethal. They are difficult to master because you need to avoid playing tennis on these courts in my opinion and finish the points as soon as possible.

Carpet will give you an idea of what grass is like. Fast, slippery with low bounces and skidding. Perfect for old choppers and slicers! :D Only wood floors will skid more.
 
I played on a a few times while studying in England. As others mentioned, grass courts are very hard to maintain and usually not even with little dents everywhere. Even worse, the slightest bit of moisture and the courts become lethal. They are difficult to master because you need to avoid playing tennis on these courts in my opinion and finish the points as soon as possible.

Carpet will give you an idea of what grass is like. Fast, slippery with low bounces and skidding. Perfect for old choppers and slicers! :D Only wood floors will skid more.
Carpet doesn't have slippery low bounces! Not in my country at least. Bounce on carpet is similar to clay and hardcourt, only faster.
 

Chotobaka

Hall of Fame
The toughest courts are the surfaces you do not play on regularly. For every player that has trouble with slow courts and hinky bounces, there is one that is dumfounded by really fast hard courts. It cuts both ways.
 
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