Why are there so many HC tournaments?

[dominikk1985]

I get they are easy to maintain but HC is clearly the worst for health as the hard ground and lack of sliding means more impact on the joints.

I'm not suggesting more clay as clay is already pretty big but why not expand grass a little.

Shorten the summer outdoor hc season and instead ad a grass masters and a few more grass tournaments.

I get grass is expensive to maintain but the main tour can afford that, lower levels can still play hc.

In Europe nobody plays on hc in the summer because it ruins the joints and is less fun than playing on clay (indoor carpet is the best tough).

Imo the joints of the top20 players are too valuable to ruin them playing 60% of the time on hc, add more natural surfaces to soften the impact on the joints.

 

[The Blond Blur]

Tennis is a business. And just like any business, the ATP wants to maximize profits (even at the expense of player's health). Hard courts are the cheapest to make and maintain so that saves money.

 

[UnderratedSlam]

I basically agree.

Unfortunately, grass is way to expensive. However, one M1000 on grass would be great and doable. To be played 2nd week of grass season.

In fact, just make Queens a M1000 by getting rid of an indoor Autumn M1000 since so many players skip one or are injured that time of season. Paris would be ideal, since it's the one that has the weakest field overall. Or at least is one of the weaker M1000s.

 

[BlueB]

Becsuse the other two surfaces are relics of the past. They are also more dangerous, at pro level, then the uniform, predictable surface.

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[UnderratedSlam]

Becsuse the other two surfaces are relics of the past. They are also more dangerous, at pro level, then the uniform, predictable surface.

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Dangerous... in causing more mishits due to an unpredictable bounce?

Yeah, playing on clay is like alligator-wrestling.

100s of dead tennis pros strewn across clay and grass courts...

 

[Ledigs]

Get rid of Paris or downgrade to 500, then make Shanghai the site of the WTF and get rid of that Masters. Add a grass Masters before Wimbledon.

 

[UnderratedSlam]

Get rid of Paris or downgrade to 500, then make Shanghai the site of the WTF and get rid of that Masters. Add a grass Masters before Wimbledon.

This would be the right thing, but perhaps another week would have to be somehow squeezed between FO and W. Very unlikely, of course, took them only a million years to add the third week.

 

[AlexanderTheGreat08]

Make Paris a 500 event and upgrade Barcelona to M1000

 

[UnderratedSlam]

Make Paris a 500 event and upgrade Barcelona to M1000

I believe we can all agree that Paris needs to go.

They've got a slam, and can't even half-fill the stands there. I'd actually move FO to Spain. The clay slam needs to be somewhere else.

 

[skaj]

Tennis is a business. And just like any business, the ATP wants to maximize profits (even at the expense of player's health). Hard courts are the cheapest to make and maintain so that saves money.

Then they are not good at business, if they are losing popular players to injuries.

 

[Cupcake]

Imo the joints of the top20 players are too valuable to ruin them playing 60% of the time on hc, add more natural surfaces to soften the impact on the joints.

They play lots of hard courts now, and the players seem to be adapting - the big 3 are in their 30s and still doing well. Fed is fading, but that is more likely because of his age than the HCs he plays on.

Grass will not make a come-back. Just too expensive and complicated to maintain 12 months of the year. My town even used to have some at the ritz country club, but those were eliminated decades ago.

Clay in contrast, is growing. My own club (in the US) formerly with 12 hard courts, now has 8HC, plus now 4 clay. Another club in town has also switched some of their HC to clay as well. Clay is cooler and easier on older bodies than the HCs. And you can play on them if it's damp. Just played on clay this morning.

 

[dominikk1985]

Becsuse the other two surfaces are relics of the past. They are also more dangerous, at pro level, then the uniform, predictable surface.

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HC is way worse for your health. Sure less chance of slipping than on grass but much higher impact and wear and tear on the joints.

Sure you get an occasional bad bounce on grass but this only costs you a point and genrally grass is great for the joints, even if you fall not much is happening. HC is just grinding down your joints, american players tend to have ruined joints much earlier than players who grew up on clay like federer.

 

[dominikk1985]

Also growing up on clay is better for your allround game when it is balanced with playing on carpet in the winter to develope your fast court game.

Guys like federer or djokovic basically played the summer on clay and the winter on carpet.

 

[BlueB]

HC is way worse for your health. Sure less chance of slipping than on grass but much higher impact and wear and tear on the joints.

Sure you get an occasional bad bounce on grass but this only costs you a point and genrally grass is great for the joints, even if you fall not much is happening. HC is just grinding down your joints, american players tend to have ruined joints much earlier than players who grew up on clay like federer.

Dangerous... in causing more mishits due to an unpredictable bounce?

Yeah, playing on clay is like alligator-wrestling.

100s of dead tennis pros strewn across clay and grass courts...

Talking about acute injuries during the play, not long term impact. There were Wimbys and RGs that were pure carnage, compared to hard court slams.

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[SumYungGai]

I've wanted more clay/grass than HC for some time now. We need more clay/grass tourneys in the US (tour level and even recreational). There just aren't enough.

 

[Gumbo Jackson]

I understand that grass is more difficult to maintain and people don't play on it as often but I still think it is ridiculous that there is not at least one Masters 1000 event on grass. The game originated on grass, for a long time the majority of Majors were played on grass, and the most famous tournament in the world is on grass.