Tennis Court Surfaces Comparison

The Three Main Tennis Surfaces

There are three main tennis court surfaces in general: Hard Courts, Clay Courts, and Grass Courts.

Known as the easiest courts to play tennis, the Hard Courts provide a regular bounce to the players. Hard Courts are typically made of asphalt or concrete that is sealed with an acrylic material. The game pace is usually rated as medium on this surface. However, it might vary from tournament to tournament according to the construction method used.

The Clay Courts require a very specific game, as the surface allows players to slide, which requires proper technique. In general, this surface is rated as the slowest one, with the ball bouncing higher and more irregularly.

In the past, Grass was the most common surface on tour but nowadays, this surface is used less. Grass provides very fast game conditions with the ball bouncing extremely low. However, the average speed on this surface has decreased over the years in an attempt to balance the pace on the different tennis court surfaces.

There is always the possibility for the matches to be played Indoors, which clearly increases the pace. Some tournaments are completely played Indoors while others have a roof in the center court that can be closed due to adverse weather conditions, like rain or extreme heat for example.

Different Series of Tennis Tournaments

Similar to other sports, tennis also has different levels according to the players’ ranking.
Our focus will be on the main tournaments, which are part of the ATP World Tour.

There are four main categories: ATP 250, ATP 500, ATP 1000, and Grand Slam. The champion wins the amount of points indicated by the tournament’s category, while on Grand Slams, the winner earns 2000 points. However, the champion is not the only one who wins points as you can see in the following tables.

Besides these four categories, there is also one special event that takes place at the end of the year, the ATP World Tour Finals. This tournament is comprised of the eight best players of the season and is played on Indoor Hard Court, with the champion winning 1500 points.

ATP 1000 and Grand Slams – Main Tennis Court Surfaces

To conclude, let’s take a closer look at the two main tournament categories – ATP 1000 and the Grand Slam – as well as their tennis court surfaces.