A hardcourt (or hard court) is a surface or floor on which a sport is played, most usually in reference to tennis courts. It is typically made of rigid materials such as asphalt or concrete, and covered with acrylic resins to seal the surface and mark the playing lines, while providing some cushioning. [1] [2] Historically, hardwood surfaces were also in use in indoor settings, similar to an indoor basketball court, but these surfaces are rare now. [3]
Tennis hard courts are made of synthetic/acrylic layers on top of a concrete or asphalt foundation and can vary in color. These courts tend to play medium-fast to fast because there is little energy absorption by the court, as with grass courts but unlike clay courts. [4] The ball tends to bounce high and players are able to apply many types of spin during play. Speed of rebound after tennis balls bounce on hard courts is determined by how much sand is in the synthetic/acrylic layer placed on top of the asphalt foundation. More sand will result in a slower bounce due to more friction. [5] [6]
Of the Grand Slam tournaments, the US Open and Australian Open currently use hard courts, and it is the predominant surface type used on the professional tour. [7] [8]
There are numerous hardcourt maintenance methods which are commonly used to keep these facilities in top condition. Some of these include brushing, pressure washing with a cleaning solution and applying chemical treatments to prevent the growth of moss and algae. Anti-slip paint is also applied to hardcourts to give better playing qualities which enhance player safety and performance. [9]
Some prominent brands of hardcourt surfaces used at professional tournaments include:
A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be used to create a tennis court, each with its own characteristics which affect the playing style of the game.
The US Open Tennis Championships, commonly called the US Open, is a hardcourt tennis tournament organized by the United States Tennis Association annually in Queens, New York City. It is chronologically the fourth and final of the four Grand Slam tennis events, held after the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon.
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament organized by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events every year, held before the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
A grass court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Grass courts are made of grasses in different compositions depending on the tournament.
The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a stadium complex within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. It has been the home of the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, played every year in August and September, since 1978 and is operated by the United States Tennis Association (USTA). The facility has 22 courts inside its 46.5 acres and 12 in the adjoining park. The complex's three stadiums are among the largest tennis stadiums in the world; Arthur Ashe Stadium tops the global list with a listed capacity of 23,200. When the facility was built in 1978, all 33 courts used the DecoTurf cushioned acrylic surface, as did Court 17, added in 2011. However, in 2020, the court surfaces were replaced with Laykold.
IGA Stadium, originally called Stade Du Maurier and formerly Stade Uniprix, is the main tennis court at the Canadian Open tournament in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Built in 1996 and completed the following year, the centre court stadium currently holds 11,815 spectators. The stadium grounds is located in Jarry Park within the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension.
Rebound Ace is a cushioned tennis hardcourt composed of polyurethane rubber, fiberglass, and other materials on top of an asphalt or reinforced concrete base. It is manufactured and sold by California Products Corporation's Sports Surfaces division, a company based in Andover, Massachusetts, United States.
A clay court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis is played. Clay courts are built on a foundation of crushed stone, brick, shale, and other aggregate, with a thin layer of fine clay particles on top. Clay courts are more common in Continental Europe and Latin America than in North America, Asia-Pacific or Britain. The only Grand Slam tournament that uses clay courts is the French Open.
Turf management or pitchcare describes the work needed to keep a sporting pitch ready for use. This article looks at the various types of sporting pitches and the type of challenges which they present.
The Hobart International is a women's professional tennis tournament held at the Hobart International Tennis Centre in Hobart, Australia. The tournament was founded in 1994 as the Tasmanian International Open, it forms a part of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour and is classed as a WTA 250 tournament. It is competed on outdoor hardcourts, and is held in the run-up to the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, the Australian Open as part of the Australian Open Series.
DecoTurf is a brand of tennis hardcourt constructed from layers of acrylic resin, rubber, silica, and other materials on top of an asphalt or concrete base. It is manufactured by the sports surfaces division of California Products Corporation, based in Andover, Massachusetts.
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.
Plexicushion is a brand of acrylic-based hardcourt tennis surface and one of the surface types used on the professional Association of Tennis Professionals and Women's Tennis Association tours. It is manufactured and sold by the sports surfaces division of California Products Corporation, a company based in Andover, Massachusetts, United States.
Esther Vergeer defeated Daniela di Toro in the final, 6–0, 6–0 to win the women's singles wheelchair tennis title at the 2011 Australian Open. It was her eighth Australian Open singles title and 17th major singles overall. It also marked the fourth time that Vergeer did not drop a game during a major final, and she only lost four games en route to the title. The win in the final was her 404th consecutive match win.
GreenSet is a supplier of acrylic hardcourt surfaces used in many professional tennis events run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tours. It is made of layers of acrylic resin and silica on top of an asphalt or concrete base, for permanent facilities, or on top of a wooden platform, for venues with occasional use. The company is based in Barcelona, Spain.
SportMaster Sport Surfaces is a tennis hardcourt surface made from multiple layers of acrylic, silica sand, and other constituents. The system is applied on an asphalt or concrete substrate, and can be used indoor or outdoors in any climate. SportMaster Sport Surfaces are manufactured by ThorWorks Industries, Inc.
Laykold is a brand of tennis hardcourt constructed over an asphalt or concrete base. It can be constructed without cushion or with a cushion layer for better force reduction and longer player longevity. Court surfaces are made of various materials including rubber, silica, and acrylic resin. Laykold is manufactured by Advanced Polymer Technology.
A carpet court is a type of tennis court. The International Tennis Federation describes the surface as a "textile or polymeric material supplied in rolls or sheets of finished product". It is one of the fastest court types, second only to grass courts. The use of carpet courts in ATP Tour competitions ended in 2009. In women's tennis, no WTA Tour tournaments have used carpet courts since the last edition of the Tournoi de Québec in 2018. ATP Challenger and ITF circuit level tournaments with carpet courts continue to exist up to the present (2024).
...about cushioning...
Possible wood comeback?
about sand in court to slow it down
...layered...cushioned...
...Majors on Hardcourt...
...In the United States Tennis is played primarily on hard courts....
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