Grass court

A grass court is one of the types of tennis court used for the sport of tennis, which was originally called "lawn tennis." These courts are made from different kinds of grasses, depending on the tournament.

Although grass courts are very traditional, they are used much less today than other types of tennis surfaces, such as hard courts and clay courts. One reason is that grass courts cost more to maintain. They also become very slippery when wet, making them unplayable after rain until they dry out, which can take many hours. In contrast, hard courts can often be used again much sooner after rain, and clay courts may even stay playable in light rain.

Grass courts are most often found in the United Kingdom and Australia. The most famous tournament played on grass is the Wimbledon Championships, which has been the only Grand Slam tournament played on grass since 1988.

Play style

Grass courts can be slippery, which makes the ball skid and bounce low while keeping most of its speed. Because of this, players need to react quickly, and points often end fast. This rewards players who are fast and powerful. On grass, serving well is very important because the serve and return have a big effect on who wins each point. Grass courts favor a serve and volley style of play.

Players

Some of the best tennis players have done really well on grass courts. Famous players like Martina Navratilova, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and Pete Sampras have won many big tournaments on grass.

Roger Federer is especially known for his success on grass, winning lots of matches and many Wimbledon titles. Venus Williams has also done very well, winning several Wimbledon singles titles and teaming up with her sister Serena for doubles wins.

Professional tournaments played on grass

Compared to clay and hard courts, the professional grass court season is much shorter. Until 2014, it included only Wimbledon, two weeks of tournaments in Britain and continental Europe leading up to it, and the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, Rhode Island, United States the week after. In 2015, the season was extended by an extra week between the French Open and Wimbledon. The Stuttgart Open became a grass court tournament that year. In 2017, a new tournament was played in Antalya, Turkey, a week before Wimbledon. On the WTA Tour, Mallorca, Spain, began hosting a grass court tournament in 2016.

Two of the four Grand Slam events switched from grass to hardcourt; the US Open was last played on grass in 1974, and the Australian Open was last held on grass courts in January 1987.