A tennis Court refers to a place where the sport of Tennis is played. It is also described as a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. A tennis Court can be used for either Doubles or Singles matches. Various surfaces can be employed in creating a tennis court, each with its own characteristics which affect the playing style of the game.

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Tennis Court Dimensions

According to the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) ‘Rules of Tennis' document, a tennis court has various dimensions such that is 78 feet(23.77 metres) length, a width of 27 feet (8.23 meters) that is for the Singles matches and 36 feet (10.97 metres) for doubles matches. It has a 21 feet (6.40 meters) Service line from the net.

There must be an additional clear space around the court is needed in order for players to reach overrun balls for a total of 60 feet (18 metres) wide and 120 feet (37 metres) long. A net divides the Court into two equal parts as it’s stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with the baselines.

The description and measurements of the net are; 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 metres) high at the posts and 3 feet (0.91 metres) high in the center. It is supported by posts (termed as Net posts) and these are supposed to be 3 feet (0.91 metres) outside the doubles court on either sides and the for the singles net it has to be 3 feet (0.91 metres) outside the singles court on either sides.

Clay Courts

These are fashioned with crushed shale, stone or brick. It’s used in the French Open which marks it as the only Gland Slam tournament to use clay courts.
These slow down the ball and produce a high bounce as opposed to that of grass and hard courts. It’s hard for Serve-based players to dominate on the Clay surface courts as they take away many advantages of big serves. These are Cheaper to construct though more costly to maintain as they need to be rolled in order to preserve the fatness and also require the water content to be balanced.
Such courts are commonly used in Europe and Latin America compared to North America and these tend to favor baseline players.

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Grass Courts

These are described as the fastest type of courts in common use. They involve growing of grass on very hard-picked soil, which adds additional variables and the bounces depend on healthy the grass is that is how recently has been mowed and the wear and tear of the recent play/usage. With the grace court, the points are usually very quick where the fast, low bounces keep rallies short. The Serve plays a greater role than other surfaces. Grass Courts tend to favor more of Serve and Volley tennis players. These were the most commonly used courts though now they are rare due to a high maintenance costs as they must be watered and mown often. These also take longer time to dry after rain compared to hard courts.

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Hard courts

These are characterized with a uniform rigid material oftenly covered with an acrylic surface layer inorder to offer greater consistency of the bounce than other outdoor surfaces. These kind of courts can vary in speed, though they are faster than clay courts. While designing them, the quantity of sand that is added to the paint can greatly affect the rate at which the ball slows down.

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What is your best Tennis Court?

In Uganda there are lots of Clay Courts and i have mostly played on those ones but my best tennis court that i have ever played on is a hard court. I like the fastness of the ball on its surface.