Midwest Sports Tennis Blog

Four main types of tennis courts

Midwest Sports Tennis Outlet — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:36:58 -0500

There are many types of tennis courts; clay courts, hard courts, grass courts and carpet courts. Each type of court has its own characteristics and this affects the playing style of the game. This also means a few of the types of courts utilize different types of tennis equipment. Different characteristics make it easier for some players to perform on certain courts than others. Do you know which type of court allows you to perform your best?

Carpet courts are normally used for indoor courts and are designed to have more cushioning. The playing characteristics depend on the texture and thickness of the materials used to make the carpet. Normally a carpet court is tough and thin, sort of like ‘astro turf’.

The bounce is predictable – like hard courts – but the friction from the carpet can slow the ball down.

Clay courts can be made of crushed shale, stone or brick and can range from red to green to gray. This type of court can slow down the tennis ball but it produces more bounce. This is because clay courts have more grab and give off more friction when the ball lands. Clay is more favored by defensive players who enjoy playing from the baseline. Although, if you have never played on a clay court, this might be quite an adjustment as the different textures in the court can cause the ball to bounce at unexpected angles. This type of court is also easiest on the legs.

Clay courts are more traditional and while they are cheaper to create, they are more expensive to maintain. A good tip for playing on clay courts is to hit the ball deep on your opponent’s side of the court to limit their ability to return the shot. The French Open is a large tournament that uses clay courts.

Grass courts consist of grass grown on hard-packed soil and are the fastest types of courts in common use. On grass courts, the height of the bounce depends on how healthy the grass is as well as how recently it has been mowed and the wear from recent play – although most grass courts give the tennis ball a lower bounce. If you are a ‘serve-and-volley’ tennis player – like Pete Sampras – then a grass court is the best bet for your style.

The surface isn’t as firm as hard court surfaces, which causes the ball to bounce lower and depending on the court, the ball can bounce unpredictably. Many times, players hit flatter shots to increase the power and allow the ball to travel faster before the ball hits the ground. Grass courts are more slippery than hard courts, which also affects the bounce of the ball. Wimbledon is the most famous grass tournament.

Hard courts are usually made of asphalt and vary in speed. They are typically faster than clay courts but not as quick as grass courts. Hard courts are considered the most equal courts for all playing styles because they give the most predictable bounce and speed. They are also the most common courts and easiest to maintain. If you are a hard-hitting player, this is a great court for you. The consistent surface makes this court a great court for beginners and the easiest for the arm.

The US Open is played on an acrylic hard court while the Australian Open is played on a synthetic hard court. The main difference between a true hard court and a synthetic hard court is the level of hardness. The amount of sand used and the size of the sand in the top paint also affect the speed. More sand means less speed while larger sand bits slow the speed of play.

International Tennis Hall of Fame nominees

Midwest Sports Tennis Outlet — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0500

Twelve people have been nominated for the 2010 International Tennis Hall of Fame. To be eligible for this honor, a candidate must have been competitive in the sport in the past 20 years but must not have been a significant factor on the ATP or WTA Tour in the last five years. The vote will be made by 150 international media members.

The Recent Player category nominees are Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva, Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde and Anders Jarryd. Jarryd was ranked No. 1 in doubles for 110 weeks. Master Player category nominees are Owen Davidson and Peter Fleming and Bob Lutz. The Contributor category nominees are wheelchair tennis pioneer Brad Parks; the influential nick Bollettieri; chairman of the Lawn Tennis Association, Derek Hardwick and Eiichi Kawatei.

The Enshrinee Nominating Committee for 2009-2010 includes Tony Trabert, Mary Carillo, Bud Collins, Frew Mcmillan, Pam Shriver, Stan Smith and Fred Stolle, and others.

DailyTennisNews@racquettech.com

Cardio Tennis 4 Kids

Midwest Sports Tennis Outlet — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

Beginning February 18, 2010 at the PTR International Tennis Symposium on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, Cardio Tennis will include Cardio Tennis for Kids. CT4Kids will emphasize play, fun and fitness for children’s tennis programming and will provide an option to help fight childhood obesity. The three hour workshop – led by Michele Krause, National Cardio Tennis Program Manager and members of the national Cardio Tennis Speakers Team – will include both classroom and on-court education.

Cardio Tennis for Kids has a group play activity featuring action based tennis drills and games for children aged 6-12. CT4Kids can be a great compliment to QuickStart and PTR Kids Tennis and includes music to incorporate fun into exercising.

Those who attend the symposium will learn why CT4Kids is important for kids of all age groups. They will also receive great resources to market and utilize the program.

DailyTennisNews@racquettech.com

US tennis on the rise

Midwest Sports Tennis Outlet — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

In 2004, USTA President Alan Schwartz wanted to see, “30 million players by 2010.” When he said this, there were 21 million US tennis players. After struggling to gain control of the responsibilities that would allow Schwartz to see this through, he, along with the Tennis Industry Association, created programs to build interest amongst adults and youth.

Over 30 million people were playing the game in 2009 – a 12 percent increase from 2008 – and the largest percentage of players are 12-17 years old (at 20.5 percent). These are encouraging statistics for US tennis.

“Over the past several years we’ve strived to make the game more accessible, particularly at parks and schools around the country,” said USTA chief executive Kurt Kamperman.

Is your community joining in the world of tennis? Check out gyms and parks in your area and see what you can do to build support for the sport you love!

DailyTennisNews@racquettech.com

Thanksgiving tennis

Midwest Sports Tennis Outlet — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

Who needs football at Thanksgiving when you can watch international tennis?! The ATP World Tour Finals are happening now and the Tennis Channel is airing them! Do you want to see Federer’s racquet crush a tennis ball at 140 mph? Here’s the upcoming schedule for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals!

Wednesday, November 25
“Night Session” aka 2pm ET
Bob Bryan/ Mike Bryan v Dlouhy / Paes
Rafael Nadal v Nikolay Davydenko

Thursday, November 26
7:30a ET
Andy Murray v Fernando Verdasco
Daniel Nestor / Nenad Zimonjic v Mahesh Bhupathi / Mark Knowles

2:00pm ET
Roger Federer v Juan Martin Del Potro
Frantisek Cermak / Michal Mertinak v Mariusz Fyrestenberg / Marcin Matkowski

Here are some of the ATP match highlight’s! http://www.barclaysatpworldtourfinals.com/Tennis/Media/Videos/2009/11/London-2009-Monday-Highlights.aspx

Or you can stream the doubles matches live! http://www.tennistv.com/page/LiveIndex/0,,11444,00.html?WT.mc_id=atp1

Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, Day 3

Midwest Sports Tennis Outlet — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:28:22 -0500

November 24, 2009

Men’s Singles, Group A
Roger Federer d Andy Murray 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
Juan Martin Del Potro d Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(1)

Men’s Doubles, Group A
Frantisek Cermak / Mmichal Mertinak d Daniel Nestor / Nenad Zimonjic 6-3, 6-4
Mahesh Bhupathi / Mark Knowles d Mariusz Fyrstenberg / Marcin Matkowski 3-6, 6-3, 10-7

http://www.protennislive.com/frameset.asp?year=2009&wkno=47&lang=en&tabno=1&eventid=0605&ref=www.atpworldtour.com

Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, Day 1 and 2

Midwest Sports Tennis Outlet — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:12:57 -0500

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals have been underway for two days now! Have you been missing out on the action? No worries! Catch up with us.

November 22, 2009
Men’s Singles, Group A
Roger Federer d Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
Andy Murray d Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3, 3-6, 6-2

Men’s Dougles, Group A
Mariusz Fyrstenberg/ Marcin Matkowski d Daniel Nestor/ Nenad Zimonjic 6-4, 6-4
Mahesh Bhupathi/ Mark Knowles d Frantisek Cermak/ Michal Mertinak 6-3, 6-3

November 23, 2009
Men’s Singles, Group B
Robin Soderling d Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4
Novak Djokovic d Nikolay Davydenko 3-6, 6-4, 7-5

Men’s Doubles, Group B
Max Mirnyi/ Andy Ram d Bob Bryan/ Mike Bryan 6-4, 6-4
Lukasz Kubot/ Oliver Marach d Lukas Dlouhy/ Leander Paes 6-4, 7-6(3)

In case you missed it before, here’s a schedule of matches that will be aired in the US by the Tennis Channel. http://www.atpworldtour.atponline.net/1/en/tv/londonfinals09.htm

http://www.barclaysatpworldtourfinals.com

Wimbledon TV Report may lead to lower tennis profits

Midwest Sports Tennis Outlet — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:07:41 -0500

The David Davies Report is out and made recommendations maintaining that Wimbledon should be protected for live broadcast on free-to-air television. This obviously upset the All England Club and the Lawn Tennis Association who control the Wimbledon Championships.

If this report leads to changes in future TV regulations, both the All England Club and the LTA could lose their freedom to sell TV rights to the highest bidder and lose a good chunk of their profits. The two groups’ argument is that funding to grass roots tennis in Britain could be damaged if changes are to ensue. They also pushed that the Davies Report’s findings are based on erroneous information because UK broadcast rights do form the major share of Wimbledon’s broadcast income. Both groups insist that the way things are run now works well and allows millions of tennis fans to enjoy Wimbledon coverage.

“We value our relationship with the BBC but the marketplace needs to be balanced. The proposed change is based on entirely erroneous information and will seriously damage our ability to obtain the best deal for The Championships and British tennis,” Chief Executive of the All England Club Ian Ritchie said.

DailyTennisNews@racquettech.com

Schedule for ATP World Finals

Midwest Sports Tennis Outlet — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:30:00 -0500

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Centre Court – Starts at 12:30p
(1) Daniel Nestor (CAN)/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) v (8) Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL)/Marcin Matkowski (POL)

Not Before 2:15p
(4) Andy Murray (GBR) v (5) Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)

At 7:00p
(3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/Mark Knowles (BAH) v (5) Frantisek Cermak (CZE)/Michal Mertinak (SVK)

Not Before 8:45p
(1) Roger Federer (SUI) v (7) Fernando Verdasco (ESP)

Monday, November 23, 2009

Centre Court – Starts at 12:30p
(2) Bob Bryan (USA)/Mike Bryan (USA) v (7) Max Mirnyi (BLR)/Andy Ram (ISR)

Not Before 2:15p
(2) Rafael Nadal (ESP) v (8) Robin Soderling (SWE)

At 7:00p
(4) Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/ Leander Paes (IND) v Lukasz Kubot (POL)/Oliver Marach (AUT)

Not Before 8:45p
(3) Novak Djokovic v (6) Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)

Here is a link to the Tennis Channel’s schedule of matches they will be airing. http://www.atpworldtour.atponline.net/1/en/tv/londonfinals09.htm

You can also catch the action online at tennistv.com (although, they will only be streaming singles matches)! http://www.atpworldtour.atponline.net/1/en/tv/londonfinals09.htm

DailyTennisNews@racquettech.com

Line up for Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

Midwest Sports Tennis Outlet — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:16:09 -0500

Nikolay Davydenko will be joining Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray for the ATP World Finals in London November 22 - 29. The world No. 7 has earned his spot in the event for the fifth straight year, despite losing to Robin Soderling in the third round of the BNP Paribas Masters last week.

Luckily for Davydenko, former No. 8, Fernando Verdasco, also lost in the third round of the Paris tournament, in a match against Marin Cilic. Verdasco as well as Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro also made the cut to play in the London Finals.

After some hot competition, Robin Soderling snagged the final spot for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Although Soderling is the world No. 9, he did score a place due to the knee injury of Andy Roddick. Roddick expects to be back in the tournament for the Australian Open. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (who we wrote about earlier) was just 135 points short of the spot.

DailyTennisNews@racquettech.com