Carpet court

A carpet court in Kraków, Poland

A carpet court is a type of tennis court. The International Tennis Federation defines carpet courts as a "textile surface of woven or non-woven nylon, or a polymeric or rubber material, typically supplied in rolls or sheets" and as a removable surface.[1] It is one of the fastest court types second only to grass courts.[2] The use of carpet courts in major professional competitions ended in 2009 to reduce injuries.[3]

Types

There are two types of carpet court. The most common outdoor version consists of artificial turf infilled with sand. This type of carpet court became popular in the 1980s in British and Asian tennis clubs for recreational play as they were easier and cheaper to maintain than grass courts.[4][5]

The other type used predominantly for indoor tennis is a textile surface of nylon or rubber matting laid out on a concrete base.[1] These have been used in venues which are not normally used for tennis or other sports, such as the Royal Albert Hall in London.[6][7] Playing on carpet courts, players usually approach it as they would a grass court due to both being similarly fast surfaces.[8]

Professional tournaments

In years past, professional tournaments used carpet courts. The WCT Finals, U.S. Pro Indoor, Antwerp Open, Kremlin Cup, Paris Masters and Zagreb Indoors tournaments were all once played on carpet.[9] In 2009, the ATP decided to end the use of carpet courts in top-tier professional tournaments as part of a drive to standardise competitions to hard courts as well as to prevent injuries to players.[3] A number of players including Mario Ančić and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga criticised the move stating that professional tennis needed carpet courts for players to develop their ability for playing on fast courts and that having four surfaces created variety for spectators.[3] As of 2017, the WTA has one remaining carpet court event, the International-level Tournoi de Québec. The ATP Challenger Tour still has several such events.

References

  1. 1 2 "Surface descriptions – Carpet". ITF. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  2. ↑ Simon O'Hagan. "A magic carpet ride for Henman". The Independent. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "La ATP prohíbe jugar en moqueta en el 2009" (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  4. ↑ Tarran, Bruce (2013). George Hillyard: The man who moved Wimbledon. Troubador Publishing Ltd,. p. 127. ISBN 1780885490.
  5. ↑ Littlewood, David (2012). Metric Handbook. Routledge. p. 18. ISBN 1135140650.
  6. ↑ John Roberts (4 December 1997). "Tennis: McEnroe ready to relive drama of fire and ice". The Independent. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  7. ↑ "London 1999". ITF. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "How to adapt to different tennis surfaces and conditions". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  9. ↑ "Carpet Court ATP Tour Tennis Tournaments". Tennis.wettpoint.com. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
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