Grass courts are the fastest type of tennis court, and points often are shorter as a result, according to the On Tennis website. Like golf greens, the grass used for grass tennis courts is grown in tightly packed soil. The most famous event played on grass tennis courts---and the world's oldest tennis tournament---is Wimbledon. Grass tennis courts have several advantages over clay and hard courts.
Reduced Impact on Your Body
One advantage of grass courts is that they are a naturally soft surface, which means that your joints, especially the joints of your lower extremities, experience less wear and tear, according to Tennis Central. Your joints are also less likely to experience wear and tear when you play on a grass tennis court because points are shorter and matches are more likely to be dictated by your serve or your opponent's serve. This means that you perform less lateral movement during your match, which decreases stress on your ankles, knees and hips and the muscles and connective tissue surrounding these joints. Grass tennis courts are also advantageous in the event you trip and fall while returning a volley. On hard court surfaces, or even clay surfaces, a fall often means a cut or scrape that bleeds.
Fastest Type of Tennis Court
Tennis Courts Online touts grass courts as the fastest of all tennis courts, which means that when you send a volley to your opponent, the tennis ball often skids and bounces low---rarely rising above your knees---and retains much of its speed. On other types of tennis court surfaces, once the ball contacts the surface it loses a significant amount of speed, which allows players to favorably position themselves to return the volley. Because the ball speed on grass surfaces is greater, you need to be able to reach the ball faster. Grass courts are advantageous for those tennis players with exceptional foot speed, along with a powerful serve and the ability to creep toward the net---known as serve-and-volley---to finish points quickly. Even if you're not an effective serve-and-volley player, playing tennis on grass surfaces on a consistent basis helps you improve your skills and makes you an all-around better tennis player.
Court Aesthetics
Grass tennis courts are, arguably, the most aesthetically pleasing type of tennis court. In a July 6, 2007, article in "The New York Times," Michael Kimmelman touts grass tennis courts as one of the most pleasant types of tennis court at which to watch a match. Kimmelman states that the smell of fresh-cut grass, the shuffling of players' feet over the grass and the overall gentler sound of ball strikes, along with the general pastoral feeling grass courts evoke, make grass courts one of the most senses-pleasing tennis courts. Because of their natural surface, grass tennis courts fit more seamlessly into a garden setting. If you're thinking about building a private tennis court in your backyard, and if you don't mind the upkeep a grass court requires, consider a grass tennis court for optimal aesthetics.
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