Tennis courts are usually green, and for this reason you may be wondering if there are any disadvantages to playing on blue tennis courts such as the ones that were introduced by the United States Tennis Association at the U.S. Open in 2005. Though you may be skeptical of the new color, blue tennis courts are actually quite comparable to green courts in terms of ball visibility and ball bounce.
Background
There are three main types of tennis court surfaces: grass, clay and hard courts. Wimbledon is a tournament on grass, and the courts are green. The French Open is a tournament on clay, and the courts are red. Finally, The U.S. Open and the Australian Open are tournaments on hard courts, which used to be green. However, in 2005 the USTA decided to revamp the U.S. Open hard courts, and changed the color from green to blue. The shade of blue is referred to as "U.S. Open Blue" due to its origins. The Australian Open followed suit in 2008, changing tennis court colors from green to blue.
Visibility
Both the U.S. Open and the Australian Open implemented blue tennis courts to make it easier for television viewers to see the ball, since blue has high contrast with the yellow tennis balls. If you are accustomed to playing on green courts, however, you may be concerned that as a player the color change will make it more difficult to see the ball. Yet blue courts "have been tested and proven to enhance visibility of the ball for both players and fans," according to USTA executive Arlen Kantarian. For this reason, you should experience no disadvantage when playing on blue tennis courts in terms of visibility.
Ball Bounce
If you are a player that relies on the fast, predictable bounce of green hard courts, you may be concerned that the blue hard courts are made from a material that slows the ball's bounce and hinders your game. However, both green and blue tennis courts are made of concrete coated with DecoTurf, a multilayer acrylic resin. Blue courts are simply painted with blue paint instead of green paint, and this should not alter the ball's bounce on the hard court surface. For this reason, there is no disadvantage to the ball's bounce on a blue court compared to a green court.
Tradition
Since its inception in 1881 up until 2005, the U.S. Open tennis courts were green in line with tennis tradition. When the USTA decided to implement blue courts in 2005 to improve ball visibility for television viewers, some tennis purists were skeptical. Former professional tennis player John McEnroe, for example, was initially against blue courts and said they wouldn't make a "damn bit of difference" in promoting tennis viewership. For this reason blue tennis courts may be disadvantageous to you if you believe strongly in preserving tennis tradition, and feel the color strays too far from convention.
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