Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
The most prestigious tournament in tennis history, the Wimbledon Championships, is the only Grand Slam event played on grass tennis courts.
When you see the touring pros playing on TV it just looks the same as any other match, except maybe they volley more than on clay or hard courts. But have you ever tried playing on grass?
I'm currently in Australia on holiday and I competed this weekend in a grass court tennis tournament. It's been eight years since I've played on the surface and boy did it show!
The bounce is nearly non-existent and keeping your feet is a huge challenge. Whether you're a beginner or advanced tennis player, you will need to make an adjustment in your game and your strategy to be successful on grass.
The best grass court strategy for recreational players is to play your game and accentuate those aspects that will be most effective on the surface. You generally want to play an aggressive game, take control of the net, and shorten your strokes.
And, you need to do all of that while keeping your eye on the ball watching for bad bounces and trying to keep from slipping.
Because the grass court surface is so quick, often you won't have time to take a big swing at the ball. By the time you're ready to make contact, the ball may have taken a bad bounce and you most likely won't have time to adjust. Keep your strokes short so you are better prepared to hit your shots.
Volleys are most effective on the grass because you take time away from your opponent, but more importantly, you can keep the ball low and make the best use of angles. The other advantage is that you take away the possibility of getting a bad bounce yourself by taking the ball in the air.
By using slice and angles, you can move your opponent around and keep them on unsure footing. It's hard enough to keep your feet without someone doing this to you on the grass. And, using slice keeps the ball low, which means they will hit up to you, so if you follow the shot into the net you'll be there to pick off the easy volley.
Grass court tennis takes a different strategy and rewards good shot-makers. Be aware of what you are doing to your opponent and what is most effective. Then keep doing that until it doesn't work any longer.
Remember, the bounce on grass are low, fast, and somewhat unpredictable. The surface often changes during a match, which means the way the ball behaves will change too. You'll have to keep adjusting your own game and court positioning to be successful.
If you ever have the opportunity to play on a grass court, do it! Even if it's to just hit a few balls, it is quite an experience. Once you've tried grass court tennis you'll have a whole new respect for the pros that play such a high level of tennis at Wimbledon.
Happy Hitting!
