Clay Courts versus Hard Courts

Tennis players can choose to play on a variety of court surfaces such as hard, clay, grass, or carpet, rubber, polymeric courts.  Of the estimated 250,000 tennis courts in the U.S, 70% are hard, 14% clay, and 15% are in the “other” category (carpet, rubber, poly metric, etc.). Often the court surface chosen by a player is due to a lack of options or player preference due to the player’s strengths.

The granular surface of a clay court acts as a shock-absorbing cushion, allowing players to slide into their shots. This prevents the joint jarring stops that occur on hard surfaces.  Pain and/or injuries are substantially lower on tennis surfaces that allow sliding (i.e. clay), compared to surfaces that do not allow sliding. Studies show that the differences in lower extremity injury frequency are directly related to the differences in the frictional properties of the surfaces. The frictional characteristics of the tennis court– shoe interface are a major risk factor for lower extremity injuries in tennis. The injury frequency on clay is significantly lower than on hard courts. The surface with the higher frictional coefficient enhances the speed of the game but also induces more frequent injuries as players perform at a greater rate of acceleration, speed and torque

Study by Dr. Benno Nigg, Director of Human Performance Laboratory, University of Calgary, Canada