Topic: Favorite Surface?

[Bundey]

I like clay!

I've only played on red clay a few times back when I live in Holland, but that was in the 5th grade before I knew how to play.  So I picked green clay.  After all it is the surface of the first tournament I won  

[Murrayfan11]

I only ever play on hardcourt so I'm going with that.

[Roddick fan 16]

Hard court rules!

[kickserve]

Carpet for me because I like the ball to come fast on the racket. I would say grass, but it's only playable where I live for a couple of months per year.

[topspin.me]

Here in the Philippines, we have a lot of shell courts instead of clay courts.  I prefer these shellcourts  than hardcourts because they give chance for longer rallies...just like claycourts.

[OSU Buckeye]

I will go with outdoor hard-courts for the surface...................though the sun and wind can be annoying there!

[Babblelot]

I've only played on clay (green) a handful of times, but prefer it to outdoor hardcourts and carpet because of my grips and serves and my footing is not an issue. I dislike anything indoors. Have to be in the sun, even if it's 90 degrees 90% humitidy in Chicago, IL or 110+ in Scotsdale, AZ.

[OSU Buckeye]

I've only played on clay (green) a handful of times, but prefer it to outdoor hardcourts and carpet because of my grips and serves and my footing is not an issue. I dislike anything indoors. Have to be in the sun, even if it's 90 degrees 90% humitidy in Chicago, IL or 110+ in Scotsdale, AZ.

Many times I felt like I was going to collapse in hot, humid Summer conditions!    I just can't get good breaths in that stuff!   Much like sitting in a sauna which I could never stand!   It is no longer tennis for me when it is that bad.

[Babblelot]

I've only played on clay (green) a handful of times, but prefer it to outdoor hardcourts and carpet because of my grips and serves and my footing is not an issue. I dislike anything indoors. Have to be in the sun, even if it's 90 degrees 90% humitidy in Chicago, IL or 110+ in Scotsdale, AZ.

Many times I felt like I was going to collapse in hot, humid Summer conditions!    I just can't get good breaths in that stuff!   Much like sitting in a sauna which I could never stand!   It is no longer tennis for me when it is that bad.

Yesterday, I was out for the first time this year. You mentioned wind. What a bloddy mess! But it was 81   , only the second time this year it's broken 70 in Chicago. Forecast for Thursday is 52, subject to revision by the hour. Spring is the absolute worst season here.

[OSU Buckeye]

I've only played on clay (green) a handful of times, but prefer it to outdoor hardcourts and carpet because of my grips and serves and my footing is not an issue. I dislike anything indoors. Have to be in the sun, even if it's 90 degrees 90% humitidy in Chicago, IL or 110+ in Scotsdale, AZ.

Many times I felt like I was going to collapse in hot, humid Summer conditions!    I just can't get good breaths in that stuff!   Much like sitting in a sauna which I could never stand!   It is no longer tennis for me when it is that bad.

Yesterday, I was out for the first time this year. You mentioned wind. What a bloddy mess! But it was 81   , only the second time this year it's broken 70 in Chicago. Forecast for Thursday is 52, subject to revision by the hour. Spring is the absolute worst season here.

Yeah, Spring is proly the biggest and hardest transistion for us here in Ohio.  To go from the indoor (no wind, no sun) to the outdoor in the Spring with both of those can prove very difficult!    Even worse, the indoor clubs lock us into leagues until mid to late May.   So, in the Spring as the weather allows, we start to play outdoor while still playing indoor as well.   So, for a month or 2, we are going back and forth!  

[netskimmer]

i like the carpet  best because it is easy on your ankles and knees  even in summer.
  sun does not reflect the heat like hard court does especially in n.j. your feet feel
like 2 micro wave ovens . it get so hot here you can get a hard court almost any time
 during the day . here we use spf  2000  for sun protectant . well for clay courts we do    
not have a lot of them do to maintance of them  plus you have to know how to slide and hit shots and watch those crazy  bounces .

    later netskimmer

[thejackal]

id say hardcourt, since i play mostly on that, but i do well on indoor carpet also.  i dont mind har-tru either (green clay).  it really depends on who im playing, since i dont have a mental block playing on 1 specific surface at all.

[junbug300]

Here in the Philippines, we have a lot of shell courts instead of clay courts.  I prefer these shellcourts  than hardcourts because they give chance for longer rallies...just like claycourts.

that's why you see no one from the philippines ranked in the top 100.  if it weren't for the US based filipinos like mamiit, there would really be no filipinos playing on tour. right now you can only find them in the futures and the challengers.
by the way, i would prefer hard court surfaces because they are conducive to the serve and volley... not to mention it gives me a chance to be competitive with those clay and shell courters who will have to adjust to the fast surface.

[dmastous]

Here in the Philippines, we have a lot of shell courts instead of clay courts.  I prefer these shellcourts  than hardcourts because they give chance for longer rallies...just like claycourts.

that's why you see no one from the philippines ranked in the top 100.  if it weren't for the US based filipinos like mamiit, there would really be no filipinos playing on tour. right now you can only find them in the futures and the challengers.
by the way, i would prefer hard court surfaces because they are conducive to the serve and volley... not to mention it gives me a chance to be competitive with those clay and shell courters who will have to adjust to the fast surface.

Just for the record, they do actually have hard courts and grass courts in the Philippines. The reason there are few pro tennis players from the Philippines is first, lack of cash, and second because they are too busy playing basketball.