The world’s best tennis players have descended on Wimbledon looking to continue the tricky transition from the clay courts to grass.
But which surface is the biggest test for players?
Brad Gibson, director of EA Milne Centre for Astrophysics at Hull University and a tennis fan, explained: “From a scientific perspective, it really depends on which part of the physics is more conspicuous to a given player.”
Grass courts: unique, extraordinary, challenging.
A living surface…#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/56iB8vVDid— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2017
So we asked Gibson to break it down and explain the science behind the tennis action on the contrasting surfaces.
The ball travels faster bouncing off grass
deals with a high bounce off Wimbledon’s Centre Court during his first round win over Alexander Bublik (Steven Paston/PA)
“If it is the speed of the ball off the court which limits a player’s effectiveness, then grass is the more difficult surface because the ball travels approximately 25 per cent faster bouncing off grass compared with bouncing off clay,” Gibson says.
“On the other hand, if it is differences in the bounce angle of a ball – compared with the angle it first hits the surface – which limits a player’s effectiveness, then clay is the more challenging.”
The ball spins more on clay, but moves more unpredictably on grass
A groundsman with a roller on Wimbledon’s Court Three (Philip Toscano/PA)
“If you hit the ball with a lot of top-spin, that accentuates the bounce height even more on clay,” Gibson says.
“Grass, despite the best efforts of the rollers, remains a rough surface. “This means that the ball can take random bounces in directions somewhat away from a straight line – making grass incredibly difficult to predict.”
Balls are harder to hit on grass courts
Novak Djokovic in action on the clay at the French Open (Jon Buckle/EMPICS
)
“The higher coefficient of friction associated with clay, relative to grass, means the ball travels approximately 25 per cent slower,” Gibson says.
“That, coupled with the significantly higher bounce angles associated with clay, makes the ball sit up and be easier to hit compared to grass.”
Some players perform better on grass than others
Roger Federer has been crowned champion seven times on the Wimbledon grass (Adam Davy/PA)
“Michael Chang and Rafael Nadal were born for clay, but never adapted to grass in the same way,” Gibson points out.
“Conversely, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer were born for grass but were never really comfortable on clay.
“Broadly speaking, classical serve and volleyers like Sampras are more dominant on grass – while the fitter, patient and smooth-stroking players like Nadal tend to be more dominant on clay.”
Grass behaves differently when the weather changes
Snow is good for the grass, right? ????❄️#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/oDC0PYhujV
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) April 25, 2017
“Clay needs to be kept mildly damp, otherwise it can cut up and the surface gets way too rough,” he says.
“Grass and the soil, on the other hand, soak it up, which softens the surface more and slows the ball down.”
“The exposed dirt after the grass has been worn down is more like concrete, with a higher coefficient of friction, which means the ball slows down and start to bounce higher.”
So if the clay-court specialists can survive the first week of Wimbledon, they may find conditions more to their liking as the tournament progresses.
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