There are a number of materials used to make tennis courts. That said, these materials fall under three broad categories of courts used in the modern game: hard court, clay, and grass. The different surfaces play quite differently, and players should consider adjusting their strategies in order to excel.

Hard courts can be viewed as the “standard” court surface, supporting a baseline strategy for players. There are more hard court tournaments on the professional tour than any other surface, and two of the sport’s four major tournaments, the Australian Open and United States Open, are played on hard courts. Court surfaces mainly impact the game in terms of how high balls bounce, how fast they travel after bouncing on the surface, and how the surface interacts with the spin of the ball. The exact nature of a specific hard court can vary considerably, considering the differences between asphalt, concrete, acrylic, and other hard court surfaces.

One of the most basic tactics tennis players can use on a hard court is the wide serve and cross court winner, a classic one-two punch. This strategy is ideal for right handed players serving to the deuce court and left handed players serving to the ad court, though players can serve wide on any point. In the former scenario, a right-hander can hit a slice serve that pulls the returner from the deuce court to the doubles alley and, if the serve is effective, off the court completely. The result is a wide open court for the server to hit a conservative winner into.

Clay courts are the second most prominent type of tennis court for tennis players. The main clay season begins after the Miami Open in April and continues into June, culminating at Frances’ Roland Garros, though there are other clay tournaments running throughout the duration of the tennis calendar. Compared to the average hard court, most clay courts produce a slower but much higher bouncing ball. Clay courts accentuate the spin players use, particularly top spin.

Because of the slow, high bouncing nature of clay courts, patience is a key component of any effective strategy. Players should increase their use of top spin shots over the course of long rallies in order to minimize their chances of hitting an error, but do this without sacrificing power, which is at a premium on clay. Drop shots are another effective tactic when it comes to clay court tennis, as the court offers much less bounce.

Sliding is one of the most unique aspects of clay court tennis, and one that must be integrated into any strategy. While it is possible to slide on grass and even hard courts, it is not as effective or safe. While viewers may notice players making long slides as they move forward to catch a short ball, it is not uncommon for players to make smaller, lateral slides as they move behind the baseline. Players should practice maintaining their balance and center of gravity as they slide on clay, with a goal of sliding into shots and recovering, as opposed to starting or continuing to slide after hitting the ball.

Finally, grass is the fastest playing surface in the sport of tennis. Grass also produces the lowest bounce of the three main surfaces. With these traits in mind, slice shots are a good tactic to implement, as they are already a lower bouncing shot. Furthermore, the side spin of the slice shot slides quickly through the grass, making for a shot that is extremely difficult to attack. The speed and bounce on grass also places an emphasis on the importance of big, consistent serving. Big servers can shorten points on grass by following their serves into the net, a strategy known as serve and volley.