A New Court: Tennis On Concrete
A backyard tennis court is a solid investment in two ways. You'll get to feed your addiction to the racket sport and if the court is built right, there'll likely be a significant increase on the market value of your property.
If you're trying to determine what sort of material to create your court from, consider the advantages of concrete slabs to make your court.
Speed And Predictability
Various factors will determine how much control you'll have over the outcome of games played on your court. Two of these factors include:
- How fast the tennis ball travels
- How predictable the bounce of the ball is
You're likely to have greater control over slower-moving balls whose bounce is more predictable. Under normal circumstances, a tennis ball will travel fastest on a grass court and slowest on a clay court. Grass provides a slippery surface that encourages skidding, hence faster ball movement. A clay surface generates great friction upon contact with the ball, thereby reducing its speed. Concrete courts allow the ball to travel at the 'average' speed.
Grass and clay both provide a slightly uneven surface as compared to the perfectly even surface offered by flat concrete. Unless surface defects (e.g. cracks and/or depressions) are present on the court surface, a tennis ball should have a highly predictable bounce on a concrete court.
Because the ball travels fastest towards an opponent, grass courts favour the 'serve and volley' type of player. The slower speed of the ball on a clay court favours the 'baseline' type of player. A concrete court supports all types of play without necessarily giving undue advantage to one type of player.
Maintenance And Repairs
Your tennis experience will only be as good as the condition of the court. This is why routine maintenance and the potential cost of repairs should matter.
Clay courts need to be watered, rolled and brushed regularly if their surfaces are to remain relatively even. Typical maintenance for a grass court would involve regular application of fertiliser, mowing and a sustained weed control campaign. Typical maintenance for a concrete court would include a regular sweep to eliminate loose debris and the occasional re-application of protective coatings (e.g. epoxy paints and concrete sealants).
Even with a less rigorous maintenance schedule, a concrete court would still maintain its good condition. With concrete, you're likely to spend less on the long-term cost of maintenance and repairs.
